Friday, October 04, 2013 Paree; Military Base; Tea

Friday, October 04, 2013  Paree; Military Base; Tea

We were up and at the hotel desk BEFORE 5 a.m. We went outside to take a photo, of course, and a man came up to us and asked if we were waiting?  We didn’t really trust him but he knew my name so we got in the car with him (How dumb can you get?) and he took us to St. Pancreas Station for our tour.   

We arrived before 5:30 and the tour office didn’t even open until at least 6:00.  We wandered across the street to King’s Cross Station and found platform 9 ¾.  Of course we had to have our photos made in front of the trolley cart that was halfway through the wall.  What fun.

Sue got her phone out to take a photo and realized she didn’t have her phone!!!  After a lot of searching of our belongings and waiting for the tour office to open up, the man in charge of the tour office called and found that the taxi driver had found her phone and will return it our hotel sometime today.!!!!  Whew!!  What a relief. (Update - it was not at the hotel when we got there.)

We got our tickets and went through a security checkpoint that was not nearly as severe as at an airport, went through passport control and then went to the lobby to wait a while.  Our train was the second to leave this morning.  It is 6:51 and we are sitting in our first class seats waiting for the train to leave. The seats are certainly nicer than the ones we sat in yesterday.  I think I could get used to first class, only if I had to, of course.  

It is now 8 pm in Paris, 7 pm in London.  We survived the day, so far. 

The train ride was about two hours long and we were moving right along.  Sue found that the maximum speed of the EuroStar is 208 miles per hour. I don’t expect we were going quite that fast but I’m sure it was over 150 mph.  Because we were sitting in first class (we waited until too late to get regular tickets) they served us breakfast and we had larger nicer seats than the regular class.  It was an okay breakfast and we were glad to get it.  We watched the countryside go by and actually slept a little while.  Not nearly enough though.

 

We arrived at the Paris Nord Gare (I think that’s what the train station is called) and found a fella with the name of the tour company on it so we were safe and didn’t have to take care of ourselves – that made me happy.   

This is Michael, our guide.  He spoke French and English so well that I don't know which is his native language. There were only 11 people on the tour and we had a large bus so we were able to spread out like we liked.  We headed for downtown Paris and it was rush hour.  The traffic was terrible.  There was lots of horn honking and our driver slammed on his breaks once to avoid a car.  There were LOTS of motorcycles and small cars but our bus made it through just fine.  The driver’s name was Charlie (pronounced shar ree) and he had a rough job guiding that bus but I was just glad it wasn’t me doing it.   

We drove by lots of pretty sites and took lots and lots of photos.  The buildings are mostly beautiful but there are some that are in terrible condition and many are under construction.  I was not impressed with how the city looks because of all the traffic and there seemed to be a lot of papers and plastic bags everywhere.  

When we were around the Eiffel Tower, the city was much more impressive and cleaner.  We were glad to finally get to the Eiffel Tower and it was beautiful.  Sue kept saying she could not believe we were there, so I pinched her several times.  You know, just to help her make sure she was not sleeping and to be sure she really was there.  After a short time, she stood farther away from me and did not say that very often.  Guess I woke her up really good.  I’m just glad she didn’t deck me.  We passed very long lines of people who were getting tickets or getting on the elevators – since we were with the tour, we already had tickets and got in the fast track lanes.  That was nice.  We went to the second floor which is the second floor above the ground and gee, could we see everywhere.  Then I remembered I was afraid of heights!!!  

 Luckily the wind did not cause any movement of the tower and I felt quite stable so I was able to walk around the tower near the edge.  The distance you could see was magnificent and Paris was beautiful from this angle.  Paris is a Big city and I knew that but didn’t really realize it until I saw it from this vantage point.  We spent only about half an hour up there then came down.  We did a little shopping and sort of had lunch, but it wasn’t a very good one.  

