Day 4 of France and Spain by Train

We started the day at the local food market. We walked up and down admiring the local produce, honeys and various baked goods. One stall that caught our eye was rows of rotisserie chickens turning on spits with potatoes underneath cooking in the chicken fat. We had a varied selection for breakfast, still warm croissants, chicken and potatoes. We then wandered over to the other side of the river Saône where there was an art market. Again, there was a varied selection of wares. I purchased a watercolour painting of Vieux Lyon as a memento. We then went back to the hotel to collect our bags before walking to the station.

The station was packed with people and we stood amongst the thrum of people waiting for the platform to be announced. 20 minutes before we were due to leave the platform number finally came up…Platform I and we set off to find the train. The train was the Renfe AVE class 100, the first high speed train to operate in Spain making its first appearance in 1992. It makes the daily trip from Lyon to Barcelona, departing at 14.35 and arriving just under 5 hours later at 19.33. Making ourselves cosy we geared up for the journey. As we slowly pulled away from the platform, I felt the kind of excitement I had not experienced in a long while. The interior of the train was quite dated, but the seats were comfortable despite the faded leather. The train was complete with a café car, with bar type tables in the middle where you could stand around and chat whilst you ate or drank. The journey was spectacular. Just beyond Nîmes the train crosses the River Rhone giving a great view of the Chateau de Montfaucon. As we whizzed through the landscape, mountains loomed in the distance as we passed what felt like hundreds of vineyards. The sky was crystal blue, the sun illuminating the fields as we passed.  Between Perpignan and Montpellier, the train glided alongside the Mediterranean coastline, the sea shimmering as we passed beaches & marshland. Just along a little further between Perpignan and Narbonne the beaches gave way to lakes called étangs, where we came across flamingos standing one legged in little groups dotted alongside the line. As we crossed the border into Spain the Pyrenees dominated the skyline, their jagged silhouettes harsh against the backdrop of the early evening. The whole journey was a magical experience and I spent the whole 5 hours nose pressed against the window soaking everything up. Soon, as the sun faded behind the clouds we drew into Barcelona-Sants.

 Luckily our hotel was only a few minutes’ walk and we made a quick pit-stop there before getting the L3 line metro to Liceu to walk the famous Las Ramblas. Barcelona metro system is interesting as it is one of only two metros worldwide to operate on three different track gauges. Line 3 opened in 1924 and currently serves 26 stations along its 11.5-mile route. As we arrived on Las Ramblas streets were a hive of activity as we walked along trying to find somewhere for dinner. We walked quite a way but there seemed to be no restaurants. We eventually found a sandwich shop where we wolfed down pan tomate with Iberian ham. Wearily after our long journey we made our way back to our hotel where we bunkered down for the night.