Fri, Aug 28, London to
Paris: Got
all packed up and took a taxi to St. Pancras Station for the Eurostar
service. Got there really early and had
plenty of time to get our bearings. The
train left right on time, although one of the stewards on our car said it was
going to be 50 minutes late. But it left
at 11:30 on the dot. We were soon out of
London and in the rolling English countryside with fallow fields and brilliant
green pastures dotted with sheep. Very
pretty And then we were in the
chunnel. They served our lunch then and
pretty soon we popped out to the French countryside. This vista could have been Illinois or
Indiana with lots of farms with fields of mature corn. We arrived at Gare du Nord at 2:45. We gained a hour. My first impressions of Paris were not good. Gare du Nord was rather plain and
unwelcoming. Plus, you had to pay .7
Euros to use the bathroom. Plus there
were soldiers carrying some kind of automatic weapons around. We got our rental car—and then the fun
began. What a CF! I had printed extensive
directions on how to get from Gare du Nord to our B&B in Limetz. If our car hadn’t had GPS, we’d still be
roaming around Paris trying to find our way.
Also, the car was stick shift.
Mike hasn’t driven a stick in probably 40 years. We made it here, thanks to the GPS. This place is so quaint and our suite is
spectacular. The owner recommended a
restaurant which we actually found and actually made our way back. Tomorrow we go to Giverny and the Monet house
and gardens. My sinus thing has turned
into a nasty head cold. Feeling
lousy. Go figure.
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| St. Pancras Station in London which is bright and airy--compared to Gare du Nord which is dark, dank, and spartan. Plus you have to pay .7 Euro to use the bathroom. What? |
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| Thank God for the GPS!!! |
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| Went through a bunch of cute little villages with winding streets. |
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| We have the whole top floor. The owner lives downstairs. |
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| Our sleeping area. |
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| Our sitting area. |
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| Stairs to outside. |
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| Our little outside sitting area--complete with a cat. |
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| View from the restaurant where we had dinner. |
