YDYtravelers: Double the days, double the fun, except that we spent it all on trains (which is fun, but, you know)

We’re back from our brief internet blackout, on the other side of our adventure on the overnight train, The SUD Express, from Lisbon to Hendaye, France, and then on to Paris. The trip started at around 9 PM in Lisbon, specifically the Santa Apolonia train station and lasted until we arrived in Paris, specifically the Gare Montparnasse, But let’s back up a minute. We have to talk about tidal pools and the Portugal’s National Tile Musuem.

Since our train was so late leaving Lisbon, we had lots of time to pack and also check out a bit more of the city. Jenny and Eliza left quite early, walking to the train station (up the Lisboa hills, requiring Portuguese Sweat Towels (TM) (by the way, they now come in mini sizes!)) Their ultimate destination was the tide pools around the Cascais coastal area of Portugal to do some serious bonding with fauna, and you know how we feel about fauna. Apparently, their trip also involved a stop at a very nice, slow serving restaurant that got Eliza itching to go for fear of missing out on the birding. They spotted many cool (and creepy) creatures, many of which I was able to see on video. Also, there was some very cool underwater videoing that I enjoyed quite a bit. We met them again at the station, just a few minutes before saying goodbye to Portugal.

George elected to take some quality time for reading and homework in the afternoon, and Mom and I did not. Instead we Ubered to the very beautiful, very cool, very inexpensive (7.50 Euro for both of us to get in!) National Tile Museum. If you’ve been reading the blog it’s likely that you picked up on the thing the Portuguese have about tiles. They are really good at tiling. I mean, best in show. And the Tile Musuem (Museu Nacional do Azulejo) is a wonderland of Portuguese tile talent. Tiles from ancient to modern design are showcased in an old convent, which gave us the lovely bonus of seeing some spectacular chapels and sanctuaries mixed in with all the tiles. I’ve added probably too many photos of the place, but good golly, it was a sight to behold. I’m going to miss these tiled buildings and beautiful streets. Lisbon and Portugal as a whole has been pretty magical. Obrigada.

The SUD express is an overnight train that connects Lisbon, via Madrid, to France - the border town Hendaye to be exact. I booked this train on the Spanish train network Renfe (it really is a just a long trip through Spain), which was entirely in Spanish. So, imagine our surprise when we boarded and discovered that I’d booked five separate compartments, one for each person, instead of the two per person (and one for Mom) that I had intended. It was the same price, but we really didn’t need the entire train car to ourselves. That’s what we had, though. Good for us. I slept well on the train and I think George did too. It’s so nice to be rocked to sleep with the swaying of the cars. Others in our group didn’t do as well with the sleeping on the train thing. We’re all a little weary from the 24 hours of trains. Post SUD express, we hopped on the bullet train to Paris, riding first class. This was by far the nicest train we’ve taken on the trip with WiFi, charging stations and large comfy chairs. George and Eliza both set up work stations and had enjoyed the ride. I was the victim of dozing syndrome, and spent half the trip asleep. All of us were relieved to get to Paris, and especially relieved to find our Uber (this was extremely hard, what with the weird designated pick up spots at the train station). Finally settled into our Airbnb, located in the St. Germain area near the beautiful, damaged Notre Dame, we went out for our first Parisian dinner. Six nights in Paris sounds pretty great. Here we go!