The Yellow Train of the Pyrenees (Train Jaune)

Pat had long had a trip on the Train Jaune on her list of things to do.  Recently, we spotted a 2 day tour and we were available - it was just too convenient.  We crossed our fingers and hoped for a clear day.

We picked up the coach in Beziers which then drove down to the coast to pick up a group of people and continued on our way to the train, stopping briefly for breakfast, then continuing on tp the small train station.

The Train Jaune is a pat of the french national railways, but is a metre gauge with a third rail.

The train was full, but we were happy to stand on the little platform outside and take photos.

When we reached Olette, we were delayed for some time because a train travelling in the opposite direction on the single track line had broken down.  Eventually it arrived and we were able to continue.

The train has been running for over a hundred years and the majority of the carriages, including the one that we were in, are original.

We set off a little late from Villefranche de Conflient which has a walled city.  This is Fort Libera.

 Initially, there were woods and streams all  around us

We arrived at Olette where we waited for another train to descend before we could continue.  After some time, it arrived and we set off, climbing now.

We continued above the valley and looking down on the cars

 Over viaducts

We reached our station and there was our bus waiting for us at Odello Font Romau to take us to our hotel at Mont Louis.  After checking in and eating lunch. we went to see the citadel, an active military fort.

On the following day, we went to Andora in the bus.  We had been to Andora many years ago, but had not approached it from the French side, so this was a new experience.

It was a long drive along roads that are narrow at times, so a bus and a lorry as rather close for comfort.

We were not long in the town of Andorra, but did manage a few photos.

On the third day, we returned to France, travelling along the route of the Yellow Train, but by road this time.  For much of the time, we could see the track and the route that we had taken.

We stopped at Les Grottes des Canalettes:

Later, we comtinued to Villefranche de Conflent where we had a little time to look around before lunch.

Finally, we stopped at a garnet factory, where we bought a souvenir of the trip.

Now we are back at home for just over two weeks.

Manchester, Chester and Broadstairs

With only a week between trips. it has been hard to keep up with the blog, so this is a little late.

50 years ago, just at the time of A levels, I was a bridesmaid at the wedding of my cousin John and his wife, Iris. I was delighted to hear that they were having a celebration and the date was booked out almost a year before!

We had intended to take a train to Carcassonne, fly to Manchester and the train back.  After a lot of searching and confusion, I eventually discovered that the train line that would take us to Carcassonne was being worked on for 4 days including the date that we wanted to fly. The closure was long - from Bordeaux to Marseilles so no bus replacement was available, so in the end, we had to fly out and back to Carcassonne.  We arrived at Manchester to great security, as it was just after the bombing at the Manchester Arena and made our way to Eccles, where we were staying with a cousin, via Salford Crescent Exchange, close to where I went to school.  It took some time to get my bearings and recognise buildings known to me as black, but now red brick.

The party was a super opportunity to see cousins and meet the next generations.

The bridesmaids:

Cousins: Bernard, John, Aris, Ann, Pat, Peter, Enid, John, John, Winifred.

Cutting the cake

The following day, we took a train from Eccles to Manchester (it was the Manchester marathon, so not wise to try to get to the station by car) and then went on to Chester, ready for our journey to Anglesey the next day.

We enjoyed a walk around, revisiting spots that we knew from out stay there four years ago.

On Monday, a bank holiday, we took a train from Chester to Bangor where a taxi was waiting got us, to take us up the mountain to the house of Pat's cousin, June.  This was not the taxi driver's favourite journey, it seemed.  The roads are narrow and eventually become track.  Nevertheless we made it there and spent a happy few hours with June and her dog Tomas.

The following day, we travelled from Chester to Broadstairs, for a few days with the boys.  The weather was obliging and Helen and Nick managed to get a night away together while we looked after the boys.

On the beach with the boys, throwing stones into the water and 'who's knocked down Nana's sand castle'

Ernie's water fight in the garden with Mummy

Lenny loves bubbles

Broadstairs Viking Beach