I just arrived in Lille on the "high-speed" train. I write the words "high-speed" in quotes, because there was some sort of problem en route. We rolled along at about 150 miles per hour the first half of the journey, which was to take 59 minutes, but then we slowed to a crawl for about half an hour due to what a voice over the PA system called a "signaling problem." It didn't matter to me that we arrived a half hour late except for the discomfort of sitting a bit longer cramped into a second-class seat. I have restless-leg syndrome.
Last night, or rather early this morning, in the hostel in Paris, the fire alarm went off at four a.m. We all walked down the steps, I from the seventh floor (eighth floor as we count them in the USA). Near the ground floor, the stairwell was jammed, and we could go no farther. Then people starting coming up the stairs saying it was a false alarm. According to one person, someone had set the alarm off with a cigarette.
At least once again I had the four-person room to myself last night, and except for the fire alarm, I had a good night's sleep.
I'm sitting in McDonald's at one of Lille's two railroad stations, where I am about to take advantage of the free WiFi to upload this post. It's more hectic here than in a McDonald's in the USA. The tables are closer together, and the place is full of families feeding their kids Happy Meals. One of the kids is screaming for some reason, which is nerve wracking.
The weather is dark, chilly, and wet. For the moment it's not raining. If the youth hostel manual is correct, I've got a few hours to kill before I can check into the hostel here, which means I must lug my backpack around. I hope the rain holds off. -- Jack Quinn
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