Well we have taken our train trip and it was great. I highly recommend it to anyone going from Paris to Barcelona. We sat up high. The seats were comfortable and the scenery was very nice. We went from city to country to mountains to Mediterranean with the snow capped Pyrenees on one side and the pink flamingos and palm trees on the other. It was a wonderful way to travel and we felt we really got to see much more of what parts of France and Spain look like. An added bonus, none of the hassle of security and waiting at the airport.

Thanks Opaldog. I'm thinking of doing this next year.
Had wanted to do it this year from Paris but went to London on Eurostar (just over 2 hours) instead because of time limitations. I too love the ease and convenience of train travel and look forward to this one, thanks to all the useful info on this thread.

Thank you too for the 'Vietnamese restaurants in Paris' recos you provided to me on another thread. I met up with local friends late one evening and we enjoyed great Pho and Bahn-mi at a place they were very familiar with and an owner they knew in the St. Michel area.

Glad your trip was a good one.