My train from Paris to Toulouse was a TGV (= Train of Great Speed), leaving the station Paris-Montparnasse at 12:28 and arriving Toulouse-Matabiau five and a half hours later, at 17:57. There was one brief stop in Bordeaux along the way.
In the station Toulouse-Matabiau
When I left Toulouse a few days later it was on a TGV train to Bordeaux, but this time I traveled first class because when I booked there was a special deal available on the SNCF website for only 25 Euros.
Tracks in the station Toulouse-Matabiau
Both the French and the German railways have complicated price structures with constantly changing prices, so all I can suggest is to look at the website and see what is available.
First class in the TGV from Toulouse to Bordeaux
Actually, I didn’t find much difference between first and second class. Both are comfortable but a bit cramped, since they try to fit as many passengers as possible into a small space.
In Germany I used to travel first class quite often (back in the days when my textbook publisher paid for the tickets). First class in German trains is somewhat roomier than second — three seats in each row instead of four — but what you are mainly paying extra for is to be travelling with well-off people of your own (real or imagined) social class rather than with disreputable characters like me.
My photos in this post are from 2014. I revised the text in 2019.
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For me knowledge is what defines a character & your knowledge is admirable Don.
I only traveled on the train as a student so I always had a pass or discount ticket to save money. Loved all the student discounts in Germany!
Thought of you when I came across this post about the disheveled home of an opera company in pittsburgh, 1940-1960 or so. Lots of history of that opera in US during segregation. Maybe it’s of interest to you. 😊 https://architecturalafterlife.com/2019/03/13/national-negro-opera-company/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=national-negro-opera-company
Also–diidnt know you wrote a textbook!
Thanks for the link! I never knew there used to be an all black opera company in Pittsburg. In my English-language opera course “Frankfurt OperaTalk” we have had five black singers as our featured guests up to now; Hope Briggs, Vuyani Mlinde, Mark S. Doss, Russell Thomas and just recently Michelle Bradley, who is currently singing the role of Leonora in Verdi’s Force of Destiny here in Frankfurt.
For twenty years I was on a team that wrote a series of textbooks, and for most of that time I toured Germany on weekends presenting our books to groups of teachers.
I’ve always enjoyed traveling with disreputable characters like you. That’s one of the benefits of 2nd class train tickets. We took the TGV from Paris to Toulouse once but it stopped several places including Bordeaux. I have no idea how long it took but we thoroughly enjoyed it. French trains are great fun.
haha believe it or not done the route by Train lol!