European travels with a Global InterRail pass - Part 2
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The journey, days 1 and 2
Tuesday Dec 9: Barcelona to Bordeaux (1st day using Pass)

My connecting train was supposed to leave Narbonne at 12.53, arriving in Bordeaux at 16.29. However, the announcement board stated that there was a problem affecting trains arriving from Nimes and Montpelier and that all trains were delayed. First the board said 30 mins delay, then 1 hour, then 2 hours.
At that point I spoke to a member of staff in the ticket office, who confirmed that the delay would be between 3 and 4 hours at least. She suggested changing my ticket to another train starting out from Narbonne at 15.58, arriving in Toulouse at 17.45, with a change to a train departing at 18.04 and arriving in Bordeaux at 20.13.
The Narbonne to Toulouse stretch was fine. However, 20 minutes after leaving Toulouse the train came to an abrupt halt. The guard announced that there had been an accident involving the train in front of ours: a collision on an unmanned level crossing between the train and a large vehicle. The train had been derailed and the track damaged. Our train would return to Toulouse where we would receive further information.
At Toulouse, confusion reigned. There was no loudspeaker
system, just a few guards rushing around telling small groups first one thing,
then another. At first, we were told that they were arranging for an empty
sleeper train to accommodate everyone overnight; then that this would be only
for those travelling to the final destination (Paris), and finally that two
buses would transport those travelling to Bordeaux first to Montauban, then
from there to Bordeaux by train. In the meantime, they handed out snack boxes,
and there was a lot of hanging about. I rang my hotel (Campanile) in Bordeaux
and the receptionist confirmed that there would be a night porter on duty,
whenever I arrived. So I passed the time people watching, observing the
reactions of the French to what was happening and thinking about how other
nationalities might have responded. That was interesting!
We arrived in Montauban at 23.00, left at 23.30 and arrived in Bordeaux at 02.40. I was glad that I had booked a hotel near the station. The night porter was awake, helpful, and said she would alert the day staff to the fact that I would appreciate a lie in/late breakfast!
Wednesday Dec 10: Bordeaux to San Sebastian (2nd day using Pass)

Unfortunately, my late start to the day meant that I had to cut short my sightseeing plans. Also, it was raining. On checking in at the station, I found that some train services were still disrupted, including those I had planned to take; so I spent some time in the station exploring alternatives. It proved straightforward to alter tickets. Instead of changing at Irun, I arranged to travel as far as Hendaye, then by Euskotren to San Sebastian.
Note: the Pass doesn’t cover some small private train
operators such as the Euskotren narrow gauge local trains in northern Spain.
That incurred an additional cost, albeit a small one.
Bordeaux Saint Jean station opened in 1898 and sits on the
high speed TGV line from Paris
and Lille in the north down to Biarritz on the border with Spain. Located 4km
from the city centre, it’s a bit far to walk. There are trams, which I had
planned to use, but lack of time meant that I opted to stay local.
The station itself is very down at heel. According to the publicity billboards, it will be amazing by 2017. Today though, nothing seemed to work. The automatic coffee dispenser gobbled up euro but failed to deliver. The automatic ‘point d’accueil’ was out of order. Also the escalators.
On the plus side, the waiting room has an interesting
history. Formerly the “Salon d’Honneur”, where visiting dignitaries were
entertained, a wall tapestry was uncovered during restoration work. The M
refers to the former name of Bordeaux St. Jean: la gare du Midi. There's also a
cafe/restaurant which provides free internet access for the price of a cup of
coffee, so I caught up with emails. And there's a piano in the station with an
invitation to sit and play. A nice/thoughtful touch. I listened to one man
playing excellent jazz for a good half hour, watched the armed police and
security guards patrolling the place, and relaxed with the daily paper until my
train was due. It's always interesting to see the world through the eyes of
another country's news.
Fortunately, the revised train journey proved uneventful,
although the driving rain meant that views of the Basque countryside were
disappointing. In San Sebastian, I stayed at Hotel Astoria 7 (following Michael
Portillo’s advice). A good choice and interesting for film buffs like myself. The
hotel features contemporary decor individually dedicated to personalities,
actors, actresses or directors who have attended the San Sebastian
International Film Festival ever since it began in 1953. I was in the Vanessa
Redgrave suite. As it was late, and still raining, I ate in the hotel. It was
good.
Note to Readers
Please see the information at the end of Part 1 regarding this 'test travel' project.
• Read European travels with a Global InterRail pass - Part 1
• Read European travels with a Global InterRail pass - Part 3
• Read European travels with a Global InterRail pass - Part 4
• Read European travels with a Global InterRail pass - Part 5
• Read European travels with a Global InterRail pass - Part 6
You may also find interesting:
• The Benefits of the InterRail Pass and Top Ten Tips• InterRailing is for Seniors too!
• Great Train Journeys of the World
• Top Rail Travel Tips
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To leave a comment, please Sign inOther Members' Thoughts - 3 Comment(s)
Apologies for the delay in responding. It's been a busy Bank Holiday weekend.
You're right. Day 1 certainly wasn't dull!
And yes, I get by in French and Spanish, although my skills were certainly put to the test in Toulouse.
I seemed to be the only 'foreigner' there, and it really was chaotic.
Fortunately, 'going with the flow' worked...and I got to speak to people I wouldn't otherwise have met.