May 3, 2014, I board the train at Torino Porta Susa at 7:39. Yikes. Early. I got to the train station around 6:30 as well. So that means I got up at 5:30. That’s not me usually. Not on most trips. The train is heading to Paris Gare Lyon, with an arrival time of 1:23 PM (13:23). I wanted to get there early because it’s a huge city and I was a little confused of where the hostel was. I knew it was within walking distance though. And, after I arrived, I wanted to get a sample of that famous French cooking if I could along the route. But to start off, here’s some pictures of the Italian countryside and the Western Alps.
Very nice on the train. Comfortable. Sadly, no WiFi.
I would be willing to bet that they had snow here just a month before my visit.
I got very few pictures of the cars themselves. They are very comfortable though with nice cushy seats, leg room, baggage racks, tables for four, outlets to charge your electronics, that sort of stuff. On this trip there weren’t many passengers either. The lounge car in the pic above had nowhere to sit, just standing tables, so people didn’t hang around too long there. They had the typical train fare, so I had coffee and such. I had made a lunch back in Turin though so I saved some money with that.
I had a few things to read and a journal to write to so the time zipped past rapidly. Soon we were out of the mountains and crossed the border into France. No stopping though, the border was out in the boondocks I guess. One minute we were in Italy, the next in France. No big deal.
Then the countryside turned flat.
An hour or two later we stopped in Lyon for about 15 minutes so I got to stretch my legs. Then off we went again.
And soon we were in Paris. The station was huge but it was pretty much a straight shot from the lower level where the train disembarked us riders, and on up to the street. Luckily I had some instructions of which building exit to take, so I wandered up the street, and I mean wandered because I only had a vague idea where to go, but after asking a waiter at a streetside cafe, soon found St. Christophers Inn. Got my electronic key, headed up to my room, and took this picture out of my 6th floor window of the Eiffel Tower off in the distance.
By now, it was 3ish so I headed down to the bar to check it out, then outside on the street to get my bearings a little. Probably spent an hour walking around the area. Bumped into a gal right outside the front door of the hostel passing out free info on tours, there are several organized by the hostel, so I signed up for a long walking tour the next day.
This picture is of right outside the breezeway of the hostel. There is a main drag down that street a short way, and a couple blocks away is the train station. This section of Paris was built in the 1880’s.
I did a walk by of several nearby Paris Cafe’s and checked out their menus. Didn’t spot anything I wanted that night, but might try one of them in a day or two. After that short neighborhood tour, returned to the hostel.
On the ground floor of the hostel is a Belushi’s bar. There were many uncomfortable tables and chairs throughout the room. They seemed to be designed for people of average height of 7′ 6″. Very difficult to climb up and get seated at them. Many of the tables were ‘rockers’ too. And no coasters to slide under the legs. Good thing about the place was that it was newish, modern, with free breakfast and coffee in the morning. WiFi throughout the building, and in the rooms. There were electrical outlets several places on the walls, but many of the tables were out in the open so if you didn’t get there at the right time, all the wall outlets would be taken. But I did spend a lot of time here for the 2 for 1 drink specials every night, and the meals of course. Since I was here for 3 days, Belushi’s became my hang out. There was an employee that wandered around in the bar every day, she was the one that signed people up for tours. Very handy to have that available because Paris is sooooo big with so much to do. I had done research back home, then in Turin, but it’s even better to do your research right there where you’re visiting. Especially handy to have someone to advise.
Up to my room for a short rest then back downstairs to the restaurant/bar for dinner and a couple beers. The food was ok, but not good or unique enough to take a picture of. The 2 for 1 beer special is just plain ol’ Corona bottled beer. Not a big fan, but it beat paying outrageous prices for a good beer while I’m just sitting there writing in my journal and having dinner. They were asking $4.50 Euros for ONE Corona when it isn’t happy hour and that was like the average price for any pedestrian beer they had. The craft beers were like $10 US each. Yikes. So, 2 for 1 Corona it is, because that was the only one they had on 2 for 1 special anyway. Oh, just remembered, I had their Mexican platter for dinner my first night in Paris. Terrible. Some French guys idea of what Mexican food is like. Just a vague echo. And a mashup of two different dishes you’d never see mashed up in Mexico. They don’t go together. But when the waitress came by to ask how it was, I just said, “Fine”, didn’t want to hurt their feelings. Wouldn’t know how to tell them to fix it anyway.
I had a good idea where I was going to the next day on the tour from the brochure they gave me so I spent some hours researching those tour stops up in my room. 
There’s my berth, the lower one. It’s really quite comfy. Had several outlets for electronics. Nice heavy curtain. Bright light to read by. Underneath the bed is a roll out wire basket big enough to store my luggage. It had a hasp to put on a lock, but I hadn’t thought about bringing one. I’ll have to look around and buy one since I’ll be staying at 3-4 hostels during my trip. Over to the right, above that table, are the windows where I took the photos of the Parisian skyline. Behind me are two tiny bathrooms. Toilets and a tiny shower and sink. Does the job though. There are another set of berths on the other wall, so six beds in all. Two bathrooms, two tables to go along. Then a big window next to the door that faces the open central shaft in the building where you can look down on the top of the glass ceiling of the Belushi’s bar 6 floors down. There’s one elevator that was big enough for around 6 people with their bags but that’s about it. Usually it wasn’t crowded.
So I’m now in Paris. Feeling comfortable in my room, and feeling sorry for the other 3 people staying in the same room with me when, or if, I start snoring. Turned out none of them showed up until really late, and they had all been drinking, so they fell asleep pretty fast I’d wager.
That’s my first day & night in Paris. And my first stay in an honest to goodness hostel. They use to be ‘Youth Hostel’s in the old days. Some even discouraged oldsters from staying there with a maximum age requirement, but those days are gone. Now days they cater to every age (with some rare exceptions). While I didn’t see many people in the hostel older than around 45 my few hours there that first day, I was pretty sure I would eventually. I was pretty impressed with how nice and comfy the place was, but I was also pretty sure from my reading that not all the hostels I’d stay at during my trip would be this nice.
Tomorrow, I’ll be taking a 6 hour walking tour of the sights. I did this in Rome and it worked out well. It’s the same tour company as in Rome too. They’re pretty sharp and I feel comfortable joining them for a tour around a place I could stumble around on my own if I wanted. Oh, the walking tours? They are free. Donations for the guide accepted. After the walking tour, I’d see about bus and boat tours.
Thanks for visiting!