15 hours and 6 train transfers later...

Gillian and I have arrived in the city of Dijon, France, after a very long and eventful day of travel.
Our original plan was to train from Barcelona to Brussels, Belgium via Montpellier and Paris, but upon arriving at the train station early this morning we were informed trains out of Barcelona were all booked. We met a fellow Canadian in the same boat and an older Aussie, and after some discussion we decided to get on the train without reservations. We managed to make it one stop before getting kicked off, and that hour was the most high-strung and nervous I have felt in so long.

The train we were kicked off

We ended up in the city of Girona where we began our trek through small cities along the south of France. We met a nice English speaking Frenchman who advised us to just take the next train at each stop we ended up at. After stops in cerbere and Perpignan we made it to Montpellier where Gillian and I said bye to Emily and our new friend Jordan.

Jordan and Gill

At this point Gillian and I has regained hope that we might make it to Belgium, but we were then informed all trains to Paris were booked. We sulked a bit then decided to continue the theme of today: take the next train as far as you can. So we took the next train to Lyon, with hopes of ending up in Dijon where we could transfer to Paris, then to Brussels.

On our train to Lyon

Spirits were high. We then realized we were on the only train a day between Lyon and Dijon that requires a reservation. We were forced off yet another train, and waiting for the next was enough to make us miss the last train to Paris.

So here we are, hanging out in the mustard city after what was surprisingly a fantastic day. The adrenaline from sneaking onto full trains mixed with very little sleep, some good coffee, juice boxes of wine, travel scrabble and a great group of people made for a really excellent morning.

Our juice boxes of wine

We are now forced to skip Brussels, and are heading to Den Haag tomorrow :)