A La France/ Bienvenue A Paris

Off to France! We had a 10 o'clock train, so it was not too bad a rush in the morning. (Some clothes were still hanging in front of the fire getting completely dry.)

A very enjoyable trip to London in the spring sunshine. The children were sitting a little apart, so the 'squashy car' fights were happily avoided. There was a time of uncomfortable crowding in an underground station, while Wayne fought his way to get tube tickets, but we arrived at the Eurostar station with plenty of time for a nice sandwich for our late lunch before our 4 pm start.

This part of the train trip was actually shorter than Liskeard to London. Through the Chunnel we went, and then looked out onto the green fields of France, looking for differences from England. Same trees, possibly more blossoms in a more southern clime... flatter fields maybe, and larger ones. None of the patchwork little fields that England still has from the middle ages. Pointier roofs on the village houses... We turned our clocks ahead one hour, and eventually pulled into Paris.

It was 7 pm, and still light. We just could not work out how to buy metro tickets for a family at this stage, so we gave in and got a taxi. This was probably a good thing, considering our luggage, and unfamiliarity with our destination (Rue de Saint Honore, smack in the middle of the 1st arrondisement, behind the Louvre.) The apartment man was waiting to let us in and tell us the ropes, thankfully. We were right up on the top floor, accessible by a tiny elevator that could only fit two people. We had four rooms, including a bathroom and a loft bedroom for the girls. Jack had to sleep on the sofa bed, but we were all grateful not to be all in the one room as we had to in Bath. We could cook our own meals, also. So, the dauntless Wayne and Jack set off in search of groceries while the girls unpacked and bathed. The boys could not find the large supermarket marked on our small map, but found a little shop with a few necessities. A quick omelette, and off to bed, as it was now very late.