England

Wednesday, June 11

Today's goal was to try Eurostar, a train with direct connections to Brussels, Amsterdam, Cologne, and other European cities. I chose Paris. My trip began at St. Pancras rail station.  

The first thing I learned is that Eurostar is not like my beloved Undeground. The Tube allows me to randomly, even carelessly, hop from place to place, like Frogger between lillypads. Eurostar is much more like an international flight. You must be early, you must face strict security, and you must deal with crowds. After about 35 minutes of industrial England, I was presented this:

I knew it was coming, but how can you prepare for such awe-inspiring nothing? This is what I saw of the Channel Tunnel. It's 31 miles under the ocean that connects England to the continent. With all that blackness, one can't help to imagine 350+ feet of water above. Once the train emerged back into the light, we passed small French country towns...

...until the train sped up, then I saw this:

The Eurostar is a fast, reaching speeds of more than 160 MPH. That means it can cover the distance between London and Paris (300 miles) in about 2.5 hours. Here's one more attempt at another quaint village.

I only had a couple of hours in Paris before I needed to return to London. I headed to the biggest tourist spot in the city.

I rode the elevator to the 2nd floor observation deck.

I enjoyed the view.

A chaotic, traffic-filled taxi ride brought me back to Gare du Nord, the Paris train station.

I was sure to grab one of these so I could feel authentic.

I was so happy to board the train for the return trip to England. Just as night fell, I found my little apartment around the corner waiting for me. I fell into bed with a contented sigh. Goodnight London!

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