Our Life in France – the train

(Please note that this post reflects our experience in the early 1990’s – I can’t speak for what anyone would experience today.)

One of the first things we did when we moved to Ste. Foy was buy Vance a Kiwi Carte.  I can’t remember exactly how much it costs, but I think it was just a few hundred francs (at the time $1 was approximately 5FF).  With this card, up to four adults could ride with Vance for half price on the train.  Believe me, we got more than our money’s worth out of that card.

We were lucky that the Train à Grande Vitesse (high speed train), or TGV, as it was commonly called, came into Lyon and we took it whenever we could.  The train was fast, modern, comfortable, convenient and ran on time.  I’m not sure if it still is, but when we lived in France, it was the fastest train in the world, clocking in at around 180 miles an hour.  We always picked our guests up in Paris and brought them back to Lyon on the TGV, and it was usually one of the highlights of their trip.  The picture above is of our nephew when he visited us.

When you purchased a ticket for the TGV, it was always for a specific seat – reserved seats were extra on the regular train.  We always bought tickets for seats in the center of the car, so that we could face each other and have a table between us (half of the seats faced forward and half faced backward).  It made for a very pleasant trip.

On the day of our trip, we’d take the bus to the train station and validate our tickets in a machine inside the station.  Then, we’d go out on the platform to wait for our train.  The platform was marked so you had a good idea of where your car would stop.  The trains ran on time and only remained in the station for a few minutes, so we had to be on time.  It was up to us to get our luggage on the train, but there were storage bins for the luggage at each end of the car.  Handling the luggage was only a problem one time – when my mother, sister and I went to Luxembourg and over-bought china at the Villeroy & Boch outlet!

The trip on the TGV was very enjoyable – the ride was smooth and it never felt like you were going as fast as you were.  We didn’t have to worry about traffic or getting lost, so we could just sit back and enjoy the ride.  There were restrooms and a dining car where you could purchase food.  Sometimes, a conductor came by to be sure your tickets were validated, but often did not.  (You would be fined if your tickets weren’t validated.)  Quite often we met other people on the train and it was always fun talking to them.  If you ever have the opportunity to go to France, I highly recommend a ride on the TGV!