Daisy Row 

2 July 

So here we are. France. Paris. Arrived at 8am with plenty of time to get to Montparnasse train station for our 10.24 a.m departure for Hendaye. Except today, of course is the first day of summer holidays. The queues for passport control were like a football crowd. We made it through to the luggage carousel where Renée found her bag in the first circuit. Why bags that checked in together do not arrive together has always confounded me. We wait. We consider options. 10 lookalike rucsacs carousel by. Maybe it is over there with that pile of bags that someone has pulled off the carousel, summises Ren. Sure enough. Of course. We then leg it downstairs to buy an RER ticket. More queues. I buy a SIM. Renee gets tickets. I can’t seem to get mine in the machine. We are on the train. It is 9.30 now. The stations tick by. Luxembourg is one of them. I like how it’s pronounced. Exotic. Some of the fashion on the train means we are in Paris. Jump suits and wedges. 10.19 we get to the interchange and run. Weave and run. Next train comes quickly. Three stops. Montparnasse is a big station. Still we run. No joy. The train went at 10.24. It is 10.30. Bugger. We somehow get a refund of sorts and the only tickets on the 12.24 train are first class. €140 to pay. 6 hours to Hendaye. A spot of lunch and a cold beer. Loads of football fans around in German tops. The train is really cosy. Renee is asleep. It’s like Norfolk fields out there. Cloud streets too. Cool air. Time to rest. Day zero half way done.