Due to the temptation to go to the famous Le Mans 24 Hours race, i've changed my plan and booked my train ticket to France. I was told by my friend, Dietmar that i could take the TGV to Paris from Kaiserslautern (which is quite near to Maikammer). So i started to check on the pricing and planned my trip on which date that i should go. Im surprised to see that it goes as low as 39€ for Kaiserslautern-Paris Est which takes about 2.5 hours. However, i managed to get mine at promo price of 69€ (normal price for 2nd class was 99€) even though it's almost doubled but for the race and France!
Dietmar was kind enough to drop me at Kaiserslautern HBF (30km from home) station instead of Neudstadt (5km from home) and showed me a nice route for motorcycling! At the station, i had some confusion about the terminal, and a local showed me how to check it when you got there. Attached is the table. Also remember to get on the right section in the terminal as TGV only stops for few minutes and you don't want to walk from the front to the middle/end of the train.
The seat and the walkway inside the TGV itself isn't that big. It's a double decker so check the number of your seat, it's normally on the top level. Cabin has a low level of noise, even when it hit a speed of over 300kmh. I managed to record 327kmh on my gps. Oh boy, i wish my bike is that fast! haha.. It was a nice countryside view to Paris BUT.. did i mention, the train is LATE? TGV arrived like 40 minutes late, i was like WTF? It's Europe, it's Germany, how can it be not punctual? Oh well.. there's a notice says something about police intervention and passenger transfer. Uhhh..
So all my plans and schedules are pretty much delayed for more than 40 minutes now and i'm not feeling good because i hate being late, and to top it off, a friend of mine, Laurie is waiting on the other side and she's going to wait for over an hour! Im so sorry :( Upon arrival, i had problem looking for the metro and finally found the information centre. It was 2 level down to basement and the ticket machine is located there as well. A one way trip cost you 1.80€ (to any locations on the same line) and there are many lines/tracks. Watch out and make sure you got on the correct line. I took the wrong direction and realised it after 2 stations and decided to hop off and go to the other side. Silly me! After changing my metro in Montparnasse, i've finally reach Volontaires after 20 minutes to my friend's place.
Had my first classic french food at her apartment, ratatouilles and of course, french wine! Thanks for the lunch :) After, we went for a look at the Arc De Triompe, and walk along the Champ Elysees until we reach the end, Le Lourve Museum! Cant believe I'm really here, looking at all this iconic building and structures of Paris, France.
We went to the famous Eiffel Tower or Tour Eiffel, and really.. can't believe my eyes here. It feels strange and excited at the same time, and suddenly the movie scenes pops up in my head;
From the moment from getting on the TGV - Mr Bean's Holiday where the little kids was separated from his dad and Mr Bean filming it. Ahhh!
Arc De Triompe - well i think many movie scenes were shot here, and all the famous traffic jams as showed by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May in Top Gear. LOL!
Le Lourve - The famous Da Vinci Code of course!