We had three slight problems worth sharing.<BR><BR>First, the TGV from Paris to Avignon took 4.5 hrs each way, rather than the scheduled 2 hrs 40min, due to technical problems and rerouting. This was tedious, but not a crisis, since it was the beginning and middle of our trip. I was grateful, however, we did Provence first and finished our trip in Paris, as I'd have hated trying to catch a Paris flight following a delayed TGV run back from Avignon on the day of our departure. ALSO, SNCF rebates you a portion of your ticket if the train is signinficantly late. Our 90 min delay was worth 30% back on our $100 tix each way. You need to have your ticket stub date stamped at the station before you exit and get the form/envelope for the rebate. These were handed out conspicuously at the Paris station, but we had to ask for them at the Avignon station. <BR><BR>We were nearly mugged in quiet, safe Arles. We were using an ATM in broad daylight in an open square, attached to a bank which had just closed for the evening. Two young men appeared out of thin air. One distracted me while the other tried to 'help'my friend use the ATM. At first we thought they were just being helpful,but the hair on our necks stood up simultaneously when we declined their help and they continued to force it on us. They were clearly trying to get her PIN number.(No woman I know needs to be shown how to use an ATM, I don't care if the directions are in Swahili)I backed up against her, my friend took her card and secured it and we left. They followed us. We paused and reversed direction, figuring they can't discreetly follow us if we are walking toward them. They scattered, we had dinner and calmed our nerves.<BR><BR>Last but not least, I lost my passport. Before you assume I'm an idiot, really, I am the anal retentive traveller, I do my homework. I had it coming through Paris and customs, then didn't need it for several days and thought it was safely in the zippered interior pocket of my purse. The night before our 2pm departure,I looked for it as I reviewed my tickets, etc. NOwhere to be found. Called La Calendal and AutoEurope, no sign of it. Called the American Embassy at 6pm Mon night. Gave them my passport info off the xerox copy I had made of all my papers (passport, credit/atm cards, SSN, drivers license, etc.)Reported to the Embassy at 9am the next morning and had a new passport by 10:30, plenty of time to catch our 2pm flight. I honestly don't know if it was stolen or lost. God forbid international terrorists decide to go for the Miss Texas hair/frosted lipstick look of the late 80s, my passport will be a hot commodity. On the plus side, I now have a passport that says 'Issued by US Embassy, Paris, France' - how cool is that? Almost worth the gutwrenching anxiety. I will never travel without that xeroxed copy though, it made such a difference.<BR><BR>Last note: we both did tapes and an intense French class before we left, but our French was less than meager. Enought to say 'how much does that cost', 'what animal does this meat come from?' and 'forgive me for what I'm doing to your language.'We found people to be very gracious and accomodating in both rural and urban areas. We also discovered I have no talent for pantomime. Thank you all for your good advice.<BR>

Laura<BR>I don't think I can say I "enjoyed" reading about your misadventures, but looking forward to more trip highlights! (Paris passport though is COOL!)<BR>We're staying at le calendal in early June and looking forward to it. Any hints, restaurants nearby etc? Anything you'd like to share of the area is always appreciated.<BR>Also,did you learn whether the TGV delays you endured were typical or common? We plan on leaving Arles on a 7:00 am train to Paris and connect with an afternoon train to Bayeux in Normandy. Hopefully the rail gods will be smiling that day. Looking forward to hearing more "good" things about your trip.

Re: restaurants in Arles, the hotel recommended Brin de Thyme and it was wonderful -there are little cards with a map at the hotel desk. Re: the train, there was no warning about the delays, in fact we weren't told until we were underway for about an hour. An announcement was made, and the Franch passengers around us were as surprised/dismayed as we were. AS poor as our French was, we were at the mercy of the gracious people around us to explain and most couldn't get past "electrical problem". Pad your schedule a lot - what's the worst that could happen, you end up with a couple hours to kill in a cafe?

PS, there is an earlier post by the same name that described the brighter moments of our trip - I'd hate to have you think I'd only post the mishaps!

I, too, am sorry to hear you had misadventures, but not sorry to hear about them, if you know what I mean. Thank you so much, as it will help us to think ahead about what we would do in the same situation.<BR><BR>Big Texas hair, frosted lipstick? Damn, and I was just going to try for that look.... : - )

Laura, <BR>Your experience reminded me of my girls trip in Oct. 2000. We also TGV'd from CDG to Avignon (then to return to Paris for the last leg later), renting from AutoEurope there next to the station. In our haste to load our luggage in the van, one friend's backpack w/meds, air tkts, jewelry, trip itinerary and cosmetics - was very artfully swiped from the sidewalk. Next day was spent at the poice station in Avignon making a report. It's interesting, I consider myself very aware and organized and "smart" too. Without sounding like a party-pooper, you really do need to be careful when in a group of (dare I say...) women or families with little ones squirming about. Also, my friend had quite a hard time with Air France/Delta to have her ticket replaced on our return home...It's a great rule to make copies of all your important stuff (we all did just that as well) - only don't stick it in the bag that gets stolen!!ha. <BR>It was still a fabulous trip, after all!

How do they always know which bag to take? Why don't they ever grab the duffle full of dirty skivvies?? I'm going to buy a nice Vuitton bag, load it with vile laundry, and take my revenge....