caravanman
Engineer
I had in the past always tried to prolong my various trips as much as possible. I like the idea of being "on the road"... One has to be self reliant to a small extent, and overcome minor difficulties... Challenging ones self a little to cope with each new event.
I know that I am not exploring the Amazon jungle alone, more that I like living my day to day life each day in a different place, rather than just being “on holiday”.
Recently, I decided to try taking a few shorter breaks, but still include my hobby of train travel, and to try to mostly make use of budget accommodation. Although folk do fly from Europe to New York for a long weekend, that is a masochistic thing to my way of thinking, so my plans are for one week or two week shorter breaks in Europe, a minimum of 3 weeks outside Europe!
I hope to find a way to feel comfortable with planning ahead more, as it will be cheaper financially, but being “locked into” some future event has always made me feel trapped, even if it is something that I am looking forward to... So, last minute as per usual, I decided late Sunday evening to have a little jaunt into France, and on Tuesday morning the new mini adventure began:
Train from Nottingham to one of the smaller London airports, Luton. My old folks free bus pass is valid on the shuttle bus from the train into the airport, so that was good.
A 1 hour budget airlines flight to Paris CDG airport was a fraction of the cost of a last minute Eurostar train, of course I would have preferred the train.
A train from the Paris airport into town, with an included onward metro journey costs 10 Euros.
I had booked two nights at a Paris youth hostel, and it is starting to drizzle as I arrive at 6pm. I have a two person room, and fortunately, the guy I am sharing with speaks good English, but it turns out he is very depressed... more on this later. I go out again for a quick look around, take a few pics, and also buy a few food items and some beers in a nearby supermarket.
On return to the hostel, I went to the kitchen area, where a mostly older bunch of travellers are already drinking their own beers, so I joined in... a very enjoyable evening ensues!
Slept well (!) and next morning set of for a longish walk after breakfast. I visited Notre Dam cathedral where I lit a few candles for the departed, walked by the Seine, and saw the Republic square where there were still many Charlie Hebdo banners adorning the monuments.
In the afternoon I visited Sacre Cour church, climbing some very steep steps, for the view over Paris, and a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower in the distance. I am not a believer in the slightest, but old church buildings often have interesting aspects.
The evening became a repeat of the previous one, and there was much laughter again.
My room companion's wife had left him, and he lost his house and did not see his children, so I could see why he was so down hearted. He had been in the hostel for a couple of months, and had his first job interview as a chef scheduled for the day I left.
I slept through my first alarm, and it was only my room mate yelling that woke me... I was very disorientated, and almost handed in my UK house key instead of the hostel room key!
Paris has a good night bus service, although it can be a little confusing to find the exact location of their bus stops.
I needed to get the bus at 5.20am to take me to the SNCF train station Montparnasse, as I was heading south to Toulouse, in the hope of sunshine...
The bus was packed full of early start workers when I boarded, the driver seemed surprised when I bought a ticket and I did not see anyone else buy or validate their own tickets. Still, better safe than sorry for 2 Euros...
The station was just starting to come to life at 6am, and I bought a coffee and ate a few snacks while I waited for my train to be announced.
I took a few pics of the station and trains, the TGV's looking a like metallic dragons or similar predators with their grey snouts all in a row.
I had booked a first class ticket for the first time in my life, it was only 4 Euros more than standard, so I thought I would treat myself.
Not much to comment on with the journey, the scenery was pretty uninspiring, although as we went further south, the villages started to look more quaint. The TGV train itself was very smooth, left exactly on time, and was composed of two trains joined together, to be split in Bordeaux. This confused me, as the front part of my train was hidden by a curve in the Montparnasse platforms, and I could not find my coach. Eventually, having walked up and back, I asked the conductor, who told me in very good English that I needed the front train, which I had no idea even existed up to that moment!
I bought a coffee on the train from the cart rather than go to the buffet, which was a mistake, as it was not very warm.
The journey took about 5 hours, including splitting the trains, and I understand that the line to Marseilles from Paris offers a higher speed route.
After a shaky start to my day, the fun continued when I got to Toulouse, as I had not made a proper note of my next hostel. After a visit to a cafe with free wifi, I was soon back on track! A very helpful train assistant talked me through the metro ticket options, and I managed to buy a 3 day pass. So much for me being an intrepid adventurer!
Toulouse metro is interesting, and is run with small automatic trains, rather similar to airport inter-terminal trains. Two coaches to each train, each coach designed to hold around 80 people. The trains arrive every two minutes or so, and the system seems to work well. Bit odd whizzing along with no driver, they do quite a speed!
My hostel here is an independent one, not a “hostels international” which is a first again for me. Very good standard, no complaints at all. Most guests on my first night were French, so chatted amongst themselves in French... seems fair! I did get a nice glass of Corsican wine from someone, so there was no language barrier for that!
Usual routine over the next few days, wander aimlessly about, gawping and taking photos as I saw fit.
Toulouse uses a lot of orange brick in the construction, and orange tiled roofs, which give a warm feel. Known as the pink city, it seems a lot more orange/red to me!
Several ancient churches, open to all to visit free. Many ancient frescos in these dark and gloomy churches, the once rich paintings cover walls and ceilings, now dulled by centuries of soot from candles.
I remembered a tip from AU members who recommended a scenic train ride up into the Pyrenees Mountains, to a place called Latour de Carol, so I buy a return ticket for the Sunday. Once again, being a senior pays off and I get a good discount at the station, paying half what I would have even online.
Nice ride, train very smooth. Snow is visible on the mountain tops. One could continue on from here, close to the Spanish border, down into Barcelona... tempting... but not this trip!
And so my story ends... I fly back to London tomorrow morning from Toulouse and should be sleeping in my own bed again tomorrow night.
