The Matterhorn emerged from the clouds!

Hello from Zermatt, Switzerland!

Today was one of the most complicated days of travel as I had multiple connections. But everything went smoothly and felt rather relaxed overall.

First up, my train from Lyon to Geneva, Switzerland. It’s a regional train that made multiple stops along the way.

My first class cabin.

After about 2 hours, I arrived in Geneva! Switzerland is not in the EU, so there’s technically a border crossing between France and here. I did see the border/customs while exiting the platform, but they weren’t stopping anyone to check passports or scan bags.

I had about an hour here, which was more than enough time to have lunch and coffee and do a small bit of sightseeing just outside the station.

Gotta love the bike parking!

Next was a Swiss regional train headed to Brig, but I’d be transferring at Visp.

Another first class cabin. Nothing too special, but totally comfortable.

As we rose further into the Alps, the landscapes became more dramatic. There’s some very beautiful looking towns on the way from Geneva to Visp. Looking at the map, I realized I’m following the Rhône river all the way from Lyon to Visp. The river valley in the Alps makes for some great scenery.

At Visp, I had a short stop to transfer to the train destined for Zermatt, which is the end of the line.

It’s steep enough in sections that there are cogs between the tracks. I have no idea if my train uses these, but interesting to see nonetheless.

In about an hour, I’ve arrived in Zermatt and, wow, is it beautiful! It’s a million chalets, sporting shops, a river, and mountains. Zermatt is essentially car free. Tourists must park in one town lower in the valley and take the train up.

At 5,276 ft (1,608 m) of elevation, we are certainly up in the mountains!

Just steps from where I’m staying.

The view from the small balcony on my room, incredible!

That’s all from me today. I’m hoping to have an early dinner and an early night so I can clock a full 8 hours. Tomorrow, I’ve booked a gondola to take me up to one of the highest gondola accessible points in Europe. There should be views of the Matterhorn and many other peaks.

Goodnight!

Hello from Geneva! Here for about an hour until I catch my train to Zermatt.

Here’s how I spent my lazy Sunday in Lyon.

A late breakfast at the hotel (I tend to really love European breakfast buffets and this one was no exception) then I headed back to Vieux Lyon to see a movie and miniatures museum I noticed yesterday.

Soon after walking in the door, I was greeted with this and knew it’d be a place I’d enjoy:

They had a whole room of Ghostbusters paraphernalia. This is a childhood favorite franchise of mine. They had a case of vintage toys and I spotted a few I had as a kid.

One of my favorite exhibits was on movie posters by the artist Drew Struzan. I was definitely familiar with his work, but never knew about the artist behind these posters.

The miniature displays were something to see. So many small, painstaking details. I really liked the interior of this vintage New York subway car.

Next, I decided to take a river boat cruise along the Saône river.

It was very relaxing. One aspect I enjoyed was seeing the contrasting architecture of the Renaissance era buildings of Vieux Lyon with the modern architecture of the Confluence district (so called because it’s the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers).

After the boat, I had an ice cream Sunday for lunch. There was a place that every time I’ve walked past it’s had a giant line. Today was no exception. But I saw they had an area with some tables and waiter service that somehow had no wait. So that’s where I went.

After this, I rented an e-bike. I’ve seen so many people on bikes both in Paris and here, I definitely wanted to experience it for myself. Speaking of the Confluence, I decided to head back to that area on bike and explore the bike paths along the rivers a little more.

A quick break at the hotel and I ventured back into Vieux Lyon for dinner. I keep returning to this neighborhood for a few reasons. One, it’s super charming and I love the Renaissance era streets and buildings. Two, it’s a short (and beautiful) walk from my hotel. I learned on the boat tour that Vieux Lyon is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the largest remaining districts of Renaissance buildings.

Another quick aside on language. I’m surprised how many little bits of French I understand. (When written! Spoken, I have no clue.) It’s mostly food related terms that I’ve learned from restaurants in the US. Sometimes, the French description of food is more illuminating to me than the English description. For instance, my meal last night was described as sausage, but in French it was boudin noir (which I know to be a type of blood sausage). Tonight, I had steak with “pepper sauce”. In French, it was sauce au poivre, which I’ve even cooked myself sonI knew exactly what to expect. There’s also other non-food related terms that have entered the English language from French, so there’s no translation needed. Like “confluence”!

