Phillip Thorne came up with the idea of the podcast whilst drinking hot chocolate here, which is why there are constant references to it in the show.

Tonight I’ll take the opportunity to listen to the last two episodes, and round off the story finally. This hot chocolate break seems like a fitting way to bring the story to life, and to an end.

Simone de Beauvoir, Ernest Hemingway, Jean-Paul Sartre, and a host of other names you’ll have heard of as “literature”, frequented this café. It’s been the backdrop for a number of 1970s and 1980s art films. It’s maintained its old-school tradition of service and quality, and a place to relax and unwind.

You can sit outside and watch Paris go by near the church of Saint-Germain-des-Près, or enjoy a repas inside the “Salon Historique”, which has photos of some of the people it is famed to have hosted working away here, as well as the statues of the two magicians that it is named after.

Sadly, fame has gone a bit to its head, and the prices are high enough that you’re no longer likely to see an artist of modest means stop in here for an afternoon.

But the hot chocolate? It really is that good!

(CW: drink)

The Amelia project podcast has been a companion in my life for the past couple of years. It’s an comedic fiction podcast that explores the life of the core members of the organisation: the Interviewer, his office manager, Alvina, Joey and Salvatore, the muscle men of incredible hidden talents, and Koslowski the surgeon. Oh, and the guest of the week who explains why they want a new life, with some wonderfully imaginative plot lines written by Phillip Thorne and Øystein Ulsberg Brager

There’s 97 episodes, and a whole host of extras available to Patreon subscribers including a 12 deaths of Christmas daily special one year.

You can find out more at https://ameliapodcast.com, or wherever you get your podcasts.

One of the recurring tropes in this podcast is the fact that they like to drink hot chocolate, that they get specially shipped in from Les Deux Magots café in Paris, as it is the best in the world. And it turns out that it actually exists!

Maybe you have a cheating spouse, maybe you are a cheating spouse, maybe you’re in trouble with the police for entirely legitimate reasons, maybe you’re a comedian who just isn’t funny anymore, maybe you’ve set up an online cult and have talked them into firing you from a cannon into a parallel universe…

Whatever your need, if you have the money, and the challenge is interesting enough, then the Amelia Project can help you fake your death, and find another much more peaceful life. They are, after all, the best in the business.

All you need to do is call the number, leave a message, and they’ll get back to you as soon as they can. A new life awaits.

It’s also known for its museums: the Louvre, Orsay, Picasso, Rodin…

But I’m not here for all that.

Today’s adventure starts with a lady called Amelia. Well, really it starts with a man known as Piotr Kozlowski. But before I tell you more, I need to get from Saint-Dénis back to the centre of Paris…

I am here often enough that I have started to recognise landmarks in the station, but not often enough to actually be able to navigate it without getting lost and asking for help a couple of times. It’s big, and very confusing.

Later today there’s a bit of sightseeing I want to do, but for the moment, I’m heading to the nearby town of Saint-Dénis (which is basically part of the Paris Metropolitan area) and dumping my bags at my hotel for the night.

Grace a vos cheveux je ne me perde pas. Ça fais trois fois que je me leve pour aller au bistrot, et comme ça je sais quand j’arrive a ma siège…”

CW: Selfie

I generally don't like the sort of surprises TGV InOui give me. So I think I'll avoid subscribing.

It’s a 2 hour train from Barcelona. If you’re in the are, it’s well worth taking the morning train, having lunch at Narbonne, and then taking the one of the afternoon trains back.

If you come during the right season, there are even flocks of Flamingoes there. Sadly none today.

No photos can do the region justice, but have a few.

And just like that...

La France, Je suis à vous !

This has been a much less frustrating trip than I normally have on this route, because I decided to accept the lack of connectivity and didn't try to do anything that depended on it.

The only downside to this trip so far is that I am sat against the direction of travel, and there's a toddler on the seats next to me that seem to be alternating between being genuinely joyful and loud. We were just joined by another toddler at the last stop, so… let's see how the rest of this trip plays out.