I never checked the speed of the train to Santiago de Compostela but the train to Barcelona had a readout in the coach of time/date/temp/speed and it was consistently clocking between 290 and 300. That's about the same as the Chunnel from UK to Paris that my gps clocked at 282. The Japanese bullet trains run max 320 kph, so a very minor difference.
The Barcelona train was much more cushy than the SdC train. Constant service but we didn't purchase anything. It's a 2.5 hour trip for 626 kms; google maps says that it's a 6:15 drive. Flying time is shorter but you have to add the time preflight that you have to be in the airport. The actual flight cost would be less than the train ... maybe ... but then you have the 30 Euro cost to/from the airport vs the <10 Euro cost to/from Atocha train station (the one closest to us).
The entire train thing worked out well, with the pre-purchase of first class (Confort, in ES terms). That service wasn't much more expensive than 2nd class.
I said to Sandy when we arrived back in Madrid that I hadn't done this much train travel since 1975 when we tripped all over Europe for about 45 days. UK, France, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands ... I think that was it. That was a lower budget trip. At that time, there was something called a student-rail pass that lasted 2 months, was 2nd class, or $180. I think that it was only available to non Europeans but not sure. There was also a Eurail Pass that was 1st class. Travel back then was a lot different. What I would have given for luggage with wheels ... but I was younger.
In Barcelona we had tickets for La Sagrada Familia. Naturally it's still under construction. There are still several towers missing, originally scheduled for 2026 but now delayed due to Covid. Yup, Covid is the world's excuse for being late and expensive. Who can argue? Our tickets included the audio, which of course is now on our phones, so much better sound with our own buds than using the dang headsets. Well worth it.
We ate well, as always, finally finding good food in Spain apart from the excellent tapas in SdC. We had had some very good lunches and "ok" dinners but needed to get off the beaten track, main squares/plazas for the best food. In Barcelona we went back to our night-before restaurant for lunch before heading to the train station for our return. I repeated my dinner, the grilled cuttlefish. It was to die for. Sandy had the veggie paella for lunch. All I can say is - don't come to Madrid for paella. Here in Madrid, it's a quick meal, quick assembly. In Barcelona it's cooked fresh in a large flat pan only about 1cm deep on high. The rice is very al dente, not cooked to softness. In Madrid it's more like risotto. The paella in Barcelona is served in that pan. What can I say?
We have one more day in Madrid. The temp is supposed to be back >90F. Early tomorrow a.m. we head to the airport, getting our pre-flight covid tests, wheels-up sometime after 11:15.
We have a backup plan for a positive covid test. Fly to Canada.
We are due to arrive at the cottage a week from today, a world apart.
Onward!
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