2023 France

 Friday July 21th
Remarkably smooth departure from the house, only to find that the 7am train had been cancelled, back across bridge to catch the next one, 15 min delay for me half an hour, if you are at Barry Island.   Plenty of time allowed for a McDonalds breakfast in Cardiff, which was just as well as the app is taking longer and longer and needs to be re-loaded practically every time.

Train to Bristol, Bus to Airport - usual problem with shoes at airport- they can't decide what to do with steel toecapped shoes. Plane was an hour late which in the end was an advantage.

It's a long walk from Orly arrival to the train but an even longer walk around Paris. Very pleasant though, as a found a Supermarket and indulged as I walked along the Seine and back to the station.

As suspected, just a seat on the overnight train. I survived. 
Saturday 22st

Train arrived in Cebere 10 minutes late. Seemed to be quite a wait and doubtful that there was a train to Portbou so I decided to walk. Google was not a lot of use, as here are a lot of tunnels. Unfortunately, you are not able to use the train tunnel, so it was over the mountain on a trail, the road wanders, this was pretty much straight up, and only slightly less steep down. Took about an hour, google was right on that but it was hard work as we still had high temperatures 30C. Found a fountain outside the station to replenish water but it didn't taste nice. 

   Got my Gold Card, had to pay cash, and ticket to Barcelona 12.35 and arrived at 15.10. Hotel thought I had only booked one night but coped. An air conditioned room, small but has everything, TV only in Spanish. Dumped bags and set off for Catalonia Rail Museum on an 8 Euro ticket which included return train and admission. Nice collection of engines but makes me want to investigate the history/timeline of Spanish railway development. A long day.

Sunday 23nd
Up and out early, 7am got ticket to Latour de Carol. Breakfast at McD and 8.30 train - quite civilised, and quite an impressive journey to the high plains. Arrived about 12 and had an hour and half to wait for the return. There is nothing at Latour de Carol! Totally unable to make out te Yellow Train timetable, it was due to arrive 10mins before we left but it was 10 mins late, so all I got was a glimpse of it, as it nearly got there. The big thing is that it is a metre gauge and uses a third rail. It's hard work sitting on a train. Got back to Barcelona at 5pm. A pretty full day for under 16 €. Retired to air conditioning and discovered I have the wrong dates on tickets for Yellow Train and 2 day tour. Still considering options, favourite at the moment is to pick the Night Train up in Carcassonne or somewhere. Went out and indulged in a generous McD, with beer!

Monday 24rd

Lay in till 8am. Considered going to the local supemarket for breakfast, but it didn't open till 9am so it was another leisurely breakfast at McD. Purchased a one day travel card (10€) and the hotel have said they will look after luggage but the aircon is so nice I am reluctant to get moving. Spent the time booking a Travelodge for October. Got out around 10.30 Metro down to the harbour, wandered up to try and get on the cablecar. Google couldn't find the funicular, so I had o climb the hill, only to find that the cablecar is not included in the travel package 20€ for a return trip. However, I found the Funicular for the way down, and celebrated with a drink and ice cream at Guess Where?. On to Segrada Familia, you have to don't you. I remember the roads being bigger and not as many parks, it's certainly impressive but such a honey pot. Tried to get back to the seaside but line 4 is closed and, when I found the replacement bus stop the bus ignored me. So wandered to Arc de Triomph, which didn't have an arch but was an old rail station partially converted into a coach depot. 

Collected bags and sheltered in the air conditioned rail station. Of course the app decided not to work as I was entering the waiting area. Turns out there is a high speed line to Perpignan, which does not run along the coast. Arrived on time, bigger room, still no English telly.

Tuesday 25th

Breakfast was not too good, no ham, anyway leisurely Out 11.10 and it was a tain, so arrived 12.00. Walked up to Villefrache la Confuence, which was a nice fortified town and a good wander, purchased the inevitable fridge magnets, in the hope that I would actually manage to get the Yellow train. Waited to get photos of it as it left, reaing a Jack Reacher thriller, as the footpath was closed. (finished in evening and picked another from the hotel). 14.10 was a bus which arrived 15.41. Procrastinated, finishing the Reacher book and Lidl was closed, so no supplies for tomorrow.

Wednesday 26th

Up and out in time for the bus to Villefraiche la Bain at 07.11. Typical rail replacement bus wandered all over the place, took an extra half an hour and put me in Villefraiche with an hour and a half to kill. Wandered downstream, despite the barking dog. They have a levante but it is not half the quality of the Madiera levantes, and as I got to the view of the bridge I wanted to photograph it ws closed. Took the photo anyway and returned to the station. Yellow Train was good. Lots of tourists. It is slow , takes 3hrs, but incredible georges, until you get on the high plain,s when it is a bit of a switchback and wanders all over the place. Late into Latour de Carol, but they held the regular gauge train to Toulouse (another 3hrs) More spectacular scenery, and a tunnel under a pass, you could see the cars climbing over it. Then onto the plain for the last hour.

One hour to kill in Toulouse, found an expensive McD and a Lidl which had me worried I wouldn't make the Perpignan train 17.16 I needn't have worried. However, I didn't risk going all the way and got off at Rivesaint, which gave me a 20 min wait for the Night Train (in theory I would have had 3mins in Perpignan, maybe even 8 as it was running 5 mins late) Surprised to find I had a couchette, which was quite nice.

Thursday 27th
Alarm woke me up and I rushed off the train, as it was already in the station, leaving my book on the train. Needing a toilet but lacking the 20c to get the station one to work. Found a quiet corner which was obviously used by all the tramps (plenty of human excrement). It was officially a 2hr wait. When the train arrived it wasn't a TGV. Sat in wrong seat but not a problem apart from a power outage between Auber and Nantes which made us about an hour late. As I had a further 2hr wait at Nantes this was not a problem. (I even earned a 3.25 Euro voucher. Local train was stopped at St Nazairre 

Friday 28th
Dull and misty for the round robin, but we got in before the rain. Had a hearing, about points allocation for collision damage, which meant dinner was conveniently timed, an hour of beer drinking.

Saturday 29th
They pushed on, 3 flights finished the round robin and we went into quarter finals and a "King of the Hill" Even pushed into some of the semi-finals. Another long day on the water and this time dinner was not as convenient, so walk back to the hotel to kill one and a half hours. 

Sunday 30th
Regatta over I discovered I was checked out that morning. With that fixed I visited Spar and purchased a bottle of gin, which I am hitting as I do this and attempt t sort out all the phptos. I have over 400 of the sailing and 250 tourist photos. Gin, photos, Sounds of the 70's, great end to the regatta!
Regatta Photos are at https://photos.app.goo.gl/p7oJZt6K17yM4mLs9

Monday 31st
Up as usual at 6.30. Breakfast by 8am and off to the station. Train to Nantes was pretty full. Once on the TGV I was able to start on photos. !0 mins late into Montparnasse, remembered correctly about the distance to the Metro line 4 but at least they now have travellators. Usual hassle with Eurostar, probably it's the small waiting area which makes it so like air travel, you have to show your ticket to get on the TGV. More work on photos 1600 arrival in london. Killed time in the British Library and then walked to Paddington. Amazing buildings to be observer on the way. McDonalds App continues to frustrate, but I am now on the train to Cardiff and it is civilised.

In Cardiff I had a a 20 min wait for the train and discovered a waiting room on platform 6/7. 22.10 train got me into Barry by 10.30, so I was home and in bed by 11!

All the holiday photos are at:-  https://photos.app.goo.gl/eZSaMZiRnwGn8nwy9