Safe and Sound in France

The Eurostar was really lovely—worth every penny, I say. I'm not exactly sure how much less expensive EasyJet would have been, once you factor in the not-negligible cost of getting to and from the distant airports. Less expensive, perhaps half as expensive, but still...

I assume the following doesn't happen every time, but it made my day: My train left at noon, and after half an hour or so, I decided to go buy a sandwich in the snack bar. When I got there, the snack bar employee was happily giving out free glasses of champagne to everyone. Free glasses of champagne. Including kids who, in my world, would be called "underage." He said it was his birthday, but he said it in such a way that it may have been a joke. In any case, I got free champagne on the Eurostar. It was awesome.

A—'s apartment (obviously) has an internet connection, and a comfortable bed. He left for Barcelona about two hours after I arrived. I had dinner with P— last night, who's doing rather well, but still pessimistic about the future of German Studies in France. "But what about, y'know, the whole Europe thing..." I queried. "Exactly..." he replied in his oddly British-inflected Franco-German accent.

The library is closed until 2 pm every Monday (I dare you to ask to me to explain why), so I think I may go and, I dunno, walk along the Seine or some shit. Perhaps the chestnut trees are in bloom. It is officially spring today, after all.