Transforming (Actual) Railroads

Is there any form of transport more civilized than rail? You might not think it, to travel by train in Canada, where our ambitious, continent-spanning rail empire has shriveled down to a smattering of grungy, truck-stop stations linked by shabby trains with erratic, unhelpful timetables. Here in Europe, it takes only a small taste to…

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Transforming Daytripping

One of the reasons we chose Lille as our sabbatical home is its position as carrefour – a crossroads, or jumping-off point to northern Europe. Lille is in the northernmost part of France, and thanks to Europe’s excellent high-speed train network, it’s within 2 hours’ travel of Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Cologne and Frankfurt, and…

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Transforming Inspiration

The Itinerary: 7h00: Up and about, breakfast and teeth, check my checklist for a daytrip to the Big City! 8h15: Walk X to school. His mom just got him a scooter, so he’ll be fully occupied with keeping his balance on the cobblestones. Tell him S will pick him up. 8h30: My train leaves at…

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