Many years ago, a friend of mine from Honolulu—a tall, strikingly handsome Hawaiian man in his 50s—was vacationing in London. At my urging, Abe had booked a first class compartment on arguably the world’s most famous luxury train, the Simplon Orient Express, which would take him from London overnight to Venice. At breakfast in his…
I have written about this before in previous posts, but sharing meals with fellow travelers in an Amtrak dining car is one of the more enjoyable experiences that comes with any cross-country train ride. Here are just a few of the conversational experiences I’ve had with people who, by the luck of the draw, have…
I have always found that one of the most interesting and enjoyable aspects of a long-distance train ride is meeting fellow passengers over meals in the dining car. For those who have never experienced it, Amtrak seats dining car patrons together, four people per table. It is often—and I mean this—the best part of any…
How does the song go? East is East and West is West and the wrong one I have chose . . . If you’re planning an overnight train ride and you’re ready to pay extra for a sleeping car, may I suggest that you stick to trains running west of the Mississippi River. Significant improvements…