We took an overnight train from Paris to Barcelona. Twelve hours, but an easy twelve hours. The first three were spent in the cafe car. The food was surprisingly good—olives, cheeses, cured meats, red wine, espresso. Our meal was more enjoyable than any we had in Paris. No joke.

Other than that, not much to report. Our sleeper car experience was neither good nor bad. Our two cabin mates were nice enough, two Pakistanis traveling on business, but the real problem was that the it was about 20 degrees too hot.

The train pulled in an hour late—9am—but we barely noticed. All in all, one of the easiest 13 hour trips in my life.