After dinner, it was back to the hotel to get some sleep. It’s another early day tomorrow. I’m headed to Zermatt, Switzerland via Geneva. It’ll be a long day on multiple trains, but it should be fairly relaxed, so I’m looking forward to it.

Goodnight!

Hello from Lyon!

Today’s train was Ouigo Grande Vitesse train No 7885 operating on the high speed line between Paris and Lyon.

This is my second high speed line after the Eurostar to Paris. I only wish this train was in an orange livery like the original TGVs. Instead I got this…interesting color choice. Nonetheless, I’ve fulfilled the goal of riding the high speed line that caught my attention as a child!

What was exciting, new, and futuristic around 40 years ago now just seems ordinary here. The train lives up to its high speed lineage. The cars themselves were nothing special, I’d say. Double decker, luggage racks, bathrooms, a mix of seats with tables and without. Roughly similar to what I’m familiar with in the northeast of the US. Definitely comfortable and roomy compared to a plane. But Eurostar is taking the cake in terms of fit and finish and service. Of course, I chose this leg based on schedule and speed. I could have taken an earlier or later train that had more amenities. But honestly, it’s such a short trip I didn’t really miss them.

Plus, the scenery passing by was beautiful. It felt like an animated Windows XP wallpaper, only better looking.

Pretty quickly we were pulling in to Lyon. My train went on to other stops beyond this, so it was only in the station for a few minutes. This particular route stopped at the station near the Lyon airport. And wow, I really loved the architecture of the station.

Because I was at the airport, I needed to take light rail into the city center.

After this, I took a street tram further into the city toward my hotel. A short walk later and I’m at my hotel. I’m staying at Hotel Globe et Cecil which is charming and centrally located.

Because of the length of my trip and the limited packing space I have (if you have interest in how I packed for this trip, let me know and I can post about it!), I needed to get some laundry done. I thought my hotel had laundry service, but turns out they do, just not on weekends. So I decided to try a coin op. Can you believe this is my walk to the laundromat, which is in Vieux Lyon (the old city):

I returned later to Vieux Lyon for dinner at a bouchon (a restaurant serving classic French dishes). I had a boudin noir and apple pie which I really enjoyed. Dessert was a dish called île flottante which means floating island. I needed to look this one up before ordering, I’ve never heard of the dish in English or French. It’s a block of meringue floating in a pool of crème anglaise. It’s really great!

After dinner, I walked a little out of the way around Vieux Lyon to take in the scenery at night.

Tomorrow, another day in Lyon. Goodnight!

On board TGV No 7885, next stop Lyon!

Hello! A shorter update tonight because it’s late and I have an earlyish day tomorrow.

The main event of today was visiting the Louvre. It was incredible! I knew it was supposed to be great, but I really had no idea how great. What an amazing museum. I could probably write for an hour about what I saw and I barely scratched the surface of what the museum has on display.

And I the then building itself is art, I mean look at this place!

Of course, the art on display is amazing as well.

I bought the self guided audio tour and was amused the device is a Nintendo 3DS. I have many questions about how this came to be. But it worked surprisingly well!

After the Louvre, I strolled along the Seine until I reached the Eiffel Tower.

After that, I took the metro–a quaint older tram/train/not sure what to call it with rubber wheels that ran along an elevated track–to the Montmartre neighborhood for dinner.

The views on the way back from dinner were great.

Tomorrow, we take the TGV to Lyon! Goodnight!

Welcome back to another update from my Europe Train Adventure.

Today was the first high speed rail leg of my trip, starting at St. Pancras International station in London and arriving at Gare du Nord in Paris.

I enjoyed the architecture of St. Pancras station as I headed to board Eurostar 9022 to Paris.

My car for the journey. It was clean, comfortable, and spacious. I also appreciated how low key the boarding experience was. I was relaxing in my seat and without any fanfare we slowly started to depart the station.

The high speed rail lived up to its name! That’s about 182 mph.