All in all, an interesting and worthwhile week away!
Cheers,
Edwin
I know that I am not exploring the Amazon jungle alone, more that I like living my day to day life each day in a different place, rather than just being “on holiday”.
Recently, I decided to try taking a few shorter breaks, but still include my hobby of train travel, and to try to mostly make use of budget accommodation. Although folk do fly from Europe to New York for a long weekend, that is a masochistic thing to my way of thinking, so my plans are for one week or two week shorter breaks in Europe, a minimum of 3 weeks outside Europe!
I hope to find a way to feel comfortable with planning ahead more, as it will be cheaper financially, but being “locked into” some future event has always made me feel trapped, even if it is something that I am looking forward to... So, last minute as per usual, I decided late Sunday evening to have a little jaunt into France, and on Tuesday morning the new mini adventure began:
Train from Nottingham to one of the smaller London airports, Luton. My old folks free bus pass is valid on the shuttle bus from the train into the airport, so that was good.
A 1 hour budget airlines flight to Paris CDG airport was a fraction of the cost of a last minute Eurostar train, of course I would have preferred the train.
A train from the Paris airport into town, with an included onward metro journey costs 10 Euros.
I had booked two nights at a Paris youth hostel, and it is starting to drizzle as I arrive at 6pm. I have a two person room, and fortunately, the guy I am sharing with speaks good English, but it turns out he is very depressed... more on this later. I go out again for a quick look around, take a few pics, and also buy a few food items and some beers in a nearby supermarket.
On return to the hostel, I went to the kitchen area, where a mostly older bunch of travellers are already drinking their own beers, so I joined in... a very enjoyable evening ensues!
Slept well (!) and next morning set of for a longish walk after breakfast. I visited Notre Dam cathedral where I lit a few candles for the departed, walked by the Seine, and saw the Republic square where there were still many Charlie Hebdo banners adorning the monuments.
In the afternoon I visited Sacre Cour church, climbing some very steep steps, for the view over Paris, and a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower in the distance. I am not a believer in the slightest, but old church buildings often have interesting aspects.
The evening became a repeat of the previous one, and there was much laughter again.
My room companion's wife had left him, and he lost his house and did not see his children, so I could see why he was so down hearted. He had been in the hostel for a couple of months, and had his first job interview as a chef scheduled for the day I left.
I slept through my first alarm, and it was only my room mate yelling that woke me... I was very disorientated, and almost handed in my UK house key instead of the hostel room key!
Paris has a good night bus service, although it can be a little confusing to find the exact location of their bus stops.
I needed to get the bus at 5.20am to take me to the SNCF train station Montparnasse, as I was heading south to Toulouse, in the hope of sunshine...
The bus was packed full of early start workers when I boarded, the driver seemed surprised when I bought a ticket and I did not see anyone else buy or validate their own tickets. Still, better safe than sorry for 2 Euros...
The station was just starting to come to life at 6am, and I bought a coffee and ate a few snacks while I waited for my train to be announced.
I took a few pics of the station and trains, the TGV's looking a like metallic dragons or similar predators with their grey snouts all in a row.
I had booked a first class ticket for the first time in my life, it was only 4 Euros more than standard, so I thought I would treat myself.
Not much to comment on with the journey, the scenery was pretty uninspiring, although as we went further south, the villages started to look more quaint. The TGV train itself was very smooth, left exactly on time, and was composed of two trains joined together, to be split in Bordeaux. This confused me, as the front part of my train was hidden by a curve in the Montparnasse platforms, and I could not find my coach. Eventually, having walked up and back, I asked the conductor, who told me in very good English that I needed the front train, which I had no idea even existed up to that moment!
I bought a coffee on the train from the cart rather than go to the buffet, which was a mistake, as it was not very warm.
The journey took about 5 hours, including splitting the trains, and I understand that the line to Marseilles from Paris offers a higher speed route.
After a shaky start to my day, the fun continued when I got to Toulouse, as I had not made a proper note of my next hostel. After a visit to a cafe with free wifi, I was soon back on track! A very helpful train assistant talked me through the metro ticket options, and I managed to buy a 3 day pass. So much for me being an intrepid adventurer!
Toulouse metro is interesting, and is run with small automatic trains, rather similar to airport inter-terminal trains. Two coaches to each train, each coach designed to hold around 80 people. The trains arrive every two minutes or so, and the system seems to work well. Bit odd whizzing along with no driver, they do quite a speed!
My hostel here is an independent one, not a “hostels international” which is a first again for me. Very good standard, no complaints at all. Most guests on my first night were French, so chatted amongst themselves in French... seems fair! I did get a nice glass of Corsican wine from someone, so there was no language barrier for that!
Usual routine over the next few days, wander aimlessly about, gawping and taking photos as I saw fit.
Toulouse uses a lot of orange brick in the construction, and orange tiled roofs, which give a warm feel. Known as the pink city, it seems a lot more orange/red to me!
Several ancient churches, open to all to visit free. Many ancient frescos in these dark and gloomy churches, the once rich paintings cover walls and ceilings, now dulled by centuries of soot from candles.
I remembered a tip from AU members who recommended a scenic train ride up into the Pyrenees Mountains, to a place called Latour de Carol, so I buy a return ticket for the Sunday. Once again, being a senior pays off and I get a good discount at the station, paying half what I would have even online.
Nice ride, train very smooth. Snow is visible on the mountain tops. One could continue on from here, close to the Spanish border, down into Barcelona... tempting... but not this trip!
And so my story ends... I fly back to London tomorrow morning from Toulouse and should be sleeping in my own bed again tomorrow night.
All in all, an interesting and worthwhile week away!
Cheers,
Edwin
Last edited by a moderator:
