Today we finally left the UK for the third leg of our trip and headed to Paris. Our first time in another country navigating another language.
We scheduled the Eurostar for 1:30 (long before we left; "when you book your plane, book your train" because the prices go up sharply the closer you get to departure), so that we could sleep in and wouldn't have to rush, which was great. We took the Tube to King's Cross and St. Pancreas International. If we'd had a little more time and weren't lugging heavy suitcases, we would have taken a stroll through the real King's Cross and looked for Platform 9 3/4.
When we went through customs, Marsha gave the agent her license, too. He asked if she was going to drive the train. It was much easier getting into France than the UK. No extra paperwork, and we didn't have to talk to anyone when we got off the train.
While we were waiting to board, I was able to buy a carnet (packet of ten) of tickets for the Paris Metro and RER (light rail system). That saved us some time getting to the hotel.
Finally got our call to board and we went up a long escalator ramp to platform. Got our heavy suitcases situated thanks to the conductor and we're off in no time. Our very first time traveling by train.
The ride was amazingly smooth, but the real surprise was how many times our ears popped going above and below ground.
The announcements were both in English and French. During our brief time in the UK, they were in English first. As soon as we crossed into France, French was first.
We left the UK pretty quickly and were underground long before we reached the Chunnel (as I'd heard). It was a very short ride before we popped out of the other side. We saw a bit more of the English countryside and a lot of the French countryside. France looks a lot like England, but flatter. Though I immediately noticed that they drive on the "correct" side of the road.
As soon as we arrived at Gare du Nord in Paris, we got our bags and headed for the RER. It was fairly easy to navigate, like London, but you need to already know the end stop of each line. We managed to get on the right train and even received some help from the locals more than once with our bags. People just popped up out of the blue to assist, which was wonderful.
We had to switch trains and our second one was a double-decker, which was quite the surprise. Naturally, we stayed in the bottom where there was plenty of room (our first train was extremely crowded).
It was just a couple of blocks to the hotel where I got to use my limited French to check in. I asked the clerk if she spoke English (in French, of course; my best phrase) just as I was running out of phrases that I knew.
Our room is just great. It's plenty big and the location of the hotel is fantastic. We can't see the Eiffel Tower from our room, but it is right around the block. We received a handwritten welcome note from the manager along with a gift box of perfume, soap, and caramels. And the best part is not having to drag around our luggage for another week.
We were stumped for a bit on how to turn the lights on. I finally figured out that you have to insert your key card in a slot by the door. The other interesting difference is the shower. In the UK, we had half doors (and some were tough to figure out), but the one here has no door.
After we got settled in it was off to dinner. We got a quick glimpse of the Eiffel Tower, then found our way to the restaurant, Le P'tit Troquet (The L'il Cafe), which was recommended on the hotel website and by Rick Steves. I attempted my poor French again and switched to English soon after. Turns out their English is excellent, but they still graciously offered menus in both English and French.
The food was just wonderful and was served quickly, which was great. We had tickets for the Bateaux Parisien boat tour for after dinner and and wanted to make sure we had enough time without rushing. We each tried something different so that we could share a bit. The menu is small, as is the restaurant, but it was all perfect for our very first meal in Paris.
After dinner we headed down to the Seine and walked by the river (Marsha's favorite past-time) until we found the boat docks. The sun was starting to go down and it was the perfect time for a night-time cruise.
We got some great views of the Grand Palais, the D'Orsay. Museum, the many bridges, Notre Dame, and of course, the Eiffel Tower. You couldn't help but take many, many pictures of the tower -- each view was better than the last.
When we got back to the room, we decided to wind down by watching a little bit of French television. The very first thing we saw was an American show, Forever, dubbed into French. After flipping through a few more stations, we also found an American movie, Mindhunters, starring L.L. Cool J, also dubbed into French. He just doesn't sound the same.
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