Miserable, wet, grey and depressing.

But that's enough about me - let's talk about the weather.

And that's also miserable, wet, grey and depressing. But the exciting thing is that I'm sitting at a desk looking out of my hotel window and I can see the planes taking off from the runway at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. And in an hour or so I'll be there too.

The train journey was exciting and I'll do this again. The train from Riom to Lyon was a multiple-unit thing that rattled and clanked its way along. No coffee unfortunately but at least the seats were comfortable and there was plenty of room. At Lyon you leave the train, go downstairs where there's a waiting area and a coffee machine. When your train is called you go back upstairs and there you are. Simple as that.

The TGV was a double-decker thing and athough we had a 20-minute wait for a late connection we went like stink as expected and the lateness didn't matter as I walked straight out of the airport onto the hotel shuttle (once every half-hour) that was already outside. So if we had been on time I would have had to wait outside the airport for 20 minutes.

Downside of the TGV is that coffee on the double-deckers is a long walk away and luggage space is VERY MUCH at a premium. Upside is that my train was going to Lille Europe and there was a train from Brussels on the opposite platform. Doesn't that open up exciting possibilities for my British and Belgian friends? Both of them!

Anyway, here I am. And there I'll be in a bit. And thanks to Bill for driving me to the station.