The fast train. So I've heard of like 300mph trains, and I've heard that France has high-speed trains, but what really is high speed? When travelling to Amsterdam from Brussels my the train would often reach 80mph, but I heard that for twice the price there was a train that would take 1.5hrs instead of 3hrs... So 80mph is not high speed apparently.
I took the train from Brussels to Paris, got off in Paris Nord Station, had to take a local train (RER for those familiar with Paris transit) and transfer to Gare de Lyon to catch a high speed train to Geneva. This was a bit more complicated because my bike was bagged up and thus I had to grunt with both a duffel full of panniers and a bike that had none of the advantages of bikes but all of the weight and bulk. Having been to Paris a month earlier the transit system was easy enough to figure out and my 70 minute transfer allotment was reduced due to a late arriving train to Paris but I still made it before the platform had been assigned to my Geneva train.
My GPS clocked about 184mph a couple times while I tracked it on the way to Geneva, so apparently that qualifies as high-speed; in case you were wondering.
I had been under the impression that every hostel I booked for this trip had "Free Wifi" on their website but was either mistaken or the website outdated, so I didn't make any updates realtime in Geneva. That was about the end of my "free time" for a few days, but more on that later.
I am willing to bet that I got the best value dinner in Geneva (except for a cheapo Kebap of course), it was even declared "traditional food." It really filled me up; in fact I polished off every last bit of it except maybe 2 pcs of the bread (see picture for 'before'--nevermind, apparently the sd card in my phone farted between pics 562 and 580 so I'm not sure I ever even ate that chicken). I ordered the 2.50 Franks special sauce so that's not as good of value, but the meal of chicken, salad and fries for 14.90 is a great deal--for Geneva. I think the Frank is around the value of the dollar right now, but even still it's more expensive overall than in Euro territory. But then I haven't been in Ireland for awhile and I distinctly remember feeling that Belgium was cheap, Germany cheaper, and Spain even cheaper still compared to Ireland.
OK, so I had a nice chicken dinner, walked around the old city and went bock to my hostel to finally pack my panniers as they would ride and to claim my American heritage (it's a bike tourist thing, see the picture with the new patch on--bought in Amsterdam).
And to close out, since I didn't find the picture of the best value food in Geneva, I shall include nearly the worst value found at McCafe in Geneva. Two blueberry muffins and a two-shot Americano for 12 Franks!!!! I'd ridden by the McDonald's the night before and scoped out the hours of service but unfortunately the 6:30am opening was only for McCafe, the McDonald's proper didn't open until 10am on Sunday. I knew Sunday could potentially hold problems but I was counting on Mickey-D's after confirming the open hours. I need some serious protein and calories before biking 70-80mi with a bike loaded with an extra 50lbs of gear. McDonald's in Berne failed me also, they didn't open till 9:30 or 10am even on Tuesday. So much for worldwide continuity. The circle of trust has been broken...
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