The Journey Home

Today's post is probably a bit humdrum as we head home, but here is the outline: 

Morning

I wake at the amazingly late time of 5am and after a toilet visit I begin to work on the blog post of our journey on Friday.

Drew wakes up at 6.30am. We then begin our ablutions and go to breakfast at 7.30am.

Breakfast

I start with yogurt, nuts and seeds, I'll be glad to be back to oatbran tomorrow morning, with its extra roughage.  But I've enjoyed my yogurt, nuts and seeds over this holiday. 

Drew began with bacon, scrambled eggs and sauteed new potatoes.

Drew then moves on to cheese, tomato, cucumber and bread, again a baguette.

I also opted for cheese and salad, but also two boiled eggs.

I then went for a wholemeal baguette, more cheese and some parisian ham.

Drew had a coconut cheesecake and two pancakes with honey.

Then we go back upstairs for our final packing and preparation for the journey.

On our way

We leave the hotel room at 8.50am and by checking out online, we are able to leave the hotel by 9.00am and go up to Gare de Nord which is just a 10 minute walk from this hotel, along the side of Gare de L'Est where there is a little cafe that amused me with the name the two stations (Deux Gares)

We arrive at Gare De Nord at 9.10am

presumably for dumb brits, the French provide signs for the Eurostar travel zone, marked out by a Union Jack. (Before one of my commenters object, I  know it is a Union Flag and only a Jack when flying from a ship, but collegially the Jack name is common.) 

Our train is 10.42am and the one before it (10.12am) are now registering, there are even people queuing for the 11.12am one but registration isn't open for that one yet. 

Talking about dumb Brits, I had managed to bring my 2023 Eurostar ticket up on my phone, so had to leave the auto ticket device and present the right one, which was below it. Drew had no such problem. 

With tickets checked, it was on to French Customs and their e-gates and then UK customs and their e-gates. Both recognised me without any problems, which always surprises me given how different I look from the way I did 8 years ago.  

We move on to security, given the heat I don't have a jacket with me, it is packed, so have to put the insides of my pockets into the containers, normally I put them in my jacket pocket and put it through as one.

I had no difficulty getting through, Drew had to go back through the detector as his belt set the alarm off. 

We were through all the checks by 9.20am, a smooth experience, then sit and wait in the Waiting Room until we are called to board. 

Eurostar

We board at at 9.54pm, we are in Coach 15.

Here is Drew in his seat, ready for the off

We depart at 10.42am exactly.

We ended up travelling with a chef, here in the seat in front of us is Jun Tanaka, the TV chef who runs his own Michelin starred restaurant in London.

Seeing a famous chef might make us hungry, so it was timely that we soon had lunch served to us. Drew had Roast French beef salad bowl, organic grains, shiitake mushrooms and cucumber with honey and ginger, roasted red peppers and soya beans.  

I had a tasty bulgur wheat, confit tomato, fennel and broccoli salad bowl, garlic and chilli dressing, honey-roasted apricots and goat's cheese, though I avoided the apricots because of the honey. 

The bread was a lovely rich rye roll, it was so nice, I felt it deserved a photo.

Drew had the two Hazelnut shortbreads and I had both rolls.

London

We arrive back in the UK at 12.27pm (now 11.27am as we are back on BST) and are in London St. Pancras at Midday precisely, right on time. 

By the time we had disembarked and walked along the platform it was 12.05pm.

Then it was on through customs and we headed down the two levels from the Eurostar to the underground. Unlike in Lisbon when we always seemed to arrive just before the train arrived, we have three minutes to wait for our Hammersmith and City line train. 

We arrive at Paddington at 12.35pm. I'd left an hour to be sure we weren't late for our train. It would have been tight for the 12.45pm train, indeed by the time we got out of the tube station the 12.45pm was on final call. So, I'm very glad we opted for the 1.45pm train. 

