Barcelona to Paris

This is now a late posting, although I was sure I had posted last night.  Either the WiFi didn’t work or I didn’t hit “Publish” properly.


Our train was due to leave Barcelona at 10:33, but we were at the station early, thankfully, as the queue for the train was huge.  We were on the upper level of the double-decker train, which was great. There were numerous stops from Barcelona to Valence - Girona, Figueres, Perpignan, Narbonne, Béziers, Agde, Sète, Montpellier and Nîmes.  From Valence we were fast to Paris Gare de Lyon.  We travelled through a very pretty area between Perpignan and Narbonne, where there was water on either side of the train.  The countryside in France was very different to Spain - greener and better laid out.  Spain is very dry, not surprising given that southern Spain hasn’t had rain for over 36 months. For some reason (mechanical, I think, as announcements weren’t in English) we came to a complete standstill not far outside of Valence, but eventually started moving again.  The delay meant we were 15 minutes late into Paris.

We then had to find our way to the RER platforms so we could transfer to Gare du Nord, which is where we catch the train to Euskirchen tomorrow.  Our hotel is a 4-minute walk away.  We eventually found the right platform, boarded the right train and got off at Gare du Nord.  Getting out of the station was a bit mad as it was rush hour and the station was packed with people.  We finally made it outside into the sunshine to find police and soldiers wandering around with guns - not a sight we’re used to.  

The thing that has astonished us in both Spain and France is the number of people who smoke, even in the station.  I nearly lost my voice because, being unused to smoke in the air, it hit my lungs and there it stayed until I could have a drink of water - not a pleasant experience.

We found our hotel, checked in and decided to go out for an early meal.  The receptionist recommended an Italian restaurant not far away, which we found easily.  It was very civilised - olives, bread and a savoury spread while we perused the menu, as well as a bottle of water with a large sprig of mint in it.  Our meals arrived with a small bowl of bread and some Parmesan to accompany them.  We were at a window table and were amazed at the constant stream of cyclists and people on scooters using the two-way cycle track on one side of the road.

Sitting on a train all day didn’t give me many opportunities to take photos, but I did manage some along the way, as well as one or two here in Paris.