Trains are so fast!

Written 12/08/13

We have just travelled from Orléans to Nantes in less than 3 hours, on a 'non-fast' train (TER). We've had an overview of the countryside and noticed a lot of market gardens and grain crops. The river plain is pretty wide down this end of the Loire and the land is mostly cropped though we did see some cows.

But we haven't experienced any of it. We haven't biked beside the crops and noticed how far out they are - or even what they are, we haven't smelt the odeurs of the countryside, the animals, especially horses, or the boulangerie with fresh bread, we haven't heard the noises overhead and in the distance, we haven't felt the wind on our faces and the sun on our arms, we haven't tasted the air - sometimes salty, sometimes reminding you of cows - not that there are many cows in the open, but they are there! Biking is about sensation. 

Trains are too - and we enjoy our train trips - the speed with which the 'slow' trains cover the country, the relative comfort of the seats, the rhythmic movement, the noise of a labouring engine climbing, and then the relief (for the engine) when the descent starts. We even enjoy changing trains if it isn't rushed. Our three hours at Poitiers and an hour or so at Tours en route from La Rochelle to Beaugency were lovely. We sat in the sun talking to a lovely woman we had met, drinking coffee which she ultimately paid for- such a kindly gesture and such a lovely woman! Yes, we have her name address and some day we may be in touch again!