Europe 2019 : Day 28 Trains and Crepes

Thursday 5th September

This was the day for heading further south into France to stay with our friends Eve and John Harvey. We had seats booked on a train leaving Charles de Gaulle airport around 11, and, given our previous experiences of the car rental firm a few days previously, we decided to leave Amiens early, complete the drive and drop-off well ahead of time and simply sit in the trains station over a coffee.

When we were looking into the booking of this car in France I contemplated the possibility of driving down south and maybe dropping the car off there. But the drop-off fees were ridiculous – a few hundred dollars. The closer to Paris for the drop-off reduced the fees but not enough to make it worthwhile. In addition, the drive from the airport was going to take 4-5 hours, the train only 2 and a half. The choice seemed pretty clear.

In the end the whole process of getting on the road, filling up with petrol close to the airport, and then dropping the car off to the car rental place proved to be relatively painless, even with the minimalist signage inside the airport.

We had to change terminals to get to the station but the robot train running between the two was very efficient and we had time for a coffee and croissant before boarding.

The one thing I hadn’t taken into account was the fact that I was leaving from an airport train station. So were a lot of other people. And they all had lots of luggage as well. We found our seats okay but had to pile the two suitcases in the aisle by the very small luggage racks. A lot of other people had done the same so I didn’t feel like I was going to be on the end of a reprimand from a French train conductor.

But it was all uneventful. The train rattled along at a great clip and we got to our changeover point, Poitiers, on time. And our connecting train came in on the same platform which made the final leg to Niort a simple affair. Still had a bit of a luggage problem however.

The gite at the Harvey's

Eve and John Harvey picked us up at the railway station and a short drive later we got introduced to their house and attached gite in Nieul-sur-l'Autise. We had the gite to ourselves for the night until Julian and Lucy arrived the next day.

Perry squints

But a quiet drink was called for, a catch-up on holidays, and then dinner with Steve and Liz (English friends of E+J who also lived in the same village) at a creperie in a nearby town.

Crepes and pizza

A good time was had by all, and I was especially taken by the bright light, a major contrast to the dull days we had for most of the time in Iceland.