Paris by Train

Paris by Train

We found out yesterday that we would be taking a train to Paris.  My last train trip was a redeye from Johnstown PA to Chicago.  We boarded it at 11 at night and arrived in Chicago the next day around 9.  I spent a horrific night sitting beside a 6’8” Swedish kid that spoke no English and proceeded to fall asleep and “stretch out”.  I was never so crowded and uncomfortable in my life.  When I’d wake the young man to tell him he had to get his legs off of me, he’d smile, say something Swedish, and go back to sleep without moving.  It was a miserable trip.  So I wasn’t quite sure what to expect on the iDTGV train we were taking. 

Riding in the car to the train station was the first obstacle to the trip.  We had 6 people in the car, 4 huge suitcases, laptop bags and I virtually no room.  I had given John my suitcase having considered the problem we would have with packing all of ours. Good thing I did.  I volunteered to sit in an “almost” a seat in the middle row.  I had my backpack on my lap with my computer and much more than I needed, and rode cramped up from Ambialet to Toulouse, about an hour 15 minutes away.  About 20 minutes into the trip I had a huge cramp in my hip and had to stretch my leg.  I stuck it straight out between the two front seats, but Deb then reminded me that because we have a standard, I’d have to put my leg back.  That was much easier said than done.  It took about 5 minutes and about 56 internal curses to do it!  Vision of Chicago redeye danced in my head.

We arrived at Toulouse Rail Station (Toulouse Matabiau) and had to wait to board the train.  About 300 people stood anxiously watching a board that would announce what track the train would take.  When #2 was shown, a mad rush ensued to get to the train.  Deb and I knew we had the 51 and 54 seats in car 12.  But when we got to the gate, there were 2 trains.  Which one we were supposed to go on was not evident.  Thankfully some English speaking passengers asked where we were headed and they showed us the way.  Now that we found the train, we had to find car #12.  Now having my Ph.D. and all, I decided to just count the cars from the engine and go 12 back.  Unfortunately, there were not 12 cars, and so I was stymied.  I asked a person that looked like a conductor and they looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language (which of course I was), and shrugged.  I even said douze, which I thought meant 12.  Still a shrug.  So we went to the front car and started working our way back.  3 cars back, there it was, a 12.  We boarded and noticed there were 2 people in what we thought were our seats.  I looked puzzled and showed a kid of about 11 our ticket, and he shakes his head and points to the next car back. 

And lo and behold, 2 seats with our numbers on them were sitting empty.  They were across from each other, and they were very comfortable and roomy.  While I had to sit backwards, I soon found the ride to be quite enjoyable.  We did not have the promised internet access, but it was still nice.

I am currently writing this while riding in the train. I will paste it when I get online.  The train has a bar car, where we are able to buy drinks and food .  The ride will be about 4 hours and 20 minutes long, but it is going quickly.  Traveling through the French countryside is really a neat experience and is very enjoyable.  Deb and I may take another trip on the train if we want a long weekend off.  That would be nice.

I am beginning to wonder why trains are not popular in the U.S.  This is actually a very nice way to travel.  While slower than a plane, it’s a straight ride with no layovers, no running through security and passport reviews, no going to gates in one building from another and then catching an airport bus to go to the plane, and no worries about missing connections.  I rather like it.