Paris to Venice--Varying degrees

Ive never been more uncomfortable in my life. After saying my goodbyes (for the week at least) to Morgane and Zoe I boarded the train for Venice. My compartment was booked to capacity, with nary an English speaker amongst them, which made me nervous. Then the last passenger in our compartment arrived wanting someone to switch with his friend so they could sit together. I figured what the hell, how could it get worse than the mixed cast I had? No freaking A/C is exactly how. Holy crap. Ive never been one to tolerate heat when stationary for five minutes much less a 12hr train ride. Why not switch back? I'm in a virtually empty cabin--Virtually sans Allocene?--a very large woman from the Ivory Coast prone to muttering under her breath and constantly rearranging her sacks of food containing god knows what. I think there is another passenger in our cabin too--British with adequate French, named Richard. He has rightly avoiding the cabin like the plague.
So far the passing scenery has been placid and idyllic. We've been following a river the majority of the way, name unknown. Ill have to find a decent map. I'm embarrassed by my lack of knowledge in regards to Europe's natural geography. My French history has been found above par--somehow besting my Parisian guides and stumping them often with my questions (of which I ask a lot, and are "weird" at that). We've been reassured twice that the AC was working now--I can hear it churning and though it seems to be getting cooler (or I am acclimating) its a slow process.
I wish I was more impressed with the scenery--there is nothing striking and Im kept wondering at every river and field what significance each particular plot had in WWII.
Allocene has raised her couchette. Shes been lying there for 15 minutes staring up into the corner of the cabin, lost in thought. She doesn't speak English and her accented French leaves me blank. So I'm left to ponder her story. Where is she going, what has she seen, what has she been adding with her calculator, and what the hell does she have in the dozen rucksacks?