London - Paris
A very good, but typical, Travel-Day; where the sole object is to get to the destination through all the obstacles, leaving little time to smell the roses. One of the down-sides to organizing everything yourself.
First task of the day was to answer my emails, one of which was from the MoD Art Curator and I have an appointment to view the Westall Paintings at Admiralty House on the 25th October (on my way back to Australia on the 28th). Excellent news.
Next task was to clean the bed-set, complete the last minute packing, and to check-out of Orient House. I followed this with a brisk walk to the Fulham Broadway Tube station. Just made it to the train (Underground, change lines once), that took me to the EuroStar Train Station, St Pancras, to board the EuroStar (Standard Premier Class) that took me to Paris, Gare du Nord (Station of the North), where I caught an Paris RER local train to the Cite Universite.
My EuroStar experience was extra good with a comfortable armchair, window seat, a cold 2-course meal (hot 3-course meal only for Premier-Premier class), and a very nice white wine, with two cups of coffee at the end. The chocolate-nougat after dinner mint was a nice touch as well. Points that I did not realise were that your luggage goes with you and is handled by you; so you get to put it into the overhead rack yourself. Be sure it is not too large or heavy; there were some shocked American tourists on my trip, although there is space at the ends of each carriage for really bulky items.
At no point on these travel interchanges was my progress simple or straightforward (and French railway officials have not changed). I am really glad I had no more luggage than I do as the lifts/escalators were not working in a number of stations along the way. Despite two hours of Standard-Premier class luxury on the EuroStar I was hot and tried by the time the day was over. Gare du Nord is huge, busy, and despite Information booths there is really very little to help you. Intensive use of the internet and blogs had got me all I really needed, except the basic plan of the station and an idea of which platform I needed to reach to get my RER train. (This is a local Paris line so does not have the attention paid to it as the Trans-Europe Expresses, EuroStar, etc.) After much stuffing around (living in the moment, totally reactive), I got through 3 sets of ticket-turnstiles (one by tagging onto a tour-group, all pulling the trolley-cases like me), found my RER train and was on my very-crowded way.
I had used Google Maps to walk from the RER station to the college where I was to stay so I was very confident I knew my way. On the ground it was a little bit different as the access to the building was not on the street side (that I had virutal-walked) but from inside the main complex. A little back tracking and following instinct got me to the front doors and ultimately the desk.
I was at the front desk of the Cite Internationale de Universitaire, Maison des Provinces de France, before 5 pm and presented my paperwork to a (thankfully) bilingual desk lady. All the organising paid-off and I was on their books, pre-paid for 33 days. I have small bed-sit with a en-suite and a kitchenette.
Last act of the day was to visit a nearby take-away for a Formula Chicken (6 Euro) that consisted of a hot chicken roll, chips, and a coke. I had not calculated on the Cite' cafeterias/restaurants etc being closed over the holidays. The meal on the EuroStar had been very tasty but the portion size was less than adequate, and I had skipped breakfast, so Food was a priority.
Paris
18/08/2011 morning
Today is my first day in Paris but I have decided to take care of the logistics first. I will locate the college laundry, vending machines, local super market, local restaurants, Banks etc, and stock up on staples like eggs and milk (and maybe pastries). Tomorrow I will sort out the Museum dHistoire Naturalle library.
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