HELP!!!! Paris to Barcelona

Dear Ashley: This sounds like a wonderful trip. I am sure many other posters will have excellent ideas, but here are my thoughts. From what you said in your post, I infer that your general itinerary looks something like this:
Arrive London September 26th, London for 3 nights (26, 27, 28). Then I assume, as you said train is your mainstay form of travel, you'll take the Eurostar 2 hrs 15 min to Paris on the 29th. If you give Paris the same time you gave London (3 nights) you'll be in paris on the 29th, 30th and 1st of october. At the other end, you'll keave Barcelona on october 10th..so you would be in Barcelona on Oct 7, 8, and 9. That means you have to plan for getting between Paris and Barcelona on the 2nd through 6th of october (5 days). Where to spend those 5 days?
One possibility is the Loire, which is great biking country and lots to see and do, then pick up the night train in Blois for Barcelona. A better choice IMO, would be to TGV direct Paris to Nice, spending your time based in Villefranche (a small village)...there are not just beaches on the Cote d'azure, there are great hiking opportunities too. There are discount airlines that fly Nice-Barcelona direct (Vueling, I think). Another possibility would be to train from paris to the Dordogne region (see Rick's France book for details). Then from Sarlat you could train to Bordeaux, Bordeaux to Madrid, and finally Madrid to barcelona by high speed rail. (I would do this in 2 or 3 days, not all at one go).
Or think about basing entirely in the 3 cities you mentioned and doing daytrips by rail out into the countryside. From London the Cotswolds, the West Country, and Yorkshire are all close by train and each provides fantastic hiking...hiking is one of the things the English really love. Yes, you'll have to have rain gear, but you will never forget wandering around the Cotswolds through one picture-book village after another.
Don't hesitate to ask further questions as you plan!!!

Asturias, in northern Spain, is the place to go if you want to hike. Over 60% of this area of Spain is public land, and it contains many parks and great trails - and it's stunningly gorgeous. In addition, the Picos de Europa mountains begin in eastern Asturias. It's not a very touristed area of Spain but you can easily reach it via several budget airlines from London and other points in Europe.

I think Roe's suggestions are spot-on. The south of France is perfect for a honeymoon if you can make it work.

If you would happen to head to the Dordogne region, I did run across this in a magazine:

www.myfrenchfarmhouse.com

It looks idealic. But I have not stayed there - only read about it. So I am just offering it to you...if you wanna be my guinea pig and let me know ;)

oh and sorry as I continued to think about your questions I wanted to add more. Getting married and heading on this journey is a big undertaking (I hope you have a least a tiny break in between). I have not been to the UK or to Spain, but I suspect when you get to London you will have some adrenehline running thru you and will be able to see and do a whole lot there. London should be perfect for that.

When you get to Paris, make sure to slow down. Plan lots of down time with no expectations. I suggest you go to Rue Cler and find the wine shop next to the cheese shop. (it doesn't have to be Rue Cler, but I happen to know they are right next door to each other there). Ask the wine store clerk to suggest a good wine. He will likely ask you what you like (probably in perfect English). Tell him. Then once he makes your selection - ask if he can recommend a good cheese to pair with it. At this point, I am hoping he goes right next door and works with the cheese guy to find the perfect pairing. That is what happened to us. H.E.A.V.E.N! Cheese and Wine on the Eiffel Tower lawn. Tour Notre Dame, St. Chappelle Church (possibly a Vivaldi concert in the evening), tour the Louvre briefly and the Orsey. Stop for a bottle of wine while sitting on the banks of the Siene. Do a boat cruise at night from Pont Neuf. And just walk and enjoy. Eat pastries.

Then I am hoping wherever you go next can be a vacation from your vacation. A beach on the Med maybe? I nice hotel in the Loire with a hottub! Somewhere you can just relax 100% and not tour a darn thing unless you want to.

And then onto Barcelona! Enjoy!

My suggestion comes much closer to your original idea:

Take the train to Béziers (between Montpellier and Narbonne). Then continue on to Bacelona by train from there.

Check out this lovely B&B:
http://www.lesmimosas.net/enindex.html

It's situated in an authentic, out-of-the-way spot, with a river flowing through the pretty little town of Roquebrun (NOT RoquebrunE - that's another, bigger, better known place). Lots of local hiking, wineyards, donkey walks, canoeing, and tons of local flavor! It's definitely not yet on the RS radar, which may be a good thing for now.

The owners, Jacqui and Martin, are English-speakers, are very helpful, and know well this special area of the Languedoc. When you e-mail them, ask if they can arrange a pick up and drop off back in Beziers. They don't normally do this, but might for you if you explain your honeymoon plans. (Most of their guests arrive by car)

Good luck with your plans and congrats!

BTW - the suggestion for Asturias takes you really far from where you want to be. But the suggestion of sending you close to a Nice-Barcelona flight makes a lot of sense -- the village of Sainte-Agnes may be a very good choice for you, 1 hour or so from Nice.