The trip felt quick too. We were practically to Paris by the time I was able to upload a photo and make a short post. My seat included food, which was served before we even entered the Chunnel.

The platform in Gare du Nord station.

The station exterior from the street.

My hotel is only a short walk from Gare du Nord. After checking in to my room, I decided to stroll around and I ended up walking along Canal Saint Martin.

Something I noticed while walking around Paris is how many bikes there are and the numerous bike lanes and associated bike infrastructure. Many lanes on busier streets seemed protected from car traffic, which is great. Other European cities, such as Amsterdam, are famous for their biking, but I didn’t realize Paris was this far along. I wish US cities would adopt this kind of bike infrastructure. There’s an increasing number of people riding bikes in Atlanta, but we are especially far behind when it comes to bike infra!

Tomorrow, I’ll do some sightseeing around Paris. Goodnight!

Mini Travel Update: Departing from St. Pancras International on Eurostar 9022 to Paris!

Update: Already in France before I could get a signal strong enough for the photo to upload!

Today was spent mostly at the Tower of London, which I really enjoyed. It’s incredible to see the structures built over the ages, including nearly 2000 year old remains from the Romans as well as many towers and keeps from the 1200s to relatively recent Tudor era timber framed buildings.

Here, the White Tower is the central keep of the fortress and is nearly 1000 years old!

The Queen’s house (note the royal guard) is an example of the Tudor style.

The Tower of London also serves as a reminder of England’s often brutal past, as this location served as a prison, torture dungeon, and a place for executions.

Here a memorial marks the site of several executions, most famously that of Anne Boleyn.

One thing that struck me in several of the keeps used as prisons was the inscriptions left in the walls by prisoners over the years. They were numerous and, at times, elaborate.

Here you can see Traitor’s Gate which was a water entrance off of the River Thames, so called because it was a commonly used entrance for prisoner barges.

The Tower is also home to the Crown Jewels (no photos allowed in here, folks!), including the current crown worn by King Charles. Curious that they are kept in a place with such a dark history.

The Tower grounds are also home to several ravens which are tended to by the official Ravenmaster. (Best title ever?) The legend goes, the kingdom and Tower of London will fall if the ravens ever leave.

Next, I walked over the Tower Bridge and headed along the Thames towards Borough Market.

I ended my day out taking the train back to the Bull and Last. You’ve heard of the London Underground, but did you know there’s an Overground?

Since the weather cleared, I took the long way back through Hampstead Heath and enjoyed the moody sunset.

Tomorrow, it’s the Eurostar to Paris! Goodnight!

My flight touched down at Heathrow airport early this morning (before 7am).

I didn’t check a bag, so getting through the border and exiting the airport was a breeze.

I decided to take the train to get from the airport to the neighborhood where I’d be staying (how could I not??). I took the Elizabeth line from the airport and transferred to the northern line on the Tube.

I’m staying in London at The Bull and Last a pub and inn right next to Hampstead Heath park in the NW5. A real pub is something I wanted to experience while in London, so why not stay at one! But seriously, I think it’s great how they’ve remodeled this old pub and brought it back as an active inn.

My limited touring around today (lack of sleep on the plane got me–the flight was comfortable, a 5pm departure was just too early for me to fall asleep) involved walking through part of Hampstead Heath. I quickly learned this part of London is very dog friendly (which makes me like it even more). There were tons of dogs in the park, many off leash. Even better, there were lots of dogs in the cafe I visited this morning and in the pub.

Another creature that’s abundant here: snails. Not sure if all of London is like this or it’s just this neighborhood. 🐌

Before dinner, I wanted to try and see a little more, so I headed out toward the Barbican where I hoped to see the conservatory. Unfortunately that was closed but I checked out a gallery and the surrounding area.

Then back to The Bull and Last for dinner, which was good. I ordered a tomato salad and the BBQ cod which I really enjoyed.

Tomorrow is more sightseeing before I take the Eurostar to Paris on Thursday.

Goodnight!

Good morning, or is it goodnight? Either way, that came quickly.

About an hour until departure on my Europe Train Adventure!

