Nostalgia
on Wheels:
Venice Simplon Orient-Express
by
Louis Charles
If
this elegant train had been designed as the set for
a movie, there’s no question as to who would have
written the script. The Venice Simplon Orient-Express
(VSOE) is pure Merchant-Ivory, devoted to authenticity
and steeped in the refined world of the aristocracy.
No blue jeans, no tennis shoes, no mobile phones in
public spaces… in other words, no unseemly intrusions
from the modern world.
Among
the train’s collection of Continental European
routes is a run between Paris
and Venice.
This overnight experience incorporates dinner; breakfast
served in your compartment against the bucolic backdrop
of Switzerland;
lunch taken in the Italian
Dolomites; and late afternoon tea sipped as you cross
the Venetian Lagoon. Enveloped in the slower pace of
a bygone era, we took our morning meal in a dining car
adorned with elaborate mahogany inlays and Lalique light
fixtures, while outside cows grazed serenely in alpine
meadows and cute, clean villages passed by. Later in
the day, the landscape evolved into endless sweeps of
vineyards.
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Ready
for Take-Off |
Quaint
Vistas |
The original Orient-Express made its first trip in 1883
from Paris to Romania, and the Simplon-Orient-Express
route was established in 1919. The train was like an
intimate, itinerant manor house for blue-blooded travelers,
but by the mid-20th century, the upper crust was in
decline and the luxury rail lines of Europe were reaching
the end of their glory days. This bastion of the golden
age of travel might have faded away entirely were it
not for Orient-Express Hotels chairman, James B. Sherwood,
who purchased two old Pullman cars at a Sotheby auction
in 1977. Total restoration of these and other historic
cars resulted in the revival of the VSOE in 1982.
Because
the VSOE contains cars from Europe’s most prominent
lines, it is difficult to separate it from the history
of train travel on the continent. The train is comprised
of up to seventeen carriages, all of which date back
to the early 1900s and still feature their original
old coal heaters. In keeping with tradition, each has
its own identifying number; Bar Car 3674 was built as
a dining car in France in 1931, and Dining Car 4141
was constructed as a first-class Pullman and decorated
by René Lalique in 1929. Sleeping accommodations
are equally character-filled, from 3425, which was part
of the Orient-Express service used by King Carol of
Romania for his love affairs, to 3544, which served
as a brothel during WWII.
While
not crafted for the movies, the VSOE has seduced its
fair share of movie makers, offering berth for characters
as varied as Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot
and Disney’s Cruella DeVil. The reason for this
is simple. When seeking a glimpse of Europe’s
cultured past—whether you’re a director
or sybaritic globetrotter—you will not find a
more genuine experience.
The
VSOE books up early, so it’s best to plan a season
ahead. Rates for the Paris-Venice journey begin at $2,000,
one way. Rates for other VSOE journeys range between
$595 and $5,780. To reserve, go to www.orient-express.com.
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