TGV is a great way to see the country

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN PARIS and AIX EN PROVENCE -- I caught the high speed train right at Charles de Gaulle airport, where there is a clean, modern station downstairs from Terminal 2 (where most of the Air France flights arrive). Couldn't have been any easier and all the schedules and ticketing procedures are well laid out.

TGV stands for Train Grand Vitesse, or very fast train. And it is. I think I read somewhere that they buzz along at about 180 mph and you can really get a sense of their speed when you are close to a highway and the cars look like they are crawling along.

It's about 3 and a half hours from the airport to Aix, which by car would be twice as long at least and with the cost of gas and tolls, probably more expensive. Plus the train is a great way to see the country, relax and even meet some new friends - like the goth chick who sat next to me with multiple face piercings, tatoos on each finger and she watched The Big Bang Theory (complete with French subtitles) on her laptop. Sorry didn't snap a pic of her - that would have been too UA (ugly american).

I'll get off right in Aix and not have to deal with getting from an airport or parking a car. I could get used to this train thing.


Sent from my BlackBerry® device from Digicel