This morning we faced the daunting task of packing. Although we had been pretty good and bought lots of small stuff, there was lots of it and it took a fair bit of jiggling to get the suitcases to close – thank goodness for expandable zips!
Feeling reasonably organised we headed back into London for a couple of hours. Apparently Larry had felt rushed through the M&M store and hadn’t seen all four storeys (!) so we headed back there and the last of the shopping to fill the last little corner of Larry’s suitcase was done. We wandered off with the vague idea of squeezing in the British Museum in half an hour but in the end decided we didn’t want to rush so had a cup of coffee/tea instead and then walked through Covent Garden and down to Temple tube station. Decided at the last minute to try and find the Temple church but it wasn’t very clearly marked on any map and as it was heading towards midday, we decided to abandon the attempt and just make sure we caught our train instead.
Back to Glen and Jeremy’s and finished the last of the packing. Martin was not at all impressed by the sight of packed suitcases and placed himself between us and the door in an attempt to stop us leaving. A doggy treat and a hug to placate him didn’t really do the trick but probably helped and then we were off on our own again taking the first steps on the long trip home. Got to Kings Cross/St Pancras without incident and with plenty of time so had time to have some lunch and buy some snacks for the train. Lucky we did have plenty of time as the Eurostar people wanted to pull EVERYTHING out of Larry’s beautifully packed suitcase in the hunt for the D-day bullets. Eventually convinced them they were harmless souvenirs and with a rather more bulky suitcase than previously, were allowed on our way.
The Eurostar left right on time and flew through the English countryside and before we knew it we were through the tunnel and back in France. The bloke opposite us consumed a whole bottle of red wine by himself and became quite chatty in the last half hour of the trip – he was on his way to Paris for the Arc d’Triomphe horse race and therefore, being into horse racing, knew about ‘So You Think’ and wants to go to the Melbourne Cup one day. We were soon at Paris Nord where we realised that the paper with the hotel booking and directions on it was nowhere to be found – must have left it at G&J’s when we were writing out the directions this morning. Not too big an issue though as the directions were still fresh in our mind and we had a map so found the hotel without too much drama. As the whole area around Paris Nord is pretty grotty and seedy and the street the hotel was on wasn’t much better we weren’t expecting much but the minute we stepped through the doors into the lobby it was nice and cool and quiet and we felt instantly much better. The room was quiet and much bigger than the one at the Royal Magda and with the plastic sheets on the beds we felt safe from bed bugs (apparently most of the hotels around Paris Nord are infested with them).
We headed out for dinner whilst it was still light and, as in London, the weather was warm and balmy so we sat alfresco in a little restaurant down the street and had steak and yummy garlicky potatoes and crème caramel for dessert. A perfect ending to our holiday. Back to the hotel and Larry repacked his suitcase (again) and then we forced ourselves to stay up until at least 10pm as we have gained an hour but have an early start tomorrow.
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