From Rome to France

We had a pleasant train trip today.  Leaving the apartment we'd been renting, we got onto the subway, rode it to the train station and boarded the Eurostar train headed north.  When we got to Milan we transferred to another Eurostar train headed west across the Alps into France.  We were fortunate enough to be able to go first class.  It's required with the rail pass we bought and it made for pleasant travel.

The country coming out of Milan was flat, with lots of cornfields, but after awhile we started seeing steep foothills, the first indicator that something lay ahead.  Then we climbed up a narrow valley, passing through many tunnels.  One of them was seven miles long!  The Alps are more like the Rockes than the Cascades; a solid wall of steep hillsides headed ever higher until you look way up and see something that's above the timberline.  There was very little snow, but the Alps are the real deal.  Using a map I was able to recognize one knife edge peak that's over 12 thousand feet high (about the same as Mt. Adams).  It's no accident that two Winter Olympics have been held in this region: Grenoble in 1968 and Albertville more recently.
After an eight hour trip we arrived in Chambery, France, where our niece, Rachel, her husband, Brandon and their 15-month old twins Anika and Alexa now live.  They are studying French in preparation for missionary service in Cameroon, an African country where French is the trade language.  They've only been here for two weeks (!) so we're the first family they've seen since they got here.  They live in a spacious 6th-floor apartment (no elevator) that includes a guest room where we will sleep.  We're really glad to have a chance to see what these dear folks are doing.  They plan to be here for 12-14 months, or until their French is good enough to see them through the work they'll be doing in Africa (Brandon will be a jungle pilot).  I've always thought that missionaries lead the most adventurous lives of anybody; Brandon and Rachel are living proof of the statement.
It was interesting going over the border between the two countries.  In Italy, the buildings all have red tile roofs and are painted in warm colors (yellow, sienna, gold, etc.).  France is a little different.  The houses and roofs tend to be darker, or else made of stone.  That small visual difference gives you the impression that France might be a more "serious" country than Italy, although obviously that's a gross generalization.  In fact, Brandon and Rachel have been warmly received here, thus disproving the caricature that the French are rude and snooty.  We look forward to getting out and meeting people ourselves, starting tomorrow.
It rained a bit tonight; only the second time we've seen rain since we left Portland.