London to Paris on Eurostar

08-23: We were up and out of our not-so-great hotel by 9:00. We're told to arrive at the Eurostar station in St. Pancras no later than 10:15a, we were early. We had a wonderful ham and cheese, buttery, flaky, delicious croissant, and a latte since we arrived and plenty of time for the train. I don't really know what we expected on Eurostat, but it was just like riding on any old train with any old seat we didn't upgrade we just had regular coach seats so it was just a 3-hour train ride. No frills, we envisioned something special, though I am not sure what. At times we did see some interesting scenery that was mostly after we crossed the Channel and went into France. There are a lot of fields for farming. We did see corn but unsure of what everything else was. Most of the time in London we were in tunnels or walled areas so you couldn't see much. The actual Chunnel under the channel takes about 20 minutes, but it's just like going into any tunnel, which it is. We had a hard time getting an Uber on the way out of the train station but eventually we made it to meet Véronique at our Airbnb. We put a few things away after admiring our small kitchen, living area, which is clean and bright. We are feeling a little hungry now and we walked to the Rue Cler area. This was one of the main reasons we booked this location in the 7^th Arrondissement, easy walkability to Rue Cler, Eiffel Tower, and more.  It is pretty quiet there on Sunday and Monday, but we found a friendly restaurant, Tribeca, and shared a pizza and a salad. A walk back to the apartment, with a short stop at a small market for a few things. We played a few games of cards, and we are ready for bed.

London - Day 3

08-22: This morning we did a bit of housekeeping to prepare for our Eurostar trip to Paris tomorrow. Last night Stuart walked to a nearby store and got us each a pastry and a piece of fruit for this morning. We decided to just walk around the area today and see a bit of Westminster. We stopped for lunch in a “Proper Pub” but they are proper – they do not serve food, only drinks. The barkeep told us about the Good Warwick just around the corner, so we ate there. I had a salad with shrimp (really overcooked) and Stuart had the tiniest spring rolls we have ever seen, but they were good. We added a tiny lamb skewer to that and called it lunch. The lamb was tender and juicy with garlic dipping sauce. Everything is very small portions to what we are used to. On we walked heading back toward our hotel. This is a very populated area with apartments and small hotels, with a few larger hotels sprinkled in. We decided to stop at Marquist of Westminster for a drink. Stuart went back to the hotel and got our cards to play there. They welcome that and have several games to offer as well. We stayed a long time, as there is not an easy way to play cards in our room with no chairs or a table. We ended up ordering dinner. We split a chicken, leek, and mushroom pie with a side of mashed potatoes, broccolini, and peas. What a delicious and filling meal. We really enjoyed it. Back to our hotel and we did a bit of organizing to be on our way tomorrow morning. 

London - Day 2

08-21: I'd like to say we got up and out early but that was not the case we were shocked at how long we slept. I guess we are still adjusting to the time change. At least that is our excuse for now. We hopped up and got dressed and took an Uber to the London Eye area. We have timed entry tickets for 2p. We actually got in early. We had a hot dog before the ride that was breakfast! After the London Eye trip, we walked to Waterloo Station thinking we would find the Sherlock Holmes Pub, but it was no were to be found. We opted for Wetherspoon, which was good. One can order 3 small plates for around £14. Tasty and a lot of food! We took an Uber back to our hotel (such as it is). I am not up to further exploring today. We played a few games of 5 Crowns and then off to bed.  

London-Day 1

08-20: We went back for to the Pub we went to last night and had a bite to eat before heading out on the Big Bus. It poured down rain while we were having our lunch in that Pub it's sprinkled on the way there but in a little bit all the rain stopped. There were a few sprinkles later in the day but not much. It took a little time to find the route but we found it and rode the bus for some time. We got off the bus close to our beginning point and popped into a nice Wine Bar. It was called Vagabond and had small and large plates and it said 100 choices for a glass of wine so it was a good fit for us. We were hungrier than we thought and ordered a second tiny hanger steak plate. I asked for rare this time and it was really delicious. The first one was good but more medium to well done. We got an Uber back to the hotel and crashed as we were really tired.