Over Land, Under Sea

Yet another early start saw us packed and on the streets by 7:30. Luckily with the train station so close it was an easy walk and stop at the patisserie across the road for breakfast on the run. The train back to Paris was exactly the same as the previous; we even managed to get a 5 seater cabin to ourselves again.
It was a relatively painless journey through the Paris Met to get from one Garde to another. At Norde we sat down for coffee and fries and filled out our paperwork for departure from the EU and into the UK. With a tear in our eyes we left Gabby there to fend for herself in the depths of the rail catacombs as we jumped onto the Chunnel Eurostar. There is no doubt that the rail system in Europe is well run. This trip highlighted it. We literary shot out of Paris at the very cool speed of 300km per hour. The vistas flicked by faster than a tourist weary Parisian’s raised eyebrow.
Luxuriating in 1st class, we couldn’t believe our luck when they rolled out drinks and lunch (Chicken or Salmon) it was fresh, tasty and needless to say the packed lunch we’d purchased in the sandwich shop stayed well and truly in its plastic bag – it was quite possibly the best travel experience any of us had ever had (or will again for that matter). To get from the centre of Paris to the centre of London in 2 Hours 10 minutes is extraordinary. Considering waiting times etc, not even flying could do better.
And so we arrived to the utter confusion of Kings Cross Railway station ($200) ; made worse because we forgot to research our destination the night before and therefore had no idea of where we needed to go – let alone how to get there. Phone calls, questions of railway staff and we finally got on the Underground to travel 2 stations to Great Portland St. (not on the Monopoly Board).
Our Hostel room is true Hostel stuff this time. Bunk beds and a pokey room – although it is all quite new. Its’ a joy to be back in a land where they all speak correctly. This means we are able to communicate fluently with sales staff and fully understand that they want to check our bags and not assume they are asking for frequent flyer cards. The train station messages are as garbled as ever though. One suspects they have the one training school for railway announcers all over the world (Australia included).
Whilst we would’ve preferred to sleep for 16 hours, we headed out on the town for a walk to see what the afternoon would bring. We wandered down to Oxford Street (Green) and were almost swept away by the tide of people. London is incredibly busy, noisy and chaotic. It’s also warm and humid – so much so there were thunder storms in the evening.
We drifted down through Soho (noting that this is a place to avoid in the evenings) and cutting a fine line between Piccadilly (Yellow) and Leicester Square (Yellow) we ended up in Trafalgar Square (Red). This area was also full of people, so much so there was very little room for pigeons. We then crossed The Strand (Red) and headed to the Thames seeing Big Ben, the Eye and lots of boats - we sat down at a bar, had some drinks, ate our lunch for dinner and hopped back on the Underground – back to the sanctity of the Hostel (complete with poorly designed shower). The forecast for tomorrow is rain – so we now need to figure out what to do in a wet London (Water Works perhaps?)