DISCORD IN FRANCE

Today, we had a taste of a local phenomenon... the TRAIN STRIKE.

At 7:45 am, upon being served fresh croissants and coffee from our Chateau proprietor, he informed us that the trains were on strike.  He explained that the strike was only for one day and applied to only on certain trains--SOME STRIKE!  He said, "hopefully it will be OK for you" ... and then he ran off to make some wine.

Our taxi driver, Jean-Michel, dropped us off at the Beaune Train station at 9 am, waved goodbye, and pointed to the sign.  We hoped that everything was running on schedule.  We were wrong--our train, along with most others, was cancelled.  There were 2 people working behind one window (one greeter, one interpreter), so, needless to say, the line moved quite slowly.  Eventually, we learned that although most trains were cancelled, we could reach Avignon by 5 pm (as opposed to our scheduled arrival at Noon, which would have provided for a leisurely lunch and vin.)  

Time for Plan B -- we attempted to lug our bags 1/3 of a mile to the nearest Avis to see if they had any available rental cars.  No such luck.  The sole employee at Avis informed us that another nearby rental company--AVA--may have additional cars.  Well, the only cars at AVA were U-hauls, and even those could not be dropped off outside of the Burgundy region.  So, we were resigned to sitting on a bench for more than 5 hours, with 100+ pounds of luggage ... and a cranky bride (yes, Steve is typing most of this, if you haven't guessed already) in tow.  However, we did meet an interesting cast of characters, including "the Texan" (more on him below), who, along with his wife, was also intent on reaching Avignon today.  

Along with most other stranded tourists, including the Texan, we took an 11:50 train to Lyon, which required us to sit in the terminal for 3 hours while awaiting a transfer to Avignon.  After several sandwiches, some mild bickering, and a few toilet breaks (mutual), the train arrived ... Steve graciously lugged our 100+ pounds of luggage up the stairs, and muscled a swarm of people out of the way.  "I'm" not quite sure how, but he was quite successful, and managed to get our bags secured in one of the few open luggage racks on the train, while I scrambled to secure 2 seats next to each other.  SUCCESS!

Just as the train was rolling out, we noticed a lively commotion brewing outside.  Out of the corner of our eyes, we saw the Texan's arms flailing, while expletives flowed from his mouth that few could discern.  Yes, you guessed it -- the "the Texan" didn't quite make the last train to Avignon.  We don't quite know the full story, but one thing is for sure--he DID NOT make it on our train.  Oh well.  So it goes ... you snooze, you lose.

Very long story short, we arrived in St. Remy via Taxi at 5 pm, and proceeded to enjoy the "lovely" grounds and prepare for a gourmet dinner.  More on this tomorrow -- we need to rest up for our personal wine tour of the Cotes du Rhone region in the morning, which should prove to be a great adventure.  Becky looks forward to updating more tomorrow.