In the morning we crossed the street for a very nice breakfast. The people running the Alhambra are terrific. We had plenty of time to organize ourselves and walk over to St. Pancras Station. There were the usual line-ups for check-in, passport control, security, but it was all smooth. We did have to heave our large suitcases onto a high shelf, but Larry managed that and soon we were very comfortably seated. The last time I did this trip was 1990, with Nicole. It was a kind of nightmare, took much longer and involved a train, a hovercraft, a holding pen, an extremely crowded bus, a trek across an open field, an extremely crowded train and a climb up onto the station platform in Paris, all while carrying non-wheeled luggage. We saw little scenery and had little comfort. It gave us a very tiny glimpse of what it must feel like to be a refugee. This Eurostar is fast, comfortable and we could see quite a bit of the countryside. The Chunnel was a quick 20 minutes of darkness. There was a 25-minute line-up for taxis at the Gare du Nord, but it was well-handled and efficient. Our trip through the city to the Hotel Pas de Calais was smooth and we got to see a few things like the pyramid at the Louvre. The hotel is bright, comfortable and nicely decorated, with friendly staff.
We went for a walk around the area, then met up with
the rest of our group at the hotel. How great it is to be travelling again with Cathy, Gabriela, Maria-Angelica, Sally-Jo, Mary-Ellen, Brock, Elsie, Ellen-Mary, Walt, Barb, Dave and Carol. We all went for a nice dinner a few blocks away, but when the bill came it fell apart -- we'd arranged for separate bills but didn't get them, meaning we had to figure out our shares and also had to pay cash. Some people were very tired after travelling most of the night before, so we didn't need this complication. It was nearly 11 when we got back to the hotel.
We went for a walk around the area, then met up with
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