July 6, 2024: We started our day early by heading straight to the train station across from the hotel to change our reserved seats for an earlier train. Afterward, we stopped by a nearby bakery, where we ordered the chocolate croissant, the raisin swirl, a cup of latte, and an Americano. We sat by the entrance, enjoying our breakfast and people-watching. The pastries were fresh and delicious, and the prices were surprisingly reasonable—much cheaper than in the U.S. It was a pleasant surprise to be able to find breakfast so easily at such an early hour, especially considering how difficult it was to find any breakfast during our last trip to Europe two years ago.

The Notre-Dame Cathedral here, a historic Catholic church, was built in the 14th century and remained the tallest church in Europe until the 19th century. After an early visit to the cathedral hall, we climbed the 330 steps to the church’s viewing platform, though the narrow, winding stairs were quite challenging, especially for older visitors. This observation deck used to be a gathering place for residents during holidays and weekends. From up there, we enjoyed a stunning 360-degree view of the city. After visiting the cathedral, we continued exploring the town center. Last night, we only had time for a quick walk after arriving, but today, with a closer look, we found the town even more charming.

As lunchtime approached, it began to rain, so we headed to a highly-rated small restaurant we had found through a Google search. The waitress was incredibly kind—seeing us outside with no place to escape the rain, she invited us in early to sit down, even though the restaurant wasn’t officially open yet. We decided to try a local specialty—plain crêpes, which were delicious and not greasy. We had initially planned to try another specialty dish—sausages—but they weren’t available for lunch, so we opted for a beef salad instead. The salad was a generous bowl of fresh vegetables topped with plenty of beef. The vegetables were crisp and refreshing, but there was so much beef that we couldn’t finish it.

After lunch, we returned to the train station to book seats for our next journey from France to Spain in advance, then went back to the hotel to collect our luggage and head to our next destination. During our 2022 train tour in Europe, we were impressed by the efficiency and convenience of the European railway system, especially in Switzerland. With our Eurail pass, we boarded and disembarked without issues, and delays were rare. However, our German friend had warned us not to expect the same efficiency level in other parts of Europe, particularly in Germany. This time, our first 30-minute leg train in Germany was delayed by over 40 minutes, almost causing us to miss our connecting train to Strasbourg. Today, in France, our train to Avignon TGV was delayed by more than 10 minutes, causing us to miss the 5-minute connecting train to the Avignon city center, forcing us to wait an hour for the next one.

One of the most frustrating aspects of train travel this time has been booking seats. Many trains require reservations, and the fees aren’t cheap—around $20-25 per person per trip. Additionally, finding and booking seats has proven to be difficult. France’s high-speed trains impose many restrictions on seats for Eurail pass holders, sometimes offering no seats at all, which has forced us to adjust our itinerary based on train pass availability. In Spain, seats on high-speed trains can’t be booked online. During our last trip in Switzerland and most other parts of Europe, we didn’t need to reserve seats, and even when we did, online reservations were simple.

We arrived in Avignon in the evening. Avignon is a historic city in southern France, and we chose to visit because it hosts France’s oldest summer arts festival. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t on our side. As we made our way to the city center for dinner after checking into our hotel, the rain began to pour even harder. What should have been a lively weekend evening was dampened by the downpour. The only people on the streets were like us, looking for a place to eat. By the time we finally sat down to enjoy a delicious French dinner, we were completely drenched. Despite the simple meal, it tasted fantastic. We hadn’t experienced much French cuisine before; we always associated it with expensive, elaborate dishes. But we were pleasantly surprised by how simple, flavorful, and affordable everyday French food can be.

斯特拉斯堡和欧洲火车旅行

7月六日：一早醒来，第一件事就是去酒店对面的火车站，把今天下午预定的座位票换成早一班的。然后在酒店附近的面包房里，点了巧克力羊角面包、葡萄圈、拿铁和美式咖啡，坐在店门口边吃边喝边看过往行人。面包又新鲜又好吃，价格也很合理，比美国便宜。大清早这么容易就有早餐吃，这可是有点出乎预料。记得前二年来欧洲玩，因为起得早，常常为买不到早餐而发愁。

这里的天主教圣母教堂建于十四世纪，一直到十九世纪都是欧洲最高的教堂。赶早参观完教堂大厅后，又爬了三百三十三级台阶登上教堂的观望台，不过那盘旋式的狭小台阶对上了年纪的人来说不好走。这观望台是以前居民在节假日和周末聚会的场所。在那上面，360度的城市美景尽收眼底。看过教堂，又继续在镇中心走走。昨晚刚到匆匆走了一下，今天再多看一眼，越看越觉得这个小镇漂亮。

还没到午饭时间就开始下雨了，我们来到提前找好的一家评论很不错的小饭店。服务员态度真不错，虽还没到营业时间，看我们在店外没地方躲雨，就提早让我们先进饭店坐下。今天又要了一份当地特色原味薄饼，味道鲜美而不腻。原计划来这家饭店是要吃另一特色菜 - 香肠，结果午餐没有，就点了牛肉色拉。超大一盆新鲜蔬菜，加上许多牛肉。蔬菜新鲜爽口，牛肉实在太多吃不完。

午饭后我们又来到火车站，把后面从法国进西班牙的火车座位先订了，然后回酒店拿行李赶往下一站。上次我们在欧洲乘火车旅行时，对欧洲铁路系统的效率和便捷性印象深刻，尤其是在瑞士。凭借我们的欧铁通票，我们上下车毫无问题，延误也很少。然而，当时与我们同行的德国朋友提醒我们，说其它欧洲国家，特别是德国，可能就没有同样的效率。这次刚到德国，我们的第一段30分钟旅程的火车就延误了超过40分钟，让我们几乎错过了转乘到斯特拉斯堡的火车。今天在法国，我们前往阿维尼翁TGV的火车延误了超过10分钟，导致我们错过了前往市中心的5分钟接驳火车，不得不等一个小时才搭上下一班。

这次旅行中最让人纠结的是预订座位。首先，许多火车要求必须订位，而预订费并不便宜，每人每次需要额外支付20-25美元。其次，找到并预订座位并不容易。法国的高速列车对通票持有者的座位限制很多，甚至没有座位可供预订，这迫使我们必须根据火车通票的可用性调整行程。在西班牙，高速列车的座位无法在线预订。上次在瑞士和欧洲大部分地区，我们不需要预订座位，即使需要，在线预订也很简单。

我们傍晚到达阿维尼翁。阿维尼翁是法国南部的一座历史名城，我们选择这里是因为它有法国最古老的夏季艺术节。可惜天公不作美，当我们入住酒店后前往城中心吃晚餐时，雨越下越大。本来应该是一个很热闹的周末晚上，被一场大雨搅局。街头就只能看到像我们这样找地方吃饭的人了。等我们终于坐在餐馆享用美味的法式晚餐时，已经全身湿透。尽管晚餐很简单，但味道很好。 之前法国菜吃的不多。每当提起法国菜，就觉得是那种很贵的法国大餐。没想到法国的普通菜简单，味道也这么好，物美还价廉。