Eurostar: Paris to London

It may be a bit country bumpkin of me but I still get a bit of a thrill waking up in Paris then arriving in London a few hours later. On a train. It is the best way to travel.

Getting up at 05:30 wasn’t the best though. We were catching the 07:43 and had a taxi booked for 06:20. The taxi was waiting for us and whisked us through half empty Paris streets where most of the traffic was cleaning them.

Of course we ran into the earlier Eurostar mob as they jostled and jangled through customs and security, finally queuing up pointlessly, blocking the corridors. Bunch of non-travellers. All the regulars were sitting down, waiting for the announcement to board.

It didn’t help that one of the travelators was out of commission meaning everyone with big suitcases had to go down the one. Still, I managed to shove my way through the hordes and met up with Mirinda at the pleasant end of the Eurostar terminal. The end with the nice cafe.

I lined up behind three burly, grim looking Americans who all had a big slab of cheesecake for breakfast and some weak looking coffee. I had my usual and received a glorious smile from the lady serving me. Clearly it was my sparkling French language skills.

There was a slight hiccough when we boarded and someone wanted my seat. Until he pointed out that I was in the wrong carriage and it was, in fact, his seat.

Finally, settled in coach 5, we sat back and let France drift away behind us as we approached the channel then Kent. Then we hove into St Pancras, right on time.

Thinking we needed some fresh air, we decided to walk to Euston for the bus to Waterloo. This was a lot better than standing in a queue for a taxi though the air wasn’t particularly fresh having been through traffic first.

Not long after, I was sitting on a train leaving Waterloo for home. An almost empty train, I should add. It was lovely.

Then home.

Another delightful Mirinda Weekend in Paris complete.

It wasn’t, however, my Tuesday complete.

Aldershot Town FC hasn’t had a lot of Tuesday night home games this season so when a rearranged game was scheduled for tonight, Nicktor was quick to suggest my attendance.

He managed to get off work early enough to pick me up then drive the few hundred metres to the 6 Bells for a rather pleasant dinner. Making it even more pleasant, we were joined by James. We then proceeded to eat, drink and talk about bridges. I don’t know why we were talking about bridges but we did. At length.

Then, sadly leaving the warmth and conviviality of the pub, we headed to the ground for the Shots game against Boreham Wood.

It was actually an exciting game. Which we won 3-2. Our third goal was of particular note – an amazing half volley which just slammed into the back of the net leaving their massive goalkeeper wondering where he was.

Then home. In the car, I told Nicktor I was feeling a bit zonked given I’d woken up at 05:30. He corrected me and said I’d actually woken up at 04:30, UK time.

At home, I was asleep very quickly after calming the girls down.

Paris, London, Aldershot…what a day.