September 21, 2022 Today we traveled by jam packed train from Sète to Avignon, a trip that took 1.5 hours. SNCF doing their usual, cancelled the train that was to be scheduled one hour behind the one we were going to travel on. That meant there would be two trains worth of passengers traveling on out train. It is unreal how incompetent the management of SNCF has been over the years we have traveled in France.
We will miss the beautiful blues of Sète.
From jam packed Gare on Saturday to nearly deserted Gare on Wednesday morning.
Not many people when we arrived a half hour before the train was scheduled, but shortly that would change.
We Americans have no clue as to to horrible toil of deaths that occurred during WWI and WWII.
Our train is at the top of the list.
Passenger train screams through the station never stopping.
A freight train comes roaring through the station.
Freight trains in each direction roar through the station.
And another freight train comes flying through the station.
Two train’s passengers packed into one train. Look through the door and just as I was standing in this car you people standing in the cars in the distance.
As so often happens, a young person gave up their seat so my wife could sit down. It turned out the other three people were from London and she had a great time chatting with them during the 1 1/2 hour trip.
At the second stop of the trip many of the passengers disembarked, so I was able to get seat across the aisle with a place to set our luggage.
In the US trains are pulled by diesel electric locomotives. Here the locomotives get their power from overhead wires.
A gallery of our apartment in Avignon. It is huge and very well located and only cost Euro 117 a night. We don’t have a car, but it also included secured underground parking. Being used to living in the small spaces of our two RV’s and the 12 ft x24 ft coach house, we find ourselves going into the wrong room at times. We haven’t had multiple rooms since 2006. The weather here is perfect and we are really enjoying spending time on the balcony.
The large private green space gives off a quiet peaceful sense to where we are.
Toasting our good fortune to be able to experience Life as we do.
Happy wife, Happy Life.
Built in the 1300’s the old defensive wall of the city is only a few meters from the entrance to our building. And it was only 4 days ago that we found and rented this apartment after two other places had cancelled on us. We are finding Airbnb to be much better than VRBO that we have normally used. And the apartment in Sète was only listed on Booking. While the transportation side hasn’t always worked out the way we wanted, the living quarters side has been beyond our expectations.