 Then we wandered down to the boat dock to wait for our one hour boat ride on the Seine River.  At first we sat in the regular seats and then we noticed there were people on the outside of the boat.  We moved to be out there also.  We sat with a couple (also on the tour) from Minnesota.  They had spent the week in London because they came to see the Viking football game last weekend!!!   

We had audio wands that we could listen to and that was nice as they told us about what we could see as we rode the river.  There certainly are a lot of bridges on that river and they have a long history.  Speaking of history, our driver gave us a crash course in the last few hundred years of French history and that is a very interesting subject – I need to learn more about it.  We saw many beautiful buildings along the river and there were many people sitting outside along the river bank having lunch or just watching people go by.  It was a nice trip and it was fairly cool with the breeze and the water sloshing around.  We did not get wet except when we sat down into wet seats.  Notre Dame looked wonderful from the outside and I bet I would really enjoy seeing it from the inside.  Maybe I’ll get to do so the next time I see it.  I have never wanted to visit Paris before but now I think I might like to spend a few days there.   

After the boat ride, we got back on the bus for a short ride to the Louvre.  From the river, the Louvre looked like a grand, never ending building.  We entered, of course, from the bus garage and went through a long shopping mall before we ever got to the museum.  There were some really fancy shops there including a very large Apple store that Sue enjoyed a lot.  I also enjoyed that store a lot but for a different reason that I’ll tell you about later.  We found the Mona Lisa and Sue finally worked her way her way to the front of it and she really enjoyed seeing it.  

 I don’t find it all that interesting so I didn’t work to do that but stood to the side near a very large painting.  I found the frame of the picture I was near to be as much a work of art as the painting.  Talk about intricate.  We then sound some sculptures by Michaelangelo – I know that’s not spelled correctly but you know who I’m talking about.  I love sculpture especially old marble ones.  The marble calls to me and makes me want to rub it – I did manage to keep my hands to myself this time (Aren’t you glad, Frank?) so there were no problems with that. After that, we decided to do some shopping.  If I get the chance to go to Paris again, I will plan to spend at least one day at the Louvre and pay for the digital headset so I will know what I am seeing.  I hoped to buy my granddaughter a book from here, but they were all in French so I decided not to do so.  I did find her a magnet board to play with that she may enjoy in a few years.  Then time was about up so Sue and I went back to the upside down pyramid which is in the shopping mall to wait on Michael and the rest of the group. 

 They were late!!  Turns out my phone did set its time forward an hour like it was supposed to but I didn’t know it.  We were an hour early!!  That’s when I came to like the Apple store – they were places to sit in there and that’s just what I did.  Again, my feet were worn out – I may have to get some new ones when I get home!!!!  When the rest of the group joined us, we walked down to the bus and took off for the train station.  Talk about traffic!!  And I had thought the morning was bad – this time not only were the streets full but the sidewalks were also full of people and once I saw a motorcycle riding down the sidewalk.  However, the driver did a good job and got us close to the station before we got off.  Michael led us right to the elevator we needed to go upstairs and wait on the Eurostar at 8:08.  We had to wait about an hour, but we talked to the couple from Minnesota and snacked a little.   

Finally, we got on the train and this time we are facing each other with a table in between us.   

They have served us a light dinner (lamb or cheese) so Sue chose the lamb but mostly ate the rest of her ham and cheese sandwich from the station and I chose neither except for a roll which took quite a bit of chewing to get down my throat.  The people in this coach are all very quiet – they look like business men in their suits and they are not talking to each other much.  We seem to be flying along in the dark heading for England – I guess that’s just what we are doing actually except we are flying in a train.  I’m going to close the computer for a while but hope to finish this tonight or tomorrow and get it to you. 

