Monday 29th June: Weather 24°C to 36°C Extremely Hot and sunny
Paris to Pau: 900k TGV Overnight Train from Paris to Pau: 14hrs 30mins
Accommodation: Couchette 1st Class TGV
Picnic near Gare d'Austerlitz
1st Class Couchette TGV Paris to Pau
Arriving in Pau
Our flight from Abu Dhabi to Paris departed at 9.10am on time and 7 hrs and 2 movies later we arrive at 2.30pm in Paris. An hour later and we’re through customs and have spread out our gear in the arrivals hall, sorting our back packs into wearing, taking and posting. The RER B train from Charles de Gaulle takes about 45 mins to get to St Michel Notre Dame in the centre of Paris and after ascending hundreds of steps and escalators out of the bowels of the Metro, we step into 35°C heat opposite the Notre Dame buzzing with sweaty tourists.
It’s a 2k walk to Gare d’Austerlitz along the River Seine. We’ve repacked our back packs and Ian carries our duffel bag filled with business class airline clothes - hopefully they’ll be more use on the way home - ready for posting to Foix when we get to Pau. Opposite the station is a small supermarche, a Petit Casino, where we buy cheese, butter, tomatoes and a cold beer, and in 5 minutes we’re sitting in the grounds of the Museum having a picnic. One cold beer doesn’t go far when its 36°C so I trot off to but another one.
Across the road is the Gare d’Austerlitz - a small station serving the TGV’s heading to the south of France on the eastern side. Most are going to Orleans and Irun, a town in Spain just a few k over the French border. The Irus TGV goes via Lordes and Pau and this is our TGV. Whether it was the weather, the salty cheese or a dehydrating plane trip, we both developed and insatiable thirst that was not quenched even after 2 large bottles of cold Perrier. We had bought a bottle of Australian Shiraz for the train trip but any shiraz in 36°C heat is not welcome.
There was time for a shower in the wash rooms - 9.9 Euro each for a press-all-the-time-button on the shower, but it did include a 1ml sachet of shampoo, and a large paper towel that was as useless as a length of glad wrap. But at least it was refreshing. Our tickets are barcoded on Ian’s phone, and within 5 minutes of boarding, the train pulls slowly out of the station. We’re lucky. We’re the only ones in our 1st class cabin so we have all 4 beds to ourselves. It’s hotter in the train than out and we barely needed the thick sleeping bag provided, preferring to sleep on top. But at least the bed was comfy and flat. By 11am we’ve turned the lights out.