The TGV

http://www.20minutes.fr/diaporama/diaporama_tgv/pages/page_1.php

The TGV is very good, but it only runs at top speed as far as Tours at the moment - from Tours to Bordeaux it is running on the old track at "normal" speeds, so it doesn't do that much for us in Bordeaux.

Also France suffers from a Parisocentric rail network - it is easy and quick to get to Paris, but slow and difficult to get to Marseille or to Lyon.

Still, once when I went on the train to Lyon the journey there took 9 hours on a slow bouncy train that stopped for 15 minutes now and then for the locomotive to switch ends of the train. That seemed interminable compared with coming home where I took a TGV to Paris and another to Bordeaux.

Comments

Jon said…
Shouldn't that be "parisiocentric"?
Flows from the tongue better...
10:03 am
Alan said…
Did I tell you about the chinese student in the Bible study who, when reading about the pharisees, said:

Matt 5 : 20 Car, je vous le dis, si votre justice ne surpasse celle des scribes et des parisiens, vous n'entrerez point dans le royaume des cieux.

pharisien - pharisee
parisien - inhabitant of Paris
10:10 am
Anonymous said…
I once heard a Syrian politician on Radio 4, I think it was, talking of 'Palestine' and do you know what? It sounded VERY MUCH like 'Philistine'. Of course, it could well be that actually is the Arabic word and not a slip of the ear. It makes one wonder though - well it does for this particular one.
11:02 pm
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