Travelling by train made sense

With relatively short notice (24 hours) I found myself in the very fortunate position of joining a large group of excited friends for a weeks skiing in Alpe d’Huez, France. We were meeting at St Pancras station the next morning rather than the airport, which seemed strange but suited me great and gave me enough time to beg borrow and, erm... a weeks ski equipment in proportional comfort. Travelling by train made so much sense. Moving en-mass seemed effortless and enjoyable rather than logistical. We headed off to Paris with anticipation and on the Eurostar, the suggestion of bubbles on ice was strictly adhered to from the moment we departed  - surpassing any BA drinks trolley I have ever encountered.

Paris Gare de LyonPhoto: Tom Lorton

Moving through Paris where we stayed for the night with pre-booked taxis was much easier than expected. After soaking up some of the local Parisian charm we then enjoyed dinner and the obligatory view of the Eiffel tower at midnight. The next morning we made an early start with the train ride through paris divided between sleeping off last nights dinner or tracking down the train's last remaining bottles of fizz. As a proud brit I will be-grudgingly give France credit where due on the scenery from the train journey and time again soared by. Arrival was one short transfer from the mountains and we were settling in to our new home for the week. We had time for more refreshments and some realisation of where we had actually arrived before sorting all our ski-equipment and reclining for evening dinner with entirely appropriate levels of excitement about the days ahead.

Photo: Tom Lorton

The week’s skiing that followed, the company, arrangements and time spent both on and off the slopes were a delight. Travel back was easily covered in a day, even with the looming threat of a tunnel fire tantalisingly raising the prospect of being stuck on the slopes simply adding a few hours to the whole process.