We make use of the time by going to FCB for Coffee. It was a Latte for Drew. 

 and Americano plus a sparkling water for me

The Platform is announced at 12.30pm and, as often happens at Paddington we have to walk most of the way down the train. 

We are a bit puzzled as trains normally have carriages starting at A and carrying on to L or vice versa. However, this train went F, G, H, J, K, L, E, D, C, B, A. We were in C and grateful for booked seats because the train was very full.

 

The complicated carriage numbers were explained when the train left, promptly at 1.45pm - E to A are only going as far as Cardiff and F to L are heading on from there to Carmarthen. I'd commented on the SNCF Paris to Barcelona train splitting at Marseille, but hadn't known this happened in Cardiff too!!

The train had wonderful air-con, which was greatefully received with the temperatures rising outside. Here's Drew as the train leaves London

Cardiff

We leave the train at Cardiff Central at 3.40pm

Then walk along to platform 6, we have a twenty minute wait for the train to Taffs Well (it is Sunday after all). 

It departs on time at 4.01pm

 and we are at Taffs Well by 4.19pm

with a mile to walk home. 

We are back

We arrive home at 4.40pm 

and Drew picks up the mail as we enter.

We spend most of the rest of the day washing and tumble drying our clothes. This continues into the following day, but that's not a matter for this blog. We are home, our holiday is over, I suspect tomorrow there may be a final post to reflect on the whole experience.

Paris is always a good idea

It was Audrey Hepburn that made the statement which forms the title of today's post.

Though in the light of what has been the focus of the majority of this holiday perhaps it is James Baldwin who has a better quote:

It is perfectly possible to be enamoured of Paris while remaining totally indifferent or even hostile to the French.

Having spent our time travelling to places where the French have been the object of disapprobation for their invasions of Portugal and Spain, with the focus of most of the battles being to drive them out of the countries, it seems strange to take the opposite approach and start spending time enjoying the culture and the pleasure of Paris.

More such reflections to follow, but first let's go back to the beginning of the day.

Morning

The final days of this holiday are upon us, and it shows. I didn't wake up this Saturday morning until 5am. Even then it was only for a toilet visit and I went back to bed for a while and slept, finally getting up at 6.30am.

I used the kettle provided in the room, it was exactly the same style kettle as in the first NH Hotel we stayed in in Barcelona 15 days ago. I used a t-bag we had gathered on the journey, French tea not being a great success. So, I made Drew and I a cup of tea.

Drew goes back to sleep and I copy yesterday's photos from the camera and edit them and add the ones we had taken on our phones.

In case you are wondering about our choice to stay at this hotel, out of the thousands in Paris, it was prompted by a previous stay. On our holiday in 2023 the last but one leg was Hamburg to Paris - the, then, Holiday Inn, Gare de L'Est was perfect for our needs as we came in to Gare de L'Est station - see the description here.

It's proximity to Gare de Nord also worked really well for us, last time. Imagine my surprise when I came to book it for this year to discover that it had changed hands and was now a NH hotel. It might have put us off and we would have looked for a IHG hotel, but in reality it made sense to stay here as we had already have three other NH hotels in our plans, so this made a fourth.

While Drew is asleep I complete the blog for Thursday, Drew re-awakes at 9am and we have another cup of tea each. I do my ablutions and Drew follows shortly, a gentle start to the day, with only one objective, to go to see Notre Dame now it is complete, it was still behind huge scaffolding when we were last here in 2023.

Breakfast

We go down to breakfast at 10am, the hotel breakfast runs from 6.30am to 11am on Weekends and 6 to 10.30 on weekdays.

Having had a few weeks of Spanish and Portuguese breakfast, things are notably different now we are in Paris. The British concept of a 'Continental Breakfast' it seems is rooted in a Parisian Breakfast.

So, the focus is much more on pastries and sweet items than anything else. Though in a globalising world, even in Paris, there are things we can enjoy.

I am able to begin with a sharp and tangy Greek yogurt with sesame seeds, toasted sesame seeds, chia seeds, hazelnuts, almonds and oats.

