The train, it's safer...Well, because there's no place to hide on a plane if anyone should recognize me...oh, you want me to jump off a moving plane?

My urge to romanticize travel is once again taking hold and a trip to New York in February has turned into a mini-version of one of the “Grand Tours” so popular with gentlemen of the 18th Century. Though I know it would be faster and cheaper to fly I will, once again, be spending the 18 hours or so (each way) necessary to do the trip by train.

And why? Well, apart from my fear of flying and the fact that the current state of airport security makes me feel paranoid rather than secure, the train is rather a nice way to make the trip. A cabin for two with chairs that turn into bunk beds…”provisions” for the journey (bottle of wine or portable bar, snacks, backgammon set, and a good book)…and the constantly changing view from the window. It’s like an extension of the vacation rather than just a way of getting from A to B.

Okay, it’s a long way from the stylish train travel in North by Northwest or one of the Thin Man movies but it does have a certain charm. Plus, as an added bonus, I don’t have to check any purchases that I make in New York…they can stay safe and sound in the cabin with me on the return journey…try that on an aeroplane.