I haven’t talked about this much here, but in March I left my job with the intention of taking some extended time off. Travel is one of the things that I want to do during my time off. And my first big trip is coming up this week:

I’ll be traveling from London to Rome via train!

The trip is structured so I’ll have 2 nights in each city along the way, which I hope will give me a chance to have a break and do some sightseeing in-between travel days (plus a buffer if there should be an issue with one of the trains).

Here’s my itinerary:

• London
• Eurostar to Paris
• TGV to Lyon
• SNCF regional to Geneva; Swiss regional to Zermatt
• Glacier Express to St. Moritz
• Bernina Express to Tirano, Italy; Trenord to Milan
• Trenitalia to Rome

Oddly, Google Maps won’t let you enter a multi-stop public transit trip, so I had to enter this as a car journey. It’ll be roughly correct. (You’d think they’d support this for train transit!)

There’s a couple of train highlights for me on this trip. First up is the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, “high-speed train”) from Paris to Lyon.

Somehow as a child, the image of these orange, high speed trains got filed in my brain as very cool and futuristic. Although the Eurostar will be the first high speed train on this journey, I’m most looking forward to this orange beast. As an adult, I’ve been upset and jealous that the US doesn’t have anything of the sort! So, I’m excited to finally be experiencing world-class high speed rail.

The next highlight is the Glacier Express which is a scenic train through the Swiss Alps.

This should be the star of the show. I’m spoiling myself by booking an Excellence Class ticket that includes fine dining and wine at your seat next to giant picture windows. I’ve heard nothing but great things about this particular train and its incredible journey through the Alps. I can’t wait!

The Glacier Express terminates in St. Moritz where I’ll take the Bernina Express to finish my pass through the Alps and transit into Italy via Tirano. Two nights in Milan is followed by Italian high speed rail down to Rome, where I’ll link up with my wife.

There’s a lot of firsts for me in this trip: every country on the itinerary, high speed rail, and an extended solo journey. I’ve traveled solo for work and conferences in the past, but never on vacation. So, this will be a true adventure for me. I’m mostly excited, but also a little anxious.

In Rome, I’ll meet up with my wife, who’s traveling separately after a trip with her sister. From there, we’ll spend the next two weeks together traveling in Italy. In addition to Rome, we have Florence, Tuscany, and Puglia (via Bari) on our Italian itinerary.

If you’d like to follow along with my journey, I plan to post updates as I go right here on this site. If email is your thing, I’ve turned on this site’s newsletter feature (subscribe here) so you can these posts right in your inbox.

The journey begins this week on May 20 when I take the overnight flight from Atlanta to London. Thanks for reading! Next update from London!

A view from Cedar Key, Florida.

The Butterfly Rainforest at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the University of Florida’s campus.

Spotted one of Brood XIX in Macon, Georgia.

My drink is called [The Placeholder].

Spotted a juvenile and adult barred owl tonight! There was a third owl that I think was another juvenile, but wasn’t able to get a photo of that one.

Emulators Will Change the App Store Forever - Wavelengths

The introduction of emulators offers an alternative within this ecosystem, providing games with immersive stories and gameplay systems that are designed for extended play sessions. These games, though designed for other hardware, still offer complete experiences counter to the endless treadmills of most apps found in the Games tab today which funnel users into shops loaded with in-game currencies. As the concept of emulation becomes more prevalent and ubiquitous across all mobile devices, I feel as though it can introduce a much-needed shake-up to the MTX-laden landscape we live in today.

Like many people, I’m excited to see Delta and other video game console emulators come to the App Store. It’s been fun to get Pokémon and other classics running on my phone. These games appeal to me while most mobile games do not. So much so that I ordered my first iPhone controller grip.

However, what’s been a sad thought is that the library of retro games is fixed and finite. There never will be a new Game Boy Advance game to get excited about. True, it’d take time to play through this whole library, even the subset that I now have loaded on my phone. But I think I’d be much more excited by a new game in the style of these classics that I was able to play on my phone, rather than games I’ve played in my past.

I hope the Wavelengths post is right that this does prove out the interest and audience for more immersive and gameplay focused mobile games, in the spirit of these retro classics that many love.