How not to get from England to Spain via 3 trains, a subway and a bus in 14 hours

My journey begins. Well, actually it began about an hour ago, at my friend's place, who was nice enough to drive me to the station. 

For all the details about this multitrain adventure, check out I crossed three countries in 14 hours on 4 trains and a bus. And I'm not dead.

I also live-blogged it on my Instagram and saved the story.

One of London North Eastern Railway's InterCity 225s, still in Virgin East Coast livery. 

Oh how young and naive I look, just starting my journey. The seats were pretty good, actually. 

We arrive mostly on-time into London. Here are a few InterCity 225s unloading passengers. Mine's on the right.

This one's from my Instagram (though admittedly, not from this trip). It looks the same now, though.

In most other situations, the refurbished exterior of  King's Cross would get a lot of attention for its grandeur. However, right next door...

The gorgeous St. Pancras International.

The span, when built, was the largest in the world. Today it is no less grand. The Eurostar trains sit in the middle of the station, as if on display.

The Eurostar e320 can cruise at 200 mph/320 kph. 

The seats, however, are mediocre. I suppose it's not so bad as you're rarely in them for more than two hours. 

We arrived in Paris late. Here's a mildly concerned Geoff, first off the train, booking it for the station and Paris beyond.

Not wanting to waste time taking photos, here's a quick snap of the interior of Gare du Nord.

Waiting, waiting, waiting...

The MP 89CC is one of only a handful of subways in the world that uses rubber tires. 

This was the best shot I got of the incoming Line 4 train. Let's call it an action shot.

Even though it's only 20 minutes from platform to platform, the train portion of Montparnasse station is a bit of a hike from the Metro portion. Multiple stairs, escalators, and this walkway, which I'm about one-third of the way down by the time I think to take a picture.

A 700-series TGV Duplex Dasye.

If desired, multiple power cars can link together. This might be done if, say, two smaller trains are headed in the same general direction, but splitting off somewhere down the line.

I make it to my seat with 4 minutes to spare. That's cutting it rather close.

A shot of the rolling French countryside southwest of Paris. Due to early-morning fog and the rising sun, I didn't get any worthy photos on the English leg. A lot of it looks like this though.

The cafe car. I amused the employees by ordering in my terrible French: "Un coca et un caniche s'il vous plait. Gracias, mein freund."

First class, with a view.

You'd think farmland would look like farmland everywhere, but there are differences in colors, crops, buildings, all making this level view far more interesting than one from 30,000 feet. 

Five minutes early! Plenty of time to catch the last transportation of the day. 

A quick trip across the border to San Sebastian. I believe this is an Irizar i6. They've got 12.9L (!) inline-six diesels good for 400 to 500 horsepower. 

Not many on this 21:00 bus to San Sebastian.

The sun setting as I cross the border into country no. 3 for the day. Hola, Espana! In 30 minutes we arrived, and a few after that, I was at my hotel. A tiring but fun day.

The next day was perfect beach weather. A far cry from the jeans and wool pullover I was wearing in Newcastle. For a lot more detail about this oddball adventure, check out I crossed three countries in 14 hours on 4 trains and a bus. And I'm not dead.

I also live-blogged it on my Instagram and saved the story.