Day 5

Park near Notre Dame 10:54 AM 6/25/10

I have to get caught up on yesterday! We went and saw the Moulin Rouge and then we went to Sacre Couer. We walked up hill and up stairs with our packs. It was brutal and we were both so tired. we got to the top and looked at the view. You can see almost all of Paris from there. It was our first high up view of the city and Troy was impressed. We woulc have gone inside the church or up to the roof, but we couldn't take our packs in. We took our time going back down and rested on some steps in the shade for a few minutes (during which Troy fell right to sleep).

After that, we headed toward Gare de Nord to see about catching a train to Avignon. We got to the station and couldn't find a train to Avignon or anywhere near it, so we went to the information desk and the lady asked us what time it was, we told her 3:20 and she told us that Gare de Lyon has trains to Avignon and she wrote down directions for which underground train to take to the station. We bought our tickets which were really cheap (thankfully) and went to catch the D line RER. We got on and headed toward Chalet les Halles where the first stop was (Gare de Lyon was to be the second stop). We were sitting in the upper section of the train and people started getting off at the stop. troy and I were talking and there was an announcement in French and then the lights went out and the train shut down. We looked around and realized that there was no one else sitting in the upper level of our car. Troy got up and checked the lowere level. No one was there. We grabbed our bags and headed toward the door, but it wouldn't open. We checked a couple other cars and no one was there either. A few guys were watching us from outside the train, not sure what to do. We tried the door a few more times. It was so weird, people at the underground were walking around like normal and we're sitting in this dark, locked train. We went and tried another door and then we just decided to wait. We figured that if it came down to it, we could press the emergency alarm, but then the lights came on and the train started moving.

We sat down again as the train entered the tunnel. We got about halfway from Chalet les Halles stop to the Gare de Lyon station and the train stopped again. This time the lights and the engine stayed on. We waited a fwe mintues, then troy got up and opened the door! When the train is on, the doors open, but when it's off, they lock. We stood there waiting, Troy shut the door. then this guy (another passenger-the only other passenger we later figured) walked by us on the outside. He just walked by without stopping or glancing twice. We stood there a few more minutes then decide that we should walk back to Chalet les Halles before the doors locked us in. So we got out and walked back next to our empty train through a dark underground tunnel.

Troy said that it was probably one of the most amazing things he's ever done, but I was a bit nervouw. The only thing that made me feel better was the idea of recounting the tale to friends and family and possibly using it as a creepy set up for a sci-fi horror film. As we walked by our train, it started moving-back to Chalet les Halles! Once it was gone, the tunnel was even darker. the hand rails were so dirty that one touch left my hand covered in soot. The tunnel forked, but luckily there was only one way to walk, although we had to cross the tracks to get to it. then we saw the station and we walked up the stairs out of the Twilight Zone and onto the platform to discover that our train had most likely gone on strike while we were on it!