Train day!

An early start. Brighton to Marseille by train is probably the limit of how far I'd try and travel by rail in a single day. It's doable, but it's a trek. Vicki has had 4 and a bit hours sleep, while I'm a little better off with 6. Fairly bleary eyed, we board a commuter train from Brighton at 07:44 that should get us to St Pancras to pick up our Eurostar connection in plenty of time. It feels a little strange to be leaving Brighton on a train that doesn't include a train beer.

30 minutes into our journey, we learn of an unexplained 'serious incident' somewhere further up the line, that means our train will unexpectedly terminate at Three Bridges. We are given no information about other train services, the likelihood of the length of delay etc etc. We start looking for information, I briefly consider booking us a flight out of Gatwick.

We discover from a fellow passenger that someone has been struck by a train near Cambridge, and has tragically died. We're both struck by how quickly we process this sad news, before returning to the immediate task of planning our onward travel. As the interruption is near Cambridge, we're able to join a slow, stopping train that gets us to St Pancras with only a 20 minute delay.

Happily, this gives us time to pop to Searcy's for a pre-match sharpener, before we check-in for our Eurostar train. Soon enough, we've hurtled through the Kent countryside, and are into the tunnel. Vicki is napping. It's a very civilised way to travel...

We quickly arrive into Lille, where we'll change for a direct train to Marseille. Vicki snoozes for a while, I watch a movie. At one point, some heavy handed customs officers board the train - for what, we know not. They are shortly followed by three heavily armed police officers. Curiouser and curiouser. A woman near our seats has laid a full size bed sheet over her seat, turning it into some kind of pseudo-shrine. It's all very entertaining. We see large swathes of the French countryside - the agricultural North, the rocky escarpments and vineyards of Burgundy, and the heavily forested Park Morvan. Vicki is less than impressed by this last one ("Yet more trees") when she wakes from one of her regular naps.

Our train is a little late into Marseille, but not catastrophically so. After a quick march to our apartment, we head out in search of food - and stumble (operative word) across a brilliant little wine bar / wine shop / café, that rewards us with a fabulous bottle of Alsatian wine, and a charcuterie/cheese plate for the ages. Salami, Figatelli, Andouillette, along with a punchy country style Paté, and several brilliant local cheeses.

Despite the relatively early hour, we're both pretty knackered, so head back to our apartment looking forward to a long sleep.Read more