Tuesday 9 January - Saint Germain en Laye

Cool and misty today but low chance of rain so we took line A to Saint Germain en Laye.  RER line A is the busiest on the network and the central section is being automated so that trains can run at 2 minute intervals.  The chateau at Saint Germain is now a museum and the grounds are extensive - on the Versailles scale. I really liked the Jardin anglais which is on a more human scale and contains curves and a great selection of trees and shrubs.

The front entrance to the chateau has been beautifully restored

Magpies were busily turning over the turf in the vineyard

The topiary work is reminiscent of Versailles

The chateau is very large but nothing compared to Versailles

We had a reservation at La Cantina de Marius where we ate last year.  Once again the food and service was very good in a packed restaurant.

The Beignets de Saint Marcellin were very good with the cheese running out of a crunchy crust

Our plat was Bavette de boeuf with an artichoke puree. With a bottle of an excellent Var red wine we ate very well. Having made a reservation we were given a grand table by the window.

The plan for the afternoon was to walk over to the second RATP station in Saint Germain - that at Grande Ceinture.  This is the terminus of Line L to Noisy le Roi which connects with a train to Saint Lazare at Saint Nom la Bretache, Foret de Marly.  However, Mary's Google maps took us to the Saint Germain en Laye, Bel Air Forqueux station which was quite a bit further. The end result was that we took the same train but missed the northernmost part of the line. The line is currently operated by a couple of Z6400 trains painted a special STIF blue until such time as they are replaced by SNCF tram trains.

Saint Gernain en Laye, Bel Air, Forqueux. 

Saint Nom la Bretache, Foret de Marly. The two sections of this portion of line L are operated separately but this connection allows the trains from Saint Germain en Laye to join the rest of the network for maintenance,