Karen Hechinger

The challenge of navigating travel through multiple countries each of which have their own protocol for buses, trains and taxis was an expectation on this trip. So its no surprise that we've stumbled a few times making our way around. 2 stories here:

1.
We arrived at the Pontorson train station, a small French town which supports tourism to Mont St. Michel, around 6PM, expecting to grab an uber to our hotel 15 minutes away. When uber was unable to find a driver for us, we called the 4 taxi phone numbers listed on a street sign. 3 of them reached answering machines speaking rapid French, and the 4th was a Frenchman who hung up on me when I could not speak French. (I have a few french words for him). Fortunately, another taxi driver who showed up to pick up another group spoke excellent English & offered help. 20 minutes later a taxi arrived to chauffer us to the hotel.

2.
We grabbed a train from our hotel along the French Riviera in Nice on Wed for a 1/2 hour ride over to Monaco to see how the rich and famous live. This was a locals commuter train as opposed to the first class travel we've been doing and boarding it was like a competitive sport. Nice to Monaco is apparently a very popular line, and people were close to being trampled as they pushed and shoved to get on the train as the doors were literally closing on them. Ugly.

We missed our train stop & had to grab an uber back to Monte Carlo. After touring MC, we spent an hour trying unsuccessfully to figure out how to get to Eze (another nearby French Riviera town) by bus or train. We walked excessively around the city (when there was otherwise a free bus available), then got on the free bus, where we once again missed our stop for the train station. By the time we found the train station, we were ready to skip Eze and head back to the hotel. Of course, both trains back to Nice were delayed, so 2 trains worth of people were again jockeying for position and shoving their way through to try to get a seat on the first train that showed up.

Back at the hotel, we entered the code for our room, which got rejected. 4 tries, no luck. No one at the front desk, however we did see the hotel business card there, so we called and spoke to a manager, who knew very little English. He gave us a temporary code to get in, which worked on the 4th try. Whew. Made me think of my Mom who always said, if at first you dont succeed, try, try again. Bet she was laughing at us from above.

In the meantime, overlanding by Eurail has its pros & cons. We have first class Eurail tickets for 3 months, and I've found those trains to be very clean and pleasant, our (reserved) seats to be spacious and comfortable, and the ride to be smooth and quiet. On the other hand, hauling around a 45-50lb duffel bag plus backpack on and off the train, up & down stairs at the train stations that often don't have a lift or escalator, and through the streets (when our hotel is close enough to walk), has felt like a bit more of a workout than expected. So glad I got the duffel bag with wheels!Read more