Easter trains: miaow you know

Are cats controlling the world? That’s up for debate. 

But in Essaouira, Morocco this week, I met one that has mealtimes sussed. I watched it stroll into the restaurant, select a table and wait for the waiter to arrive. 

Rather than ordering the food itself, the cat let the humans at the table order on its behalf. When the food arrived, it had them taste it first. Then it stared at them, one by one. After a while, this had the desired effect. They got up from the table, paid the meal for the cat, and left. 

Only at this point, after a long wait, did the cat dine alone, quietly. 

Over coffee (which didn’t interest the cat), we conversed.  The cat intimated to me that it is planning to take the family skiing at Easter. It wants to travel by train and had been waiting patiently for trains in Europe to go on sale. 

Fortunately, I was able to tell it what I recently gleaned from SNCF: for travel dates from 25th March 2024 onwards, trains will go on sale on Wednesday 24th January 2024. Normally this will be at about 5am, UK time. 

That means that Eurostar journeys to Paris, Lille or Brussels, which are already on sale for that period, can be combined with onward daytime journeys to resorts in France, Switzerland, Italy and Austria, such as by high-speed TGV trains. 

The next morning, I happened across the cat discussing this with its family, and receiving an appreciative pat on the back. 

With a combination of slightly warmer weather but still great conditions on the slopes, Easter is always an excellent time for families in particular. And indeed, the youngest member of the cat family is coming skiing this time, for the first time. They are having some little skis made specially. But do watch out at the dinner table…because these guys know exactly what they are doing.

Kitten waitsPhoto: Daniel Elkan