As good as a rest ... perhaps more interesting?

[whole diary]

[TonyK]

Oui, c'est couchettes. Mais sais bien.  Le bistro est ferme, mais ill y a un petit [little shopper] dans la gare.

We all know that Graham is famous for his typos in English...have I spotted a French one in the shape of le homme de oncle in the shape of M Kuryakin in his last post ??!

It makes perfect sense to me. I know well that the café is a farm, but not very well.

[stuving]

Had you noticed, Graham, that you are part of a new demographic trend? From inews:

Fuelled by retirement and a desire for adventure, people over 50 are discovering interrailing
A flash sale earlier this year has seen interest in interrailing increase, with more retirees turning to a European adventure on the rails
...
Interrailing is no longer the preserve of the student backpacker (although a DiscoverEU initiative is currently inviting applications from 18 year-olds for free 30-day passes). In 2010, senior price structuring was introduced, offering a 10 per cent discount for those over 60 years old, fuelling the appetite of “silver railers.” Retirement, flexibility and an appetite for adventure, especially after the pandemic, has seen older people embrace the Interrail pass. A Facebook group, Interrailing for the Older Crowd, has more than 5,000 members. The sustainability and ease of rail travel, without the queues and security restrictions of flights, are also a big draw...

[grahame]

Had you noticed, Graham, that you are part of a new demographic trend? From inews:

has seen older people embrace the Interrail pass. ...

Not exactly embracing it, but here I am kissing my pass.

[grahame]

Report from today to follow ... here's a taster:

"Ruddy Toursists" ...

[grahame]

Yesterday, the High Speed train from Porto to Faro which turned out to be not so high speed - arrived 40 minutes late into Faro.  The reservation agent in Porto had been concerned that I was passing through Lisbon without even getting off, but I have visited Lisbon and had a couple of days there before.  So on to the Algarve and end of the main line.  Now starting back - ready for a meeting in Taunton on Friday, and a covid booster on Saturday and perhaps Majesty in the evening. 

Crossborder rail travel from Portugal to Spain is thin - so thin it's almost none-existant.  There are 2 trains a day from Vigo to Porto up in the north (it wasnone of those I took when arriving on Sunday morning) and there is 1 a day via Badajdoz - with a change of trains near the frontier and a footnote in the timetable saying "connection not guaranteed". So I have opted for this let to take the express coach to Seville - currently on that. It's a 3 hour 15 minute ride.

Lisa asked if this tempted me to try for "Race across the World".  I don't know - I enjoy the travel but would be lost without the electronics and I would need a robust mad person to come with me.  Long days of coach travel (as happened in the second series) do not attract me in the slightest and I'm going for one step more comfort and overnight stops too which I would not have if racing.  I think the opportunity for the show passed - there was a moment that the pieces looked like they came together, but they've split away now.  However, that is not to stop me making the odd long journey like Faro to Melksham.

Pictured - start and end of journey yesterday, and start this morning

[GBM]

If that's your duffel bag/back pack in the first picture, I admire your flagon of cider for refreshment beside it!

[Bmblbzzz]

If that's your duffel bag/back pack in the first picture, I admire your flagon of cider for refreshment beside it!

Cider? Don't you know Grahame is acting as Broadgage's agent, bringing back samples of the best port?

[TonyK]

If that's your duffel bag/back pack in the first picture, I admire your flagon of cider for refreshment beside it!

Cider? Don't you know Grahame is acting as Broadgage's agent, bringing back samples of the best port?

In that case, he needs to move up the coast a bit. Lisbon Oriente station is worth a visit just to look at, and the train ride to Porto is a lovely ride. Lots of storks nesting in electricity pylons, as well as forest.

[grahame]

If that's your duffel bag/back pack in the first picture, I admire your flagon of cider for refreshment beside it!

Cider? Don't you know Grahame is acting as Broadgage's agent, bringing back samples of the best port?

Not my luggage, I'm afraid!

[Timmer]

We did the Alpha Pendular from Porto to Faro, stopping at Lisbon for a few days though, and it absolutely flies from Porto to Lisbon and for the first part of the Lisbon to Faro leg. After that it’s a very slow crawl down to the Algarve as the track is very bendy.

[grahame]

I arrived in Barcelona at 20:20 last night - on time from Seville on a long distance train.  Planning to get the Paris express today, I grabbed a ticket for the reservation queue and some 20 minutes later my number came up - to be told by the clerk that he was now only doing same-day reservations because it was after 20:20; we re-open at 05:30. 

Oh well ... I was booked into 'Hostal Sants' just a short walk from station and although the room was basic, the area was lively and I chose an open fronted cafe just across the road, and enjoyed pajella, cheesecake and beer.  I was, approached, briefly, by a young lady and I'm still trying to work out whether she was looking for food or company, or offering to sell me some wares or her services.  It came across rather as the latter, though as she had a baby in a pushchair that latter seems improbable, or a poor advert for a previous liaison that had gone wrong.

Back to the station soon after that abonimable opening time and only a short queue (and only a few windows open).  The gentleman behind the screen tapped on this computer, made a shrugging gesture and told me that the Paris train at 09:10 was fully booked ...

So here I am on a train headed vaguely in the right direction, but not to Paris.  It is a long distance express so I'm getting somewhere - in France now.  It has a number of features you find occasionally on a train in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom), such as:
* a ticket inspector who needed me to explain to her why my ticket was valid on this train
* a trolley service of hot drinks that inexplicably ceased serving in the middle of the coach I'm seated in and headed back wence it came
* an on time departure, but then an unxpliacable stop in the middle of no-where and we're now (hum, ha, I dont know how many minutes) running late.
* A coach in the middle of the train where there was a counter where they served me a coffee - an excellent idea as it let me stretch my legs on the long journey, and get a drink when I wanted one not when the trolley came around. Mind you, it does take up significant space that could alternatively be used for space for bicycles.

Pictures ... this was food served in the restaurant not on the train ... my quick bite before an early night in anticipation of an EARLY morning.

[stuving]

Presumably you were in the hot African air in Seville, and have been travelling with the cooler air (and rain) that's replacing it. Or have you caught up with that hot air mass in France? It was centred on Biarritz, and cooler on the Mediterranean side, so which way (and if) you turned at Perpignan would make a difference.

[TonyK]

Oh well ... I was booked into 'Hostal Sants' just a short walk from station and although the room was basic, the area was lively and I chose an open fronted cafe just across the road, and enjoyed pajella, cheesecake and beer. 

That cheesecake looks absolutely gorgeous, and I am now thinking of heading for Barcelona. I have been known to enjoy beer on occasion, too. Your holiday sounds excellent.

 I also love paella. In fact, here's one I made earlier:

[grahame]

Presumably you were in the hot African air in Seville, and have been travelling with the cooler air (and rain) that's replacing it. Or have you caught up with that hot air mass in France? It was centred on Biarritz, and cooler on the Mediterranean side, so which way (and if) you turned at Perpignan would make a difference.

It was baking in Faro, pleasant in Barcelona and foggy this morning on the way up to Perpignan and beyond.  Now on my third train (and one nearly-train) today ... will post when I get to my digs.

[grahame]

When I left France (Cherbourg) on the Salamanca at 11:00 (local time) our PM was Liz Truss.

When I got into phone range of Portsmouth, two texts popped up from Lisa.  The first said "dreaming" and the second said "Truss has gone".

Only when the video of a dog clearly having a dream came in did I realise that the two messages were NOT linked!