Much later - We made it to London just fine but were very disappointed that no taxi was there to meet us at the station and return us to our hotel.  We called Golden Tours and they said that no one was supposed to meet us and so we got a taxi back to the hotel. We went back and reviewed their advertising and I think it is rather misleading but I guess you could read it that no taxi was supposed to meet us.  We were counting on that taxi and were very disappointed to have to get our own taxi.  We made it back and quickly took our showers and got to sleep.  It was a very long day and even though it was a tough day it was still a good one.  We are both glad we went.

Meanwhile, back in London, Sarah and Paula took a trip to see the military base where Paula’s father was stationed way back when.  The other girls had a nice leisurely breakfast about 9:45 and decided to just take it easy today.  All five of them planned to get together for tea at the National Gallery.  Linda described it by saying “ Tea at the National Gallery was not formal but was typical.  Had little sandwiches – salmon & horseradish, beef, egg salad, and one sorta like spicy pimento cheese.  Had good scone.  Had heavy chocolate petit four, cake with cream in middle, and pink something raspberryish.  Shopped in the National Galley gift shop.  Heard piper in Trafalgar Square.  Took taxi to hotel.  In for the night.”  

 Sounds to me like they had a nice day.  

Sarah described her day in an email to me saying “Today, Paula and Sarah took off for their own adventure.  They headed out of London to Huntingdon, about an hour outside of London to visit the military base that Paula's father was stationed at during World War II.  Sarah was volunteered to accompany Paula because Paula was volunteered to accompany her on a visit to Leeds Castle in 1985, on a previous trip.  Payback one adventure for another.  Following breakfast (why baked beans for breakfast?) they took a taxis to the Kings Cross Train Station across town.  They were on a very specific schedule and actually left ahead of schedule.  They were to take the 10:23 train to Huntingdon.  They were delivered to the train station safely and ahead of schedule and purchased their tickets from Steve, who looked like Mr. Weasley from Harry Potter fame.  They made sure they got his picture.  On the way to the Track to meet the train, they passed Platform 9 and 3/4 of Harry Potter fame, where people could have their picture made going through the wall (read the book, you'll understand).  They didn't have time in the schedule to get a picture themselves but hoped that there might be time once they returned.  They proceeded to platform 9b and waited for the train to arrive.  Suddenly, a railway worker announced that the platform for their train had been switched so with just minutes to spare, they got to the correct platform and boarded the train.  Still on schedule.  The train trip took about an hour and there were several stops along the way but the trip was enjoyable, except for when they went through tunnels which caused discomfort in their ears.  Not sure why?  Sarah was startled several times by passing trains which ran very fast and close to her side of the train.  They arrived at Huntingdon after about an hour and immediately found a taxis to take them to RAF Alconbury military base.  Still on schedule and very little hassle!  The taxis driver knew exactly where the base was and got them there in about 15 minutes.  They pulled up out front of the base which was guarded by armed military personnel.  Paula approached the guard on duty and asked if it was alright if they took a picture of her in front of the base sign.  At first, the guard was reluctant to let them take a photo saying that they were not really allowed to do so but they both told the guard that Paula's father was stationed there during WW II so he agreed but required them to show him the pictures that were made for approval.  

Sarah made pictures of Paula at the front gate sign, making sure there was nothing else in the picture frame but Paula and the sign.  They showed the pictures taken to the guard and he approved them.  Sarah then asked if she could take his picture which he readily agreed to do so long as they were facing away from the gate entrance.  

A few more photos were snapped of an airplane and maybe a couple of "inadvertent" shots of the base entrance before they got back in the taxis and headed back to the train station.  The taxis driver enjoyed taking them on their adventure and was more than happy to pose for photos once they arrived back at the train station.  Mission accomplished, it took all of one hour in Huntingdon and they were still on schedule!  They were back on the train and headed back to London by 12:34.  Texting on the train allowed them to make arrangements to meet Ann, Linda, and Phyllis at 3:00 at the National Gallery for tea.  They arrived early and stopped by St. Martin's in the Field church before walking across the street to the National Gallery.”  

 They then had tea with the other girls.

Another interesting day for all of us!!