Second stop - PARIS
Via Train from St. Pancras International to Paris Gare du Nord
Total Travel Time: 3 (including travel from hostel to train station)
Call time was at 0400AM, and despite the eventful happenings on top of other eventful happenings for the past days now including uhm...Ralph's trip to the Emergency Room for an eye infection, and our Epic Fail side trip to Surbiton to get our booking tickets from Paris to Spain...we were packed and ready to bid adieu to my still favorite city, London.
Hopeful, that our trip will be slightly better...we caught the early morning train using our now Eurail passes just in the nick of time. Clambering for sleep - 1-- 2-- 3-- 4-- 5 of us were completely knocked out, but thankful that we at least arrived in Paris with some kind of renewed strength. The train came to a halt at around 0800AM just enough time to check-in, grab some breakfast, rebook our Paris-Spain reservations, roam around the city then get going again the next day...or, so we thought. Nothing could get worse right? Right!
Well Halo, Paris.
Via Train from St. Pancras International to Paris Gare du Nord
Total Travel Time: 3 (including travel from hostel to train station)
Call time was at 0400AM, and despite the eventful happenings on top of other eventful happenings for the past days now including uhm...Ralph's trip to the Emergency Room for an eye infection, and our Epic Fail side trip to Surbiton to get our booking tickets from Paris to Spain...we were packed and ready to bid adieu to my still favorite city, London.
Hopeful, that our trip will be slightly better...we caught the early morning train using our now Eurail passes just in the nick of time. Clambering for sleep - 1-- 2-- 3-- 4-- 5 of us were completely knocked out, but thankful that we at least arrived in Paris with some kind of renewed strength. The train came to a halt at around 0800AM just enough time to check-in, grab some breakfast, rebook our Paris-Spain reservations, roam around the city then get going again the next day...or, so we thought. Nothing could get worse right? Right!
Well Halo, Paris.
Arrival in Paris
And welcome to the world where people barely speak English. Hoping for some Parisian croissants, Ralph & I decided to rebook our seat reservations from Paris-Spain first, to get it out of the way. As part of the planning process, Ralph booked these seat reservations with another "recommended" Eurail booking company, which if I knew beforehand would have totally voted against. Apparently, hubby had mentioned the exact date we were leaving and unsurprisingly, the company promised we'll get the paperwork in time. We didn't, see the $200 flying freely away from our pockets? At that moment, the "mannelly-ness" had oh so risen like red-headed Phoenix from X-men! Trying my best not to bawl over spilled milk, I was consoled by the fact that there was at least something we could do to remedy it. Piece of cake, eh? I mean, Ralph & I just also visited Paris this year. We should know, right? Uh, WRONG.
Being amateur Eurail pass holders, the hunt for the right Eurail reservation window began. There were about 8-10 ticket kiosks and windows from different train companies (ask us how we know), and just about a thousand ticket machines. And no, it did not help not knowing French and when people do not or refuse to speak English! To make the long scouring short, it was about noon when we had finally seen the light outside the walls of Paris Gare du Nord. Thank God we made it out alive!
Being amateur Eurail pass holders, the hunt for the right Eurail reservation window began. There were about 8-10 ticket kiosks and windows from different train companies (ask us how we know), and just about a thousand ticket machines. And no, it did not help not knowing French and when people do not or refuse to speak English! To make the long scouring short, it was about noon when we had finally seen the light outside the walls of Paris Gare du Nord. Thank God we made it out alive!
Paris Gare Du Nord Station
After losing half-a-day to our one-day visit, everything from there seemed to go smoothly. Thanks to Ralph's amazing navigation skills, we had found our hostel in a breeze, got some complimentary croissants, checked-in and dropped our bags. Determined to scratch Notre Dame and the Louvre off our Afternoon-Sights-List and squeeze a big brunch in, we were back up our feet trekking the cobbled streets of Paris. Thankfully, we found the Louvre food court, eliminating the saga of another scavenger hunt for a place to eat!
Outside the Louvre
With the Louvre ticked off, Notre Dame here we go! But before finally bidding Mona Lisa's home with a buckled au revoir, a conveniently located, wi-fi equipped Apple store lured us in to catch up on emails and sorts...Then, some bad family news. Mama Febe, Ralph's grandmother, with her recently acquired pneumonia on top of her waning health...had passed away that same day at the age of 88. Dumbfounded, tears fell from Ralph and the in-laws. The future of this Euro Trip looked bleak...Decisions, however painful, needed to be made. So while the whole family tried to come out with a unified plan, there was nothing we could really do, but to wait for further news, ease the grief and find a bit of solace in the promised wonders of Paris.
Ralph's family went up the Eiffel while we stayed down to spend some alone time. By 0800pm, we sat down for dinner at a local Creperie, a mile-walk from the Eiffel. And as the night grew deep, mom and dad in-law including myself, set out for the hostel to catch some zzz's, while Ralph and his sis made their way to Champs Elysees for Arc de Triomphe. And like a rotten cherry on top of our mediocre gelato's, our chosen hostel sucked way more than the last. I could've beaten myself to death for having read the reviews way too late in the game. Oh, so late...
Ralph's family went up the Eiffel while we stayed down to spend some alone time. By 0800pm, we sat down for dinner at a local Creperie, a mile-walk from the Eiffel. And as the night grew deep, mom and dad in-law including myself, set out for the hostel to catch some zzz's, while Ralph and his sis made their way to Champs Elysees for Arc de Triomphe. And like a rotten cherry on top of our mediocre gelato's, our chosen hostel sucked way more than the last. I could've beaten myself to death for having read the reviews way too late in the game. Oh, so late...
We...were just ready for Spain.
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