London/Paris 2011 trip report–part 14

 

I write this portion of this post as we cruise along on the Eurostar traveling from Paris to London. (Now there’s a sentence I’ll likely never write again!) Shortly, we’re going to eat the picnic lunch we carried on board: cheese bought in a Parisian open air market, bread, bought in a Parisian local bakery, and chocolate, bought in a Parisian store – all while riding along at well over 100 mph on Eurostar (eat your heart out!). We finished our short visit to Paris with our pleasant evening with our friends Alex and Karla. Since our train was scheduled for 1:00pm on Saturday we were able to sleep in and have plenty of time to pack and then take the Metro to Paris Nord for our return to London.

When I first began researching this trip I intended to fly “open jaw” – arriving in Paris, taking Eurostar to London, and then leaving from there. However, the price was much higher. Thus we ended up doing a round trip from Houston to London by air and a round trip from London to Paris via train. Jackie likes high speed train travel so much that she wishes Eurostar offered service to Houston!

We enjoyed Paris very much and found it to be quite tourist friendly. Anywhere tourists go there are people who speak English. We used our French “hello” and “thank you” accompanied by lots of smiles and got along very well. The Metro is easy enough to use although it can be hot and crowded. Some of the trains feel quite worn, but others are modern. My only known brush with pickpockets came just as we arrived, on our first trip on the Metro. A group of girls acted as though they were uncertain of their stop. With lots of noise, one got off the train and others said, “no, this isn’t the stop.” Then they had second thoughts just as the doors were about to close and one brushed by me. They came up empty because I wasn’t carrying anything in my pants pockets. As we departed, one kind lady asked me if I had my wallet. The answer was “no” – but because I didn’t have a wallet where they could get to it that way. Later I thought someone tried to lift my cell phone from by cargo pants pockets, but the next time I carried a suitcase up a flight of stairs I realized it brushed against my leg in just the right way to “lift” the phone.

My “security” approach on the trip was only partially successful. I wore a money belt for passports and other important papers. My plan was to wear a tee-shirt with a pocket under my button down shirt. I would keep my money in a small wallet in the tee-shirt pocket with my shirt buttoned up. However, the wonderful weather messed me up! It was just too warm to wear two shirts like that. I ended up carrying my money, etc. in one of my cargo pants lower pockets, buttoned in. In Paris, I went to security level two and added a safety pin under the flap of that same pocket. I then forgot about it and enjoyed my sightseeing. The last two days in Paris it cooled off quite a bit and I was able to move my money to the tee-shirt pocket, securing it under my shirt plus light jacket. That was my plan “A” and it worked very well.

Alex and Karla were more than gracious and we enjoyed their company and appreciated their kindness very much. Because we were with them we went a few places I wouldn’t have had the confidence to go, especially at night. If they had a tour business I’d heartily recommend their business to you!

Paris is a beautiful city and a great place to visit. I enjoyed finding my way around and a few smile filled encounters with “locals” who patiently tried to understand what I wanted. One trip to the bakery was especially fun for us, and I think the baker got a bit of a kick out of it too.

Our hotel in Paris, the Citea Hotel in Charenton was outside what most people think of as the tourist area. I picked it because it had a good price, good reviews on Trip Advisor, and was close to the Metro. From there, it was around 40 minutes, for instance, to the Eiffel Tower. The neighborhood felt safe after dark, and we passed several more local restaurants and other shops as we waked to and from the Liberte Metro station.

I have to admit that returning to London has with it a small feeling of relief. No doubt a tourist can get into plenty of trouble there, but the common language (more or less) makes me feel I can better get myself out of whatever pickle I’ve gotten myself into. Returning to London also has, of course, a feeling of sadness as our adventure is drawing to a close.

Tonight we’re at a place called Lampton Guest House, chosen for price and proximity to the London Underground and Heathrow airport. We arrived here in the middle of the afternoon. Frankly, it’s a bit of a disappointment. I expected the small room, but in spite of asking for the fewest possible stairs we ended up on the fourth floor with a noisy bed and not enough light.

However, we walked a few blocks to a lively and interesting High Street with lots of shops and venders, including a shopping mall. Then, we decided to try the Pop Inn Café for supper. We stumbled onto the best meal we’ve had in London. It’s a Turkish restaurant with good food, huge portions, and low prices. We only managed to eat half our food. The waitress offered us take-away boxes but we told her they would have to travel to Houston, Texas in the morning. She laughed and asked about our trip.

In the morning it’s back on the tube for a quick hop to Heathrow followed by a long hop across the “pond.”