Republique Remembers Charlie
One of the reasons I went to Paris was to go to the Place de la Republique to pay my respects after the Charlie Hebdo shooting.
Like my father, I am a great believer in free speech and agree totally with Voltaire.
I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.
Unfortunately criticism is now seen in many countries and organisations as severe disloyalty and could even suffer the ultimate punishment,
Up And Down To Sacre Coeur
I always go up to Sacre Coeur when I go to Paris.
I was lazy and went up and down on the funicular, which is covered by a standard one day pass on Paris Metro, RER and buses.
If I ever was to meet a French lady on a date in Paris, I would meet her here. The reasons are that the place is special to me, as I said in this post
An Awayday In Paris
I decided at the weekend, that after the terrible events in Paris and a day in London with a bus strike, that it would be an ideal day to take Eurostar to the French capital.
I caught the first train out at 05:40 and it was a mistake in one way. I couldn’t buy a paper to take with me on the journey. At least the taxi got me there in time and on the train, I got a double seat in Standard Class, which meant that I had plenty of space to spread out and it didn’t matter, if I made any mess with my sandwiches.
In the morning, I immediately went up the funicular to Sacre Coeur as I always do to and then I rode the Metro in the sun before exploring around Stalingrad.
I then went to the Place de la Republic to see the Charlie Hebdo tributes.
I then attempted to find an hour long river cruise, but no boat appeared to be running because of flooding of the Seine in the last few days.
So I walked to the Musee d’Orsay, which is one of the few attractions to open on a Tuesday.
Then it all stared to go pear-shaped with lots of heavy rain.
I also had trouble finding any of my favourite restaurants that was open, so ate a good steak and chips in a cafe by the Gare du Nord before catching the 21:13 back to London.
Je Suis Charlie
There is nothing else to say!
From Madrid To London
As the hotel at Chamartin didn’t have a restaurant and there wasn’t any tea or coffee making facilities in the room, I went for an explore at about four and found the station opened at 04:30.
So as I didn’t have any soap or shampoo with me and my luxurious four-star hotel didn’t provide any, I went back to the station as soon as it opened, after a breakfast of an EatNakd bar.
As I was hungry, in the most strange of hotels, I decided that the best thing to do, was take a train to Barcelona, then a TGV to Paris, followed by a Eurostar home.
At least the train companies seem to have systems that men you can get a keenly priced ticket from a machine without an ego or communication problem.
I found out by a roundabout way, that contrary to my informant from Spanish Railways at the airport, there were no trains to Barcelona from Chamartin, but one left at 05:50 from Atocha.
So it was a taxi to Atocha station at a cost of twenty euros, which I could have done the previous night for nothing on my ticket from the airport. Talk about the airport information guy, being a Spaniard in the Works.
To add insult to injury, there were several hotels in the area of Atocha, one of which was a brand I trust!
I bought the ticket to Barcelona with ease for €59 and after going through a full airline style security check, I just made the AVE high speed train to Barcelona. It was a Siemens train and like it seems all of their products had been designed without litter bins, although it did have an ash tray. The latter was unneeded as the train was non-smoking. I did get a reasonable drink in the buffet, but of course nothing to eat was gluten-free.
The change of train at VBarcelona was pretty quick, but I did need to buy another ticket from the ticket office, rather than an intelligent machine. I also had to go through security again to get back on the platform, where I arrived to get the TGV Duplex to Paris. Just 25 mins after arriving at 08:55, I was on my way to Paris. There are four trains a day for Paris and I paid a full fare of €170. Seat61.com has a full description of the journey.
This railway line up the Spanish and French coasts to the Rhone valley, is one of the best train rides in Europe. I didn’t chose to be on the top deck of the train, but that is where I was allocated a seat.
The Pyrenees
This picture shows the snow-capped mountains just before Perpignan and this shows the Etang de Thau before Sete.
Etang de Thau
They don’t show in the picture, but there were lots of greater flamingoes in the lakes. I never realised that these birds were so common in France, until a holiday in the area in about 1975.
Once in Paris at 15:53, I didn’t hang about but just jumped on the RER at Gare de Lyon for Paris Nord and the Eurostar. An hour and twenty minutes after arriving in Paris, I was leaving.
I finally arrived in London at 18:30 or just thirteen hours forty minutes after leaving Madrid.
This journey will get quicker, as for quite a way along the south coast of France, the trains don’t run on high speed lines. I can’t find any references to the distances on the journey, although Madrid to Barcelona and Paris to London are given as 621 and 495 kilometres respectively. Map Crow gives the Barcelona to Paris distance at 831 kilometres. I know this isn’t accurate and is probably a bit short, but that gives a total of 1947 kilometres, so my journey was at an average speed of 142 kmh. This compares with an average speed of 200 and 220 kmh on the first and last legs from Madrid to Barcelona and Paris to London respectively.
If the centre section was capable of an end-to-end average of 200 kmh, then a time from Madrid to London of under ten hours should be possible, especially if it was one train all the way.
Cafe Breizh In Paris
I found Cafe Breizh last time I was in Paris, by searching for “gluten free creperie”. But I couldn’t find it physically.
So this time, as I crossed Paris to get the Eurostar, I just had to visit.
I was not disappointed after a bowl of cider and two gluten-free buckwheat crepes.
It’s a wonderful excuse to go to Paris for the day.
First Class On A TGV
I hadn’t travelled in First on a TGV before, but on this trip I did.
I wasn’t impressed with the leg room, which seemed to be about the same on a Virgin Class 390.
Not Much Legroom
I had thought it would be bigger as the TGV Atlantique has a much larger cross-section, than the British train.
The refreshments were disappointing too.
Disappointing Refreshments
The picture shows, the smoothie and pretzels.
First Class certainly wasn’t worth the extra thirty euros or so.
Compare it with Second Class in the TGV Duplex I took from Geneva to Paris.
In Second Class On A TGV Duplex
I took this picture from my seat on the lower deck. Is it a deck, saloon or floor?
Leaving Bordeaux For Paris
Bordeaux St. Jean station was full of TGV Atlantique trainsets as I left for Paris.
It appeared that some trains were coupled together in pairs, to make massive people movers for the journey to and from Paris. Incidentally, each train can carry 485 psassengers.
I was not worried about the date of Friday the Thirteenth. I’ve left jobs on this date twice and I’ve always gone on to better things.
The Philharmonie de Paris
I read about the Philharmonie de Paris in The Times this morning, where they say that Parisians are snubbing the new grand concert hall, as it is on the wrong side of town. But according to this article from the Guardian in 2012, it looks like it’s been in trouble for some time. The Guardian describes it as a grand design that’s turned into a £300million bottomless pit.
It certainly looks to be something that I’ll visit next time I pass through Paris.
The Disused Circular Railway In Paris
Surprisingly, I’d never heard of this railway that connected the main railway stations in Paris, but there was a piece on it, on BBC Breakfast this morning. If such a railway had existed in say London or New York, it would have been the subject of books, documentaries and probably as famous as the sewers of Vienna, immortalised in The Third Man.
I think the next time, I visit Paris, I’ll find a tour or an expert and do an explore.
The Anonymous Widower 