Tren a Grand Vitesse

A Proper Good Morning to You,

Although it's late afternoon/early evening here in London.  Upon arrival, I actually suffered some culture shock!  After laid back Lyon, Central London's crowds and bustle were unsettling.
I spent the day in travel.  After checking out, I made my way to Gare de Lyon Part Dieu where I arrived three weeks ago.  Had I but known the train station is an easy walk plus short cut through the Giant Shopping Mall from my hotel.  A lot of travelers use that short cut by the way.
I arrived in good time.  The website had told me I did not have to check in anywhere, but the ticket said I needed to validate it, so I did.  I was not getting on the Eurostar but a TGV that would whisk me from Lyon to Lille Europe International in a remarkably short time.  Because these trains are fast. The French name means train of great speed.
The trains I had been taking in Lyon were regional or TER trains.  You can just show up and jump on without a reservation.  The TGV are different as reservations are mandatory, and each passenger has an assigned seat.  If you want to travel less spontaneously than I do and will make specific reservations in advance--and you can do it on the SNCF website, then a host of destinations would be within your reach from Lyon or any other major city.
I had a window seat for the whole of my journey although I was sitting backward until we got to Lille.  I believe these trains mostly run on TGV dedicated tracks because of their speed.  I had no idea where we were until our first stop at Marne-La Vallee where I caught quick flash of Euro Disney as we pulled out.  The train also stops at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
The train I was on was bound for Brussels, so when we arrived in Lille, which is one of the stations for the Eurostar, many of us got off.  My seat mate (from Australia?) had been given bogus information about the stop.  She was to meet her cousin in Lille, and some of us had to convince her that this was indeed the place, and she really didn't want to end up cousinless in Brussels.   There was a while before check in opened so I wandered around and paid to use a toilet.  I'd put my Euros away and dug out my pounds, but I had to redig the Euros.  Sigh.
I don't know if this is normal or on account of Brexit but we had to clear passport control, customs, and security before boarding in London, and the stop in Lille was for French and UK boarder and passport control, customs, and security.  The British passport officer asked me a lot of questions, too.  She wanted to know what I was doing in London and for how long and was I going to meet anyone.
The trip back was smooth but it was a route, I was unfamiliar with via Calais and Ebbsfleet.  Even after the Euro Tunnel we spent a lot of time underground.
I got the tube at Kings Cross with my faithful Oyster Card.  They sell them on the Eurostar and you can get tickets to Mme Tussauds as well.  A short tube hop brought me home to Holborn.  I checked in and then went and got some cash and food.  It's just microwave spinach cannelloni, but it's pretty good--or else I was really hungry.
Cherrio!