Glasgow to Barcelona by train

I've got a few bits and pieces to put up on this blog over the next few days. I had a great time last week. I was in Barcelona for a work related conference and I also managed to attend the Primavera music festival.

I had initially planned to fly with British Airways but my plane was cancelled due to a strike. I was a bit worried about booking another flight as there were ongoing problems with ash clouds. I decided to go by train.

The train journey basically went Glasgow to London to Paris to Barcelona. On the Saturday I travelled to Bristol because I couldn't get a train down to London early enough on the Sunday morning. I stayed overnight with my best friend from medical school and her family. She has a young son who I met for the first time.

On Sunday I caught an early train to London before jumping on the Eurostar to Paris. The London Eurostar terminal is very modern and clean. Much more comfortable than most airports. The Eurostar train was fairly nice too. It only took about 2 and a half hours to reach Paris. The train only seemed to be in the tunnel for 25 minutes.

In Paris I got a taxi accross town to Austerlitz train station. The sleeper train takes 12 hours from Paris to Barcelona. I was in a 4 berth compartment but luckily there was only one other person sharing. I managed to sleep for a few hours although I was wearing my jeans. When we arrived in Barcelona at 8:30am I smelled like a dog. Fairly unpleasant.

Overall, I enjoyed the journey and I would do it again. Much better than flying.