What a whirlwind of a day. Insane. So today was the day that Chelsea and I were leaving for Switzerland! We had talked with Isa, a girl I met through Paula this summer, and she was super nice and said we could stay with her and she would show us Lausanne, her town! So of course we agreed and said we would come for a weekend :)
So skip to today, Thursday, and our train is leaving Caen at 11:58am. I got out of class at 10:30 and we left campus by 11:00. Just enough time to run to the bank to switch out and get some swiss francs! However, the man at the counter after wandering around for 5 minutes, let us know they only had a few large bills, so we exchanged just a little bit, then had to rush out to catch the tram to take us to the train. Speed walk to the tram station. It is approximately 11:35? All of a sudden an announcement comes on from the tram station, due to technical difficulties, the tram is down and they suggest we take a bus to our destination. Well, Chelsea and I have pretty much never used the bus system and didn't even know where the nearest stop was in the direction we needed to go, OR which bus to even take! We run to the nearest map. Ok, we know the lines that take us there. We run to the nearest one we see, ask someone, realize we need to go to another station a block away.
By now, i'm looking at my watch, and we have 13 minutes before our TRAIN leaves for Paris. Thankfully the bus pulled up in a minute. We piled on, and all there was to do now was wait. This WOULD be the time that every single stop someone needed to get off, and there was bad traffic because of construction, and the trams not working, so we were sitting still a lot of the bus time. Ack. I knew there was nothing I could do at this moment. Chelsea and I were both silently praying. Our train was leaving in 5 minutes and we were not even at the station yet. And the trains Caen to Paris are at the station for like 2 minutes or less before departing. I said "God, if we make this train it is all you, because there is NO way that we can make it in time. Please supernaturally poof this bus there, or stall the train to Paris. If you want me to get there, I trust you will some how make it possible." And with that. I was calm. It was out of my hands, if I was supposed to be on tha train I would be.
The bus pulls around the corner and I see the train station. Then we get stopped. Again. We were SO CLOSE, yet so far away! We just waited, until the bus moved forward and opened its doors for us. At which point Chelsea and I waited for the old lady in front of us to get off, then got off, and sprinted past her and everyone else. I just took off in a run, knowing that CHelsea would be right behind me. I turn, see her running awkwardly in order to keep her boots on haha, and we ran up to this little machine we had to scan our tickets into. I ran off before it was finished and my ticket caught in the machine! I jolted backwards and grabbed the ticket then ran to catch up with Chelsea who had sprinted down the stairs. We ran through a tunnel and then up the stairs to the platform where our train was. Laughing the whole way, we pop out of the stairs to see everyone waiting, and now watching us, as the train was delayed! Praise Jesus! We just stopped on the stairs and burst out laughing more, to the amusement of the crowd i'm sure. We regained our composure, some, and went to sit down and catch our breath, slash get away from the stares. And for the next few minutes just talked about how we could not believe we were going to make this train. Holy cow. The train came, we got on, and we got to Paris! It does not seem as dramatic typing it out, but it was the most insane thing ever. There was no way we should have made our train, Jesus so delayed that train for us.
So we get to Paris and had around an hour and a half to burn before needing to be at our second train station, a few metro stops away. So we went and grabbed a sandwich, then popped into starbucks for a bit so chelsea could work on some homework..and so I could get a coffee. :)
Then we got to the next train station and hopped on our train going to Lausanne! At this point I was finally 100% relieved. We were going to make it to Lausanne in one piece. So I bunkered down, put in my heaphones and dozed for a while. I had been texting Isa some, and she was meeting us at the train station!
We get there, wander around for like 4 minutes, then run across her sitting, waiting for us. Perfect! She told us her mom was waiting with a car to take us to their home. HOW nice! I did not know they were going to go to such lengths to help us out! So we drove around 15 minutes to a suburb village town of Lausanne where her family lives. They have an entire mini studio room seperate from the main house that they are letting us stay in!
There is a bed/palatte, bathroom, covers, towels, a shower, all things I never take for granted now, and they were providing them for us so willingly! Wow. We were both in a daze of happiness as Isa showed us around there beautiful Swiss home. After, they had some food they had saved from dinner for us! Homemade pumpkin soup, some bread, and this homemade pastry dessert (which we asked and got the recipe for hehe). After we talked in their living room for a bit. Her family is wonderful and so nice. We got to meet her parents, her brother and her sister! Isa is wonderful. And now it is sleep time because we get to explore Lausanne tomorrow.
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