New Years Plan: France

It's official- I just booked a flight to Paris on the 26th of December. I decided to fly because the train is actually more expensive for some odd reason, and I found a very reasonable flight. That, and it takes only two hours instead of 17. So, I'll be flying into Charles de Gaule, and then I will take the TGV to Dijon. TGV stands for "Train à Grand Vitesse", which means "Train of Great Speed". These are world famous trains which reach a top speed of 186 miles per hour. The ride from Paris to Dijon with the TGV takes about an hour and thirty minutes according to the SNCF (French National Railways) website. The regular trains take about an hour longer. My reason for going to the mustard capital of the world is to visit my dear friend Alice during her holiday. Her name is pronounced ALL-EECE. I knew her as a student at Ohio University, but she now lives and works in London. But, her parents live in Dijon, and they said I was welcome to come stay with them for awhile over the Christmas holiday. I did meet them when Alice graduated from OU, and they were very nice people, although they don't speak English. I have been brushing up on my French with my little phrasebook, since I hear the French are rather unwilling to speak foreign languages. As long as I make it through my train trip and arrive in Dijon, everything will be fine though since Alice is quite competent in English and can play the translator. I am very happy that I will be ringing in 2006 with one of my best friends in France!