Drew went for bacon and scrambled eggs, the eggs in France are much more bouncy than elsewhere, almost as if they are designed to be cut with a knife not served with a spoon.

I opt for Parisian ham, two types of cheese, a boiled egg, tomatoes and cucumber - a limited but tasty range of items.

Drew moves on to the sweet items with a chocolate ganache tart

I go back for some more ham and add a ratatouille to it this time, this epitome to Provençal cuisine has green beans in it, a more unusual item with the other regular ingredients, tomatoes, onions, peppers, courgettes and garlic

Drew completed his meal with bread, a lovely French baguette, and cheese.

NH Hotel Gare De L'Est

We head back to our room and note that this hotel, in the Traditional Haussmann-style was built in 1914. It shows signs of its origins, especially in its winding stairs:

For those without vertigo, this view back down from the fourth floor evokes many images of traditional hotels of this era.

In the days before air-conditioning Paris hotels always had a balcony and this feature is still here, though now with its own health and safety warning asking people to take care.

The inner courtyard of the hotel means we can see the balconies of the rooms opposite us. Very traditional in style, but modern in its great air-con and wonderful shower/bath.

Overall a great hotel, I suspect we'll be back, next time we pass through Paris.

Travelling to Notre Dame

The hotel is so well placed that when we leave at 11.20am we have this view from the front doors. Yes, a metro entrance.

Since our last visit to Paris in 2023, Paris transport has taken a leap into the digital age. Then, we had to buy our tickets from ticket machines or, for a day ticket, from a person in a ticket office in the station. Now, the system has gone mobile. Both on our outward travel between Gare de Nord and Gare de Lyon and our return from Gare de Lyon to Gare de L'Est we had been able to buy our tickets on our mobile in advance and use the phones NFC signal at the gate. Given our plans for today we had decided to buy a daily ticket at €12.30, which we did in the wifi of the hotel room before heading out.

We travelled on the metro number 4 'Bagneux - Lucie Aubrac' line from Gare De L'Est to Cité station.

The station was crowded, compounded by a ticket inspection, the first we have seen in Paris, at the top of the steps from the platform at Cité station. With out day ticket they just scanned our phones and data appeared on their box letting us through.

However, that didn't work for everyone. While I proceeded to an exit, a lady who had come through the inspection, whose family were struggling with their tickets stood between Drew and the exit. He asked kindly for her to move, but she was too focussed on waving to her family. So, Drew, in a very undrew like fashion gave her a shove and proceeded through the exit. I was well impressed.

When you exit Cité station you first see the Palais de Justice

an impressive building which leads on to the square called Marché aux fleurs Reine-Elizabeth-II. The huge flower market named in honour of our former queen.

Notre Dame

Our photos of Notre Dame this time are all external, as back when I booked this holiday, I discovered that tickets for the Cathedral were only available (not for sale, but for online registration) 24 hours in advance. I had tried to book on the train journey yesterday, but they were being snapped up faster than I could refresh the page. So, we failed to get them.

It is possible to join a queue - currently stated as being 2 hours and thirty minutes long. But neither Drew or I fancied that type of wait in 37°C (99°F) temperatures in a blazing sun.

As you'll see above, the queue crowd snaked all the way through the large square and around the corner, only the front line was quick, where those with tickets, looking smug, could escape the queue and have priority entrance.

We walk the whole way around the Cathedral, but will perhaps visit in Autumn or Spring when, hopefully, the crowds are not so impactful.

In the footsteps of Astrid

From the Cathedral we walked back to the Cité station and caught the Metro 4 to Strasbourg-Saint-Denis (5 stops) where we changed onto the Metro 8 to Cretil- Prefecture (21 stops).

In recent years we have become enamoured by the wonderful characterisation by actress Sara Mortensen of the character of Astrid in the programme shown in the UK as Astrid: Murder in Paris on Channel Four and known in France as: Astrid et Raphaëlle.

