Hi all,
Well, Switzerland was fantastic, the scenery was breathtaking at times and the trains, well, what can I say.
Unfortunately, on the day before we returned, I started feeling as though I was coming down with a cold and when we got home I did a Covid test and it came up positive immediately.
As said, it only felt as if I had a cold, but it took 6 days before I got a negative result and then we were off to Barcelona. That was extremely stressful , Eurostar was 20 minuets late, which meant our transfer time between Eurostar and TGV was reduced to 1Hr. That may seem plenty of time to get between the Gare du Nord and the Gare de Lyon, only two stops on the Metro. But when you've never done it before, knowing where to go and how to get tickets isn't the simplest of things, especially when the station staff don't seem particularly helpful.
Anyway, we made it, just, as the TGV was delayed by 20 minuets too. Once on board, first class upper level, the seats were very comfy, and once underway, we made our way to the buffet car only to be told that they had no supplies, no food, no drink.
After the first stop, I noticed a couple of people coming through the carriage with bottles of water, so on going back to the buffet I found they were giving water away free. Whether it was due to being the hottest day on record, I don't know , but at every stop there was at least another ten minuet delay added, resulting in a total delay of 1hr 50 minuets, arriving in Barcelona at 11.20 pm instead of the scheduled 9.30 and we hadn't had anything to eat since a small snack before boarding the Eurostar at 10.45 am, oh, and I had a beer on the Eurostar. Needless to say, we were both starving by this time. I don't normally sing the praises of McDonald's, but I was mightily glad to see they were the only food outlet still open in Barcelona Sants station. After devouring our Big Mac, fries and coffee, McDonald's finally shut up shop a midnight, then we had a short taxi ride to our hotel, we both slept extremely soundly that night.
Barcelona was lovely, lots of sight seeing and shopping for the wife.
Return trip was less troublesome, only a 15 minuet delay on the TGV and a full buffet service, but of course, we had already stocked up with food and drink before boarding , just in case
On arrival in Paris, we knew the procedure for getting back to the Gare du Nord easily and quickly, only to find Eurostar delayed by 45 minuets
Needless to say, although it seemed a nice idea at the time, I don't think we'll be doing that again
Still not completely 100% cold wise, although improving every day, think I just need a good rest.
Anyway, here's a collage of our Switzerland trip. Unfortunately , or fortunately some might say
, I messed up a lot of the videos, so here's what I've managed to cobble together.
Regards
Alan
