John left me a comment on one of my photos, taken on the Orient Express, and asked me to tell me more about it.  My first reaction was that there isn't a man out there who doesn't love trains, is there! :)  Hardly a single woman has asked me about this phenomenal trip!  In fact, I think only two ever, and they were my best friend and my mother so of course they'd ask.

I just have to say that I have never been fascinated by trains, and in fact, i grew to tune out the constant da da chunk da da chunk from British Rail.  It seemed you could always hear it, no matter where you lived.  Like the planes - I always seemed to live on a damn flight path to Heathrow. planes trains automobiles...couldn't avoid them.

But there can't be a person alive who wouldn't enjoy travelling in tux/gown across the Alps in a glass-ceiling boxcar made of polished wood and tapestry.  There was something incredibly Victorian about arriving at the station in your Travelling Attire.  Everyone was dressed like it was lady's day at Ascot. All the staff are in crisp uniforms and you have a dedicated person to look after you the whole journey.  I was glad to have an excuse to finally buy the awesome silk Jaegar suit I'd been eyeing for a while... (see, that's a girls take on a trip such as this!)

The cars were all made of polished wood and brass and inside, were decadently decorated with tapestries, marquetted woods. The sleeping cars were incredibly tiny though! And they were bunk beds...granted it was all tapestry and you were given plush robes and slippers..they were bunk beds none-the-less. There was only a small wash basin in the room. There was something a bit odd about wearing all those gorgeous tailored clothes...and no shower to freshen up in! Now I know why you changed clothes for every course. 

Before dinner, drinks were served in a glass-topped car, complete with oriental rugs and a pianist. Dinner was black tie. The quality of food presented was amazing and hard to imagine it was all made in a train. If you're a foodie, it wasn't the best food i'd ever had, but we were in a train after all...

The next day, as we continued south, it started to get really sticky - this was August.  One british gentleman put it, 'Well, one thing's for sure, we'll all be taking a shower after this trip" We stayed at the resplendant Cipriani, if you know it..it's on that island you see when standing at the gondola rank at St Marks Square...

So it was kind of surreal, this extremely expensive black tie train ride complete with bunk beds and champagne and no shower.  IT was like a posh camping trip. But at the end of it, there was the serenity of venice.  No trains! no cars! no planes!  It wasn't my first trip (I'd been to Italy 11 or so times by then),  but it was my first trip with my new camera, and i got tons of fantastic photos which have been entered into all sorts of competitions and have won or placed repeatedly.

On the way back home, I sat across from Jude Law on the plane.  I didn't know who he was at first  and couldn't believe how beautiful he was and nearly gave him my card and asked if he'd let me take pictures of him sometime in London. Then I realized who he was and felt a right pratt. I was THAT close to handing him my card, it was literally in hand... D'OH!

So despite travelling with a complete wanker (there isn't a blog big enough for THAT story), it was still a phenomenal 5 adventure.

-L