Eurostar, Paris and TGV

January's journey was by one of our favourite means of transport - though rarely used because of the expense. This time however, special deals were found - including a €1 upgrade to first class on the TGV.
A very early start saw us on the 7.01 Eurostar at St Pancras International - getting into France just as dawn broke, and into Paris on time at 10.17. Our friend Céline met us at the Gare du Nord, and we were able to leave our luggage at her flat while we spent the day in Paris - lunching in a Vietnamese restaurant, and walking in the Jardin des Plantes and the Jardin de Luxembourg before going to Gare de Lyon for our TGV leaving at 18.07 for Perpignan.

Having lunched quite well, we didn't bother to get anything else to eat, thinking that we would snack in the TGV buffet... but just as the train pulled out of the station, there was a depressing announcement: because of staff shortages, there would be no buffet service on the train. Facing a journey of over 5 hours this announcement was not well received! I did wander up to the bar after about an hour, just to ensure I hadn't misheard, to find that the only sustenance available was 3 bottles of plain water, and a few plastic cups. What joy! Fortunately Mike had a packet of peanuts in his backpack, and I had packed some chocolates we'd been given at Christmas, so we didn't go completely hungry.
We were expecting to be met at 23.30 at Perpignan station by Jo, but she wasn't there... when all the other passengers had been collected or left in taxis, and we remained as lost souls in the cold evening air, I telephoned her - and woke her up! For the first time in all our years of living in St Jean Lasseille, she had totally forgotten that she'd agreed to pick us up. There was no other transport available to us, and she quickly got herself dressed and came to the station - the fastest she had ever driven that route, she said - arriving not too long after midnight, full of apology. She really is a star of a neighbour, so we could hardly complain! She had remembered, the previous day, to turn on our heating and hot water so we eventually got home to a nice, warm house.

Transport: bus, Eurostar, more buses, TGV, car
Door-to-door: 19 hours
Cost: £129.58