Last night, we had our traditional dinner at a restaurant in Paris. We usually gather somewhere central for dinner and start rebuilding old bonds prior to our hike. This year, the three intrepid hikers were joined by two wives (Lisa and Alessandra) and one of our favorite ex-P&G work colleagues (Mathilde Delhoume). As we dined on “steak au poirve” and frites in Paris, we exchanged updates about family and reminisced about the “good ole days” at P&G.
This morning started early (about 7am) with a trip to the train station. It is supposed to take us 7 hours to get to Figeac, assuming all goes as planned.
Unfortunately, things did not go so well. The train left Paris on time, but we had to stop in Orleans for 30 minutes because there was an “accidente du person” (someone got hit by a train) ahead of us. The thought of this was morbid, but the conductor still felt the need to give us gruesome updates on the situation while we waited. His last message informed us that the undertakers were on the site, so we should be departing soon. 😳 I didn’t know whether to feel happy about this or not.
While we thought that this delay would make us miss the connection in Breville, the conductor informed us that they were holding our connection, since so many people on our train were going on. (wow! That would never happen in the USA.)
As a result, we arrived in Figeac at about 4:30 pm, less than a half hour later than the scheduled arrival time.
Our hotel is beautiful. It is a Mercure hotel with a lot of baroque architectural elements.
They even had a pool, but I say it was a cold plunge since the temperature was just above freezing.
Before dinner, we made our way to the town square for a quick aperitif.
Dinner, for me, started with a tomato and burrata salad, followed by a veal steak in peppercorn sauce, and topped off with a tarte tatin. (I’m loading up on carbs for tomorrow.)
I know this seems decadent, (and it was), but since I never know where my next meal is coming from, I like to seize the opportunity when it is something I like.
Tomorrow starts our 180 mile hike. Stay tuned for more adventures.
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