Clichy

Our trip to Paris has involved one night in Sydney, over night in Tokyo, two nights in London and two more nights in central Paris - Gare du Nord. Five countries, five hotels (airport hotel tomorrow night) over seven days. Yes there were times I wondered why we decided to do it this way but at the planning stage you forget about the hassles of packing and unpacking, transport and trains and focus on the destination not the journey.

All Nipon Airlines business class is the best we have flown. Food was amazing, I elected to have the Japanese meal. The seats for the long haul leg provided us with more room than we have ever had before. Both legs were during the day so we arrived in London at a sensible hour, 2.30pm. The airport hotel was a short walk and very comfortable. Next time we will choose a better hotel in Tokyo though.

To get to Paris we plan to take the Eurostar given we had not had that experience before. The challenge however was how to get from Heathrow airport with two not quite 20 kilos suitcases, two carry-on cases plus two bags. It was therefore a prudent decision to have a trial run of getting to St. Pancras where the Eurostar would leave and try and avoid escalators with so much luggage. We had to change trains twice and take two different lines but it was successful and something we knew we would be able to do the next day. I had arranged to catch up with friends and we met at St. Pancras. This was a station I was unfamiliar with and is around the corner from what could best be described as a ' gothic pile'. A Victorian hotel with turrets and ornamentation. Can't imagine how expensive it would be to stay there. We wandered off to the British library where we had a very pleasant lunch and an opportunity to sit and chat as we watched the rain outside.

The next adventure was getting back from Central London. The obvious was to go back the way we came. We had after all paid a small fortune for two return tickets to London and one one way ticket, cost $100. On arrival at Paddington station we were greeted with the news that an electrical fault meant trains would be delayed for more than half an hour. We were dubious as to whether they would run at all so to ensure we got back we paid another $70 for one way on the Heathrow Express. We were concerned as to whether the problem would continue the following day when it would matter. The electrical fault however was resolved and we got to St. Pancras before 10:00. a.m.

Our adventure to get to Paris continued. When these arrangements were made we had no idea that we would be traveling so close to Easter, our 11:30 train to Paris was the day before Good Friday. The station was packed. We were told we must be there before they close the gates half an hour before the train leaves. We joined the queue just after 10:00 a.m. and it took almost an hour and a half to get from where we started in the queue to actually sitting on the train. Two passport controls one for leaving the UK and one for entering the EU. All I can think is thanks Brexit. The waiting area was standing room only as the train earlier had been delayed, which to some extent explains why there were so many people everywhere and almost no information. The train ride was uneventful but I can't help but reflect on the fact that we were at Heathrow and had we caught a flight to Paris it possibly would not have cost anymore and possibly would have saved us quite a lot of time. From leaving the hotel at 8:30 in the morning, we arrived at our hotel in Paris at 2:30 in the afternoon. At least we can now. So we have been on the Eurostar. It is very much like traveling on any other high-speed European train which we do enjoy.Read more