Heading North: Carcassonne to Massy by Train
My housesit in Quillan completed, I headed north on Saturday to start another month-long housesit (such a pleasure to be in one place for an extended period of time!). The journey actually began on Thursday when I received an email (and text message) from SNCF, the French passenger rail company, announcing that my first train had been cancelled. I was prepared for this and had some other options in mind, but they weren’t necessary as the SNCF had laid out several options, complete with reserved seats, for the entire journey. The rescheduled trip is actually better than the original as I arrived earlier at my destination and had easier transfers.
9:59 am The train from Carcassonne to Montpellier arrives in the very grand station of Narbonne. I notice some freight wagons off to the side. I wonder if passenger trains have priority over freight trains in France. I believe the fast TGV trains have their own lines so there won’t be any competition with freight on those routes.
10:16 am Béziers looks like an attractive place to visit. The large cathedral rises over the ramparts on the hill above the tracks. Just outside of town, we pass beside the small Aéroport de Cap d’Agde. It’s great to see parking lots shaded by solar panels.
10:33 am I had to wait to use the washroom as a young guy was cleaning it. What a job – to spend your days on a moving train cleaning washrooms! We move slowly through Sète without stopping. This is a watery landscape with saltwater ponds, parasailors off the coast, and canals transecting the city.
10:55 am What a pleasant surprise to find a pretty little park directly across the street from Montpellier’s downtown train station. Perhaps not so surprising as Montpellier prides itself on being a public transit-friendly city. Colourful trams (free for residents) pass the park every few minutes and there are lots and lots of pedestrians. I watch a puffed-up courting pigeon and admire the flowers and fresh green growth as I munch on my slightly frozen pizza.
11:57 am I board the TGV for Lille-Europe. It’s another crowded train. Helpful strangers lift my luggage to the overhead rack.
12:39 pm I wake up from a short nap to find we’ve moved into dry rocky country past Nîmes. Transit time is a pause, a time to rest and relax before gathering my energy for a brand-new housesit in a brand-new location.
1:08 pm The Valence TGV station is a deep, echoing hall in the middle of nowhere. Local trains use a different line passing through the original train station in downtown Valence.
1:33 pm The vineyards of southwestern France have been left behind as we cross wide rivers to arrive at green fields with grazing cows and horses. The hedgerows are strewn with white hawthorn blossoms. People have been getting on and off at each stop, but the train remains full.
2:05 pm We’ve just left Lyon, one of France’s largest cities, skirting the large Parc de la Tête d’Or before crossing the river. The woman beside me has released her black and white cat from its travelling bag and it lies quietly on her lap, inspecting the world around it.
2:48 pm I was regretting leaving southern France but the pastoral landscape is a pleasant change from the drought-ridden south. I’m excited to explore a new place and meet new people. The homeowners have been very welcoming, and I’ll spend 2 days with them before they leave for Montreal.
4:30 pm Imagine getting off a train and being greeted by Mickey Mouse. Or, if not Mickey himself, hundreds of his eager fans. Marne La Vallée Chessy TGV station was built to service Disneyland Paris and the site is just steps away from the train station. The advantage for me is that lots of trains, both French and European, stop here and it’s a useful way to avoid passing through central Paris, which is always crowded and currently the site of (sometimes violent) demonstrations.
My last train journey is a short one to Massy. It’s not hard to spot the homeowner as he’s brought the small dog I’ll be looking after along with him.