Travelling

Introductory Chapter- Inside the train

On a bright sunny day of April, in the South of France, Elisa De Rooms slowly drifted to sleep. She was granted the power to move to wherever she liked, a power only dreamers possess. She passed through the train's wall and approached the captivating lavender fields near the train tracks.

The sun had risen and the tiny hummingbirds had left their nest to sing once again a soothing tune. She sat on a large trunk that had fallen during the winter and started singing with them. She was running around the fields like a little girl. She stopped, cut a few lavender flowers and placed them in her pouch.

She was abruptly awakened from this beautiful dream. She couldn't help but notice the strong smell from the cologne of someone passing near the hallway. Elisa sneezed discretely into her handkerchief a few times. She had never liked cologne and it brought back unpleasant memories. 

She had hardly noticed the extreme speed at which the train was travelling. She would arrive in Provence in about 5 hours. She was excited to visit the South of France and see her long-lost friend Natalia. Natalia had left Belgium to pursue a successful career as a perfume creator and, as Elisa had heard, was doing quite well. 

Elisa took out her sketchbook, a souvenir of all the iconic places she had been to. She concentrated on creating as perfect a representation of these fields as possible. She was very absorbed in her drawing and she hardly noticed the tunnels the train went through or the stations it stopped in. When she finished, it was nearly 12 o'clock. She had spent 3 hours working, but it was worth it. She found it a work of art, one of her finest pieces.

She was hungry and it was almost lunchtime. She went to the wagon-restaurant to have her lunch. The tasteful creations of the chefs of the train had left her impressed. Foods from all over the world. On the menu, there were pizzas with many different ingredients, spaghetti and lasagna. There was her favourite food, Moules avec frites as well as pieces of sushi that seemed very fresh. There was fois gras freshly made only some hours ago and bouillabesse soup. 

She hesitated. Before her lay before her countless choices for her lunch. An old French lady sat opposite her. Madame Dubois introduced herself and asked Elisa to where she was heading and what she would do there. She also gave her a useful piece of advice:

"Whenever you hesitate, try the local cuisine. This will teach you what you're going into. For example, in the far north of the country, most food is filled with fat and butter. It is cold so people have to eat a lot of fat they take from butter or margarine so they eat less fish and vegetables. If you don't like the cuisine, you're not going to like the place. It is a traditional food for a reason".

Elise found this very useful advice and thanked her. Elisa hoped to see more of the woman in the upcoming days.

"Have you ever been to Provence, madame? What is it like?" she asked, curious about the place she was going to.

"Well, I know it has a very beautiful coastline. It also hosts the Cannes Film Festival, one of the most famous in the world." 

"That's interesting.  So you have been to Provence before?" 

The waiter came up to them. Now was the moment where she would discover the taste of the French South. She decided to try some traditional French foods. She asked for a bouillabaisse, a ratatouille along with some meat and a soufflé chocolat for dessert. It seemed like a lot to her but it was so tasteful that she herself didn't even realise when she ate it all. When the dessert was brought before her, she realised she was not hungry anymore. 

She was going to love the Riviera. She asked for a tourist guide to attractions in Nice and Cannes to be brought to her cabin as soon as possible. She went back to her cabin. Inside her bag was a beautiful notebook where she wrote all her thoughts and things that happened to her, her diary. She had the most wonderful impressions from her stay in the train the past few days. She took out a pen and, after reassuring herself that nobody was watching her and that her thoughts would be revealed to nobody, she started writing.