So What Happened Was . . .: Jun 18, 2014

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Bonjour!

Today is Wednesday, June 18, 2014.

I am in Paris!

Yep! Paris, Baby! I don't understand a word anyone is saying, but I'm happy to be here.

Today was an easy travel day. We checked out of the apartment around 11:00 AM and took TWO buses to the train station. It was a little challenging to schlep suitcases on a crowded bus during work hours, but we did it. Actually, Stan carried most of the weight, but I was there for moral support:

Me: [referring to MY large, heavy suitcase which Stan is carrying along with his own] Stan, do you want me to carry that?
Stan: No, I got it.
Me: Are you sure?
Stan: Yeah, I got it.
Me: Okay.
Me: Stan, can you hold my drink for a second?
Stan: [reaching down deep for a little more patience] Sure.
Me: [laughing hysterically]
Stan: [shaking his head] Silly.

Bless his heart. :)

Half-way through our bus ride, Stan realized that the bus stop we were going to transfer at was "out-of-service" due to construction.

Uh-oh.

He pulled out his trusty iPhone, verified the closure, did some quick research, found another transfer point and voila! we were back on track. We avoided all the confusion plus extra schlepping.

I'm so grateful.

Two years ago we crossed the English Channel from Paris to London on Eurostar, and this time we crossed back over from London to Paris. We've come full circle. The train ride is only 2-1/2 hours, and we had nice comfortable seats, so the trip was easy-peasy. I still can't believe we crossed the Atlantic Ocean through a tunnel . . . underwater! It kinda gives me the heebie-geebies.

The Channel Tunnel exhibit at the National Railway Museum
in York, England showing the circular cross section of the tunnel
with the overhead line powering a Eurostar train. Also visible is
the segmented tunnel lining.

Upon our arrival in Paris, we waited an hour in a very long taxi queue and finally made it to our hotel around 4:00 pm. The desk clerk who checked us in was a beautiful young woman from Mexico City. I started chatting with her and asked her if she knew of any good Mexican food restaurants in Paris. She recommended a place about 35 minutes away (by subway) so we decided to try it. It was totally worth it! It hit the spot and the people there were very nice.

From the train on our way back to the hotel, we saw the Eiffel Tower all lit up! Wow! What a sight! And . . . walking back to our hotel we saw the Arc de Triomphe at the west end of the Champs-Elysees. I took this shot with my cell phone because I did not have my camera with me.

Now, it's bed-time. We have a busy day of touring tomorrow.

Au revoir et a demain . . . . Goodbye until tomorrow.

The Streets of London

I have really enjoyed London!

The last few days have been low-key - mainly. we walked around the city, checked things out, did some shopping, ate, people watched, rode the bus and, according to Stan's pedometer, we have walked a lot of miles! London has grown on me and I feel right at home.

I have also enjoyed our little apartment. It has been so nice to stay put and get comfortable. It's a great feeling to walk out the front door and KNOW where you are. Stan is so handy with his iPhone and he can get us ANYWHERE on a bus or a train. I am so spoiled! Thank you, Stan!

One of the challenges about being here has been getting used to traffic flowing on the "wrong" side of the road! Twice I started to step into on-coming traffic because I was looking in the wrong direction! It is very disorienting at first, but now I have gotten used to it. It also helps that, "LOOK LEFT", or "LOOK RIGHT" is painted on the street at cross-walks! I suppose they must have a lot of accidents involving tourists. Thank God I wasn't one of them.

Here are a few shots I have taken along the way - of nothing in particular - just so I can remember the city.

Enjoy!

Curb appeal!

Nice tile walkway.

One of the local pubs in our area.

Potted plants and flowers everywhere.

Waiting for the bus.

Harrods Department Store.

In the furniture department at Harrods.

Diane, Missy, Maureen, Julie and H.A.

Theater district, SOHO

Bike rental.

Pub in SOHO.

He just looked like the typical English dude
right down to his shoes.

This "Sun" sculpture is by Dale Chihuly. It is made of more than 1,300 hand-blown glass elements, is 14 feet high and weighs 4,230 lbs. It is illuminated every night. I shot the daytime photo and I pulled the night-time shot off the internet. It was amazing!