1<!DOCTYPE html> 2<html lang="en"> 3 4<head> 5 <meta charset="utf-8"> 6 <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> 7 <title>About this site</title> 8 <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://www.siegeavecvue.eu/assets/built/screen.css?v=tKllZcxuOiHRvQRr"> 9 10 <meta name="description" content="A Peruvian finger puppet and its travel-obsessed handler crash Europeâs rails in a series of wine-fuelled choo-choo adventures. All aboard!"> 11 <link rel="icon" href="https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/04/c704112a-8b16-4bbb-8654-c0ffe54bdd40/content/images/size/w256h256/format/jpeg/2025/09/img_20200308_150903-1-150x150.jpg" type="image/jpeg"> 12 <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.siegeavecvue.eu/about/"> 13 <meta name="referrer" content="no-referrer-when-downgrade"> 14 15 <meta property="og:site_name" content="Siège Avec Vue"> 16 <meta property="og:type" content="website"> 17 <meta property="og:title" content="About this site"> 18 <meta property="og:description" content="Around Europe by train with a Peruvian finger puppet."> 19 <meta property="og:url" content="https://www.siegeavecvue.eu/about/"> 20 <meta property="og:image" content="https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/04/c704112a-8b16-4bbb-8654-c0ffe54bdd40/content/images/size/w1200/2025/03/IMG_20190827_173117-1.jpg"> 21 <meta property="article:published_time" content="2025-03-19T14:31:21.000Z"> 22 <meta property="article:modified_time" content="2026-02-10T19:40:47.000Z"> 23 <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"> 24 <meta name="twitter:title" content="About this site"> 25 <meta name="twitter:description" content="Around Europe by train with a Peruvian finger puppet."> 26 <meta name="twitter:url" content="https://www.siegeavecvue.eu/about/"> 27 <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/04/c704112a-8b16-4bbb-8654-c0ffe54bdd40/content/images/size/w1200/2025/03/IMG_20190827_173117-1.jpg"> 28 <meta name="twitter:label1" content="Written by"> 29 <meta name="twitter:data1" content="James"> 30 <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200"> 31 <meta property="og:image:height" content="900"> 32 33
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218y train could be enjoyable. For years, I commuted back and forth to Paris from the provinces â dreamily gazing into the alluring Renfe Trenhotel on an opposite platform in Limoges Bénédictins every Thursday night as I changed onto the last train home â but it was always something of a routine experience. Occasionally, I'd escape from Paris for the occasional long weekend on a Eurostar or a Thalys, and I used to dream of taking the City Night Line to Berlin but somehow never got round to doing it. </p><p>Fast forward to 2019 when, after a few years of drudgery, I finally made <a href="https://www.siegeavecvue.eu/day-one-strasbourg-and-beyond/" rel="noreferrer">my first ever Interrail journey</a> â why did it take me so long? It confirmed what everyone else suspected: that I am something of a late bloomer in the âoooh, trainâ category of travel, and that one day, I <em>will</em> own a clipboard. </p><p>This blog started during that trip as a way to avoid the hassle of having to find, write, and send postcards to my mother while Companion and I were dragging roller-bags around Europe. This freed up time for shopping for essential supplies (wine) for on-board picnics as we ventured further east.</p><p>Since then, I've kept it going, mostly for my own amusement, as a way of remembering trips as I have a dreadful memory for such things. But it turns out that other people like it too and if you're one of them, welcome aboard! The more, the merrier.</p><div class="kg-card kg-callout-card kg-callout-card-blue"><div class="kg-callout-emoji">ð¡</div><div class="kg-callout-text">If you enjoy it, <a href="https://siegeavecvue.ghost.io/?ref=siegeavecvue.eu#/portal/signup" rel="noreferrer">please subscribe</a> to contribute to my ego, or <a href="https://www.siegeavecvue.eu/support/" rel="noreferrer">make a one-off donation</a> to contribute to web hosting/buy me a drink on my next adventure. You can also <a href="https://buymeacoffee.com/siegeavecvue?ref=siegeavecvue.eu" rel="noreferrer">buy me a coffee.</a></div></div><h3 id="you-appear-to-have-brought-a-puppet">You appear to have brought a puppet</h3><p>Puppets have been a part of storytelling and performance since ancient Greece in the 5th century BC. </p><p>They entertain audiences and help bridge cultural gaps and, let's be honest, make everything more fun. Peruvian finger puppets, in particular, have a rich history rooted in traditional craftsmanship, and are typically hand-knitted or handwoven by skilled artisans (often women) in the highlands of Peru. </p><p>This particular puppet stowed away in my luggage after a work trip to Lima in 2010. After years of languishing in pencil cases or tagging along to the office, Companion and I decided it/he/they (we have no way of knowing its pronouns but its adjectives are <em>small,</em> <em>angry </em>and <em>ruthless</em>) should join us on our Interrail adventure because itâs funnier than a selfie and far more photogenic. </p><p>It/he/they has been ruining perfectly good travel pictures ever since.</p><div class="kg-card kg-callout-card kg-callout-card-blue"><div class="kg-callout-emoji">ð¡</div><div class="kg-callout-text">This web site and its content is licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/?ref=chooser-v1" target="_blank" rel="license noopener noreferrer">CC BY-NC-SA 4.0</a>. 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