Hello, London! The Eurostar from Paris under the English Channel...The hotel peculiarities...Tom's reprimand!
Our train came into the station. Tom, my railroad guy, explained that the train is operated from either end never having to turn around for the return trips. |
Our new hotel, the London Regency, has a few characteristics that are different from what we've encountered in the past when staying in hotels in many countries. In this 4.5 star rated hotel, in a matter of minutes we find ourselves realizing how quickly we'll need to adapt.
While we waited for the train. |
Another unusual feature is the fact that there are fees for using the health club. My principals make me flinch at the idea of paying for this normal inclusion when the "gym" its located directly in the hotel. It's not a lot of money at US $16.69, £10 per night for the entire 15 night stay. But, it irks me. After all, we're paying over US $200, £120 per night. That would cost an extra US $269 on top of the already pricey fees.
The station while we were still in Paris. |
Overall and to our pleasure, this hotel is upscale in the lovely Kensington neighborhood close to many points of interest including the Royal Palace, a short walk, several museums and many fine restaurants. Complaining? Observing, I'd say. I'll ask for a bar of soap. If none is available we'll find a grocery store and purchase one.
Tom was finally smiling again when I told him we wouldn't have to "walk" the bags downs the steep steps. |
Taken from our seats which were wider than airplane seats. I had pictured a four seat configurations with a table in front of us which was not the case with our seats. |
As usual, we arrived at the train station too early after a quick drive through Paris with light traffic on Saturday. We'd looked online for answers to some of our questions about taking the Eurostar with conflicting answers on various websites.
One question was regarding baggage handling and storage. The second was purely out of curiosity; how long does the train actually travel under the ocean across the English Channel?
The scenery along the tracks was mostly limited to industrial areas, although we passed a few areas of the French countryside. |
Eurostar allows two bags each and one carry on. We each had two bags and one carry on. For once, we complied. Weight wasn't an issue.
A church steeple at a distance through the glare of the glass window. |
Off we went, surprisingly at a decent pace with little difficulty, if at all. To finally be able to handle all of our world possessions on our own was uplifting. Once we checked in with UK immigration, getting our passports stamped, we unloaded everything for the security check without incident.
Cows. Not really wildlife but, we enjoy seeing animals wherever we may be. |
As we sat there checking out our surroundings, it appeared that the only way to get down to the platform was a steep stairway. Oh, no. The idea of maneuvering those steps set my mind spinning.
Within seconds of entering the tunnel, I took this sot of blackness resulting only a reflectionsof the seats in the glass. |
Without a moment of time to think, he blurted out, "Quit being overly bubbly!"
Hahaha! I couldn't stop laughing! In seconds, he was laughing with me, tears in our eyes over the irony. Quit being "overly bubbly." Oh, would that all of those whom we love's biggest problem is being "overly bubbly." Eternal optimist that I am, I could easily accept his accurate assessment of me.
Within seconds of departing the tunnel. We were now in the UK. |
Luckily, when the time arrived to board as we made our way down the hallway we were able to see that there was a moving ramp, an escalator without steps that we easily managed. We didn't need to use the elevator after all.
We arrived in London at the St. Pancras station. |
The seats are comparable to an airplane seat, only slightly roomier with a helpful retractable footrest. Immediately, we grabbed for our seatbelts, out of habit. We looked at each other and laughed. Habits. They never fail to unconsciously overtake us.
After exiting the train station we had to walk a distance to the next street and around the corner in order to flag a taxi. No taxis were allowed to stop at the main entrance. |
After the first hour and twenty minutes of the total two hours and seventeen minutes, we'd yet to enter the tunnel. Although, on several instances, we thought we had as we passed through several other tunnels.
On the way to our hotel, we passed Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. Not quite our cup of tea. |
I was expecting "black" and, black it was. It was dark as night when looking out the windows. Moments after we entered the tunnel a kindly steward stopped to ask if we needed anything, giving us an opportunity to ask a few questions. Here's his response:
- The trip under the English Channel takes approximately 20 minutes.
- The maximum speed of the train is 300 kilometers per hour, 186 miles per hour, less through the tunnel
- The deepest part of the tunnel is 195 meters, 640 feet below sea level.
- There are three tunnels, two for trains and one as a service tunnel.
- There are multiple trains per day to Paris, London and Brussels.
- No passenger trains other than the Eurostar brand may use the tunnel.
There are lots of double decker buses in London. |
In no time at all we were at the station ready to disembark (Tom said "de-train"). Once again, he managed to haul the heavy bags. As always, we'd planned to be the last off to avoid blocking the line. In no rush, all we needed to do was flag a taxi to our hotel.
Although London was bombed in World War II many beautiful historical buildings remain. |
There's our travel day story, folks. Last night, we had a fabulous experience we'll share in tomorrow's post!
Taking photos from a taxi is always tricky and we were unable to determine the name of this building . |
I replied, "Take your shower, honey. Your "overly bubbly" wife will go see the front desk for a solution." Problem solved. A new day begins in London.
Our hotel in the Kensington area of London is close to many points of interest. |
Photo from one year ago today, August 17, 2013:
Due to Internet connectivity issues in Boveglio, Italy we weren't able to post on this date one year ago. We're fast approaching the time, a year ago, when we began to post every day with photos. Stay tuned.