Most of the shots of Paris in the programme are generic shots of the city, but Astrid's place of work is almost a character in its own right. It is the Criminal Records Bureau of the Judicial Police in Paris, a fictional organisation which in reality is the Departmental Archives of Val-de-Marne based in Créteil.

We arrive at 1pm and take a few shots of the Iconic building. For fellow fans, here it is:

The next series of Astrid was filmed in the last month or so, so we should get it in the UK around the end of the year. Next time we see it we will have the pleasure of saying - we've been there.

From here it is a short walk back to the metro, with 20 stops on the metro 8 train, a change at Republique station for the number 5 train to Gare De L'Est and arriving at the hotel room to collapse out of the heat in an air conditioned hotel room at 2.30pm.

Water and cups of tea rehydrated us, but 37°C degrees is way to hot for us to handle.

Mass

Drew and I headed back out from the hotel at 5.30pm for a 200 meters walk to St. Laurent's church. Drew used the time to take photos of this impressive church, some of which dates to 1459. With its mix of classic and modern stained glass.

When Mass was due to begin Drew left and went back to hotel, while I prepared from Mass at 6pm. Mass was celebrated by the Parish Priest Fr. Paul Dollié, a priest of the Archdiocese of Paris, who alongside parish work gives retreats. His homily reflected this preaching experience, with a 25 minute thought through exposition of Jesus' call/warning in today's gospel (Matthew 10:26-33):

So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

and asked the congregation how they can acknowledge Jesus in their lives, though standing up for the rights of the young and the elderly, for supporting life from the womb to natural death, from caring for and accepting refugees and those with less than ourselves.

How, you are asking, can someone who speaks no French, know what the priest was saying - well Google Translate's voice mode has made huge strides in recent years and gives almost instant translation - this was enough for me to get the direction of the homily, if not every word.

After Mass

I left Mass at 7.10am and walked back to the hotel. This took me past the place where I tripped in 2023. Sadly, they haven't repaired the raised tree protector which I caught my shoe under last time!

Here it is:

But I stayed on the pavement this time, so all was well.

Dinner

I met Drew in the hotel lobby and walked the 3 feet to Bouillon Chartier. Indeed you can actually see the awning of the restaurant in this morning's photo of the metro station, up above.

Rather predictably, or it would have been predictable it we had remembered, Drew and I both choose the same for our starters as we had six years ago.

Six Escargots for me, juicy plump snails in a rich garlic sauce.

while Drew had Poireaux Vinaigrette, which he really enjoyed. All the food here is just as the menu says, here are the leeks and on top, the vinaigrette.

Le Pain, the bread, is wonderful for mopping up any leftover butter from the snails as well as vinaigrette.

Staying in the French food tradition I had Langue de boeuf, sauce diable avec riz, the tongue was tender and pink inside, it is lifted by the spicy chilli sauce and balanced by the rice.

Drew opted for Confit de canard pommes grenailles, a beautifully confit duck leg with fresh new potatoes. It looked and tasted delicious.

We had two sides to share, champignons a la provençale

and haricots verts. Both well cooked, crunchy but flavoursome.

Unusually we both managed dessert. For me two cheeses, with extra bread, no mess with biscuits here, just as I like it.

They were a Rocamadour, a raw Goat's Milk cheese with rich, creamy and decadent flavours and a velvety texture and fantastic depth of flavour, yummy.

and a Bleu d'Auvergne with its blue veining and complex flavours with the smell of mushrooms, some say it a quintessential French delicacy, others may find it to lively. Both cheeses are old favourites of mine, and none the worst for being tasted again.

Drew's dessert was compote de pommes - yes, just that, a slightly sugared stewed apple, a very French and very comforting way to end the meal.

We washed these down with an espresso each.

We then headed along the few steps to the hotel and backup to the room. We were in bed by 10pm, not having done as much as we had planned, but enough for a day in 37°C heat.