Back on
October 7th, I decided to follow through on a brilliant idea my pal Brad
Bultman told me about. A few weeks before I left to go to
London, he said that I should consider taking a train ride to Paris, France for a
day while I was already out there. In fact, he did some research for me. He told me I could take a
train early in the morning then come back that same night. Since I
already had a hotel room booked for the time I was going to be in
London, that made perfect sense. Brad is a well experienced world
traveler. I respect his knowledge. I knew he was giving me some sound
advice.
After
giving what he said some thought, I decided to alter my original plan
of possibly going to see another Rugby World Cup match in London between
the United States & South Africa. I knew that a ticket for that
match wasn't going to be easy to get & it was going to be pricey.
With that being said, I decided to pursue Brad's idea further. I did some research on my
own. I was able to get myself a round trip train ticket on
Eurostar
which is the bullet train that runs from London to Paris via the
Channel Tunnel. I booked the
early train that left
St. Pancras International railway station at 5:40AM & it was
scheduled to arrive in Paris Gare du Nord station at 9:17AM. I needed to take into account
the time difference since Paris is an hour ahead of London. With that being
said, I gained the hour back when I returned. I wound up taking a train
that left Paris at 8:13PM that night.
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| Me on bus at 4:05AM in London |
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| St. Pancras Station |
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| Eurostar |
Upon
returning to the
Grantly Hotel where I was staying for the time I was
in London at 12:30AM, I asked for a 3:30AM wake up call. The person at
the desk wound up knocking on my door. I got up & took a shower. I
got dressed & I proceeded to take a few buses to St. Pancras International train
station so I could catch my train to Paris. I had it planned out
perfectly as I arrived at the train station an hour before my departure.
I was told to do so a few days prior when I asked people at the Eurostar counter. Since that train station was one of the few places I was able to get
WiFi, I was able to find out that the Yankees lost their Wild Card game
to the Houston Astros. Dead tired & all, I was jumping for joy. What
a way to start my day.
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| 5:40AM to Paris |
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| Time to get on board the train |
Once
I got my emotions under control, I went over to the gate in preparation
to board the train. After I went through customs, I went on the train. I
was hoping to get some sleep on the two & a half hour train ride.
However I rested my eyes but I don't think I was able to sleep. I was
too excited. Another country was awaiting me. When I finally arrived in
Paris, I was wide eyed LOL.
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| Welcome to Paris France |
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| Paris Transit Map |
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| Gare Du Nord Metro Station |
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| Here comes the train |
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| Me on the train |
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| Saint Germain Des-Pres Metro Station |
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| Neo Cafe |
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| Breakfast Menu |
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| My Breakfast |
I
proceeded to go to the Metro, which is their subway system. I went to
the ticket window & I bought myself a one day pass so I could get
around the city while I was there. I wound up taking the 4 line from Gare du Nord to Saint-Germain-Des-Pres station. I decided to get
off the train there because I was trying to find a restaurant I had researched before I went away. However I couldn't find it. With that being said, I wound up coming across a place that was serving
breakfast called the Neo Cafe. I looked over their menu & I decided to go
in. I ended up having a complete meal that consisted of bacon, eggs, toast, a
croissant, fruit salad, tea & orange juice. Bon appetit! I did, it was good &
filling.
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| Musee Du Louvre |
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| Pavillion Richelieu |
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| Me by Louvre Pyramid |
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| Palais Royal Musee du Louvre Metro station |
After
I finished eating, I walked until I found the
Musee De Louvre which is one of the largest museums in the world. It's also a historic monument in Paris. In addition, that's
where the painting of Mona Lisa is located. If you like artwork, this is a must see for you. Plan properly & pack your patience before you go. Unfortunately for me, the line to
get in as I was warned was out of control. Since I booked a tour of the
Eiffel Tower for 2PM, I didn't have time to waste waiting around. So I
walked around the area & I took in the amazing scenery &
architecture. It was breath taking. Even though I was on the tired side,
it helped keep my eyes open. When I finished, I proceeded to find a
nearby Metro station which was
Palais Royal. I got on & I headed to the Eiffel Tower. I
got off the 6 line train at
Bir-Hakeim & I walked around the surrounding area since I had
some time before my tour started. I walked down so I could take a
selfie with me & the Tower behind me. After numerous tries, I
finally took a good one. I then walked back to the entrance. I wound up
going up all the way up to the top. It was an amazing aerial & panoramic view of Paris. I'm so happy I decided to do this. It was a very memorable experience.
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| Le Relais Bastille |
After
I got done eating, I walked back to the Metro station that was nearby. Thankfully I
found my way back to the Eurostar train. I had some time to spare so I wound up
charging up my dead phone while I waited. I then proceeded to catch my
train back to London.
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| 20:13PM Train back to London, England |
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| Welcome to London |
Stay tuned for another post that will go into detail how I spent my Thursday there.
Thank you for reading & following along.
Yours truly,
Gary Herman
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