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Caught the 8.22 train from Barcelona for Perpignan where we were to collect our hire car and continue onto Bordeaux. We met some other Aussies on the train who had just arrived in Barcelona the previous day an were going to be doing a 10 day ride through the Pyrenees. We got off the train at Cerbere to connect to a local train which would get us to Perpignan. When we checked the time board it seemed like the next train wasn't until 12.25 and we needed to arrive Perpignan by 12 to collect the car, so at this point were starting to get a bit concerned. We then realized that there was an earlier train which was stopping at Perpignan that would arrive just after 12. Brett tried contacting Europcar to advise them we would be a little after 12 however there was no answer. When we arrived in Perpignan we found that Europcar was closed and didn't actually open at all on Sundays. We checked our reservation to ensure we had got the dates right and it had said collection 10/7 between 12-12.30. We waited until 12.30 to see if anyone would come but nothing. We then had to catch 2 trains to Bordeaux, with the first one not leaving for another 3 hours. We grabbed some lunch at the bistro bar in the train station. Brett had a few beers while we waited. When we finally were seated on the train, a fight broke out at the end of our carriage (we presumed the guy was trying to get a free ride-but caught) and so the train was delayed while they were trying to get him off. Not a great start to France! We changed trains at Narbonne and were on our way to Bordeaux, we thought all our dramas were behind us, arriving Bordeaux at 8.30. When we had stopped at one of the little train stations on the way an announcement was made over the carriage and a big grown was heard throughout. As the announcement was in French we weren't too sure what had happened but knew it couldn't be good news. As no-one was leaving the train we just presumed the train was delayed and so it was, we finally headed off another 1 hour or so later. At the next station a guy was coming through the train giving people directions. Luckily the train was still headed for Bordeaux and we didn't need to disembark. We were also told we could get a refund on our ticket because of the delay. When we finally arrived Bordeaux it was 10.15pm, we caught a cab to our hotel and headed out for a quick bite to eat. Why hello France!!!!
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