Adam left in the 7:00 hour this morning; I said a quick goodbye in hopes of going back to sleep. Mission unsuccessful and I have no idea why. Kinda bummed about that. Tossed and turned for a bit and then decided to turn on the computer to check my email, as usual. I waited until I got hungry enough to warrant checking out the breakfast downstairs at the hotel, but found that it was most certainly not worth the hefty 13 Euro price. It was just pastries, hot beverages, and cereal really. Nothing else served hot that I could see (like eggs or waffles or other typical American breakfasts), no juices or fresh fruits. So I went back upstairs, had a granola bar to hold me over, and got in the shower. Once I was in my clothes for the day I could pack everything else up and secure my bags downstairs while I went out for one last chance to wander the streets of Paris.
On a hunt for food, not remembering that on Sundays in Paris, most stores (including restaurants, clothing shops, boutiques, etc.) are closed, I thankfully remembered where the Starbucks was near our first hotel we stayed at. It was open! Soya chai latte and vegetarian wrap sandwich, 9 Euro (still a rip off), but I was satisfied. Began walking around, mostly aimlessly but just wanted to see the river and the bridges one more time. I considered taking a boat ride but really would have been worried about making it back to my hotel in time to take the metro to the train station, so I just walked around until it was time to go back. Didn't eat anything else, didn't shop anywhere (because they were all closed), but I walked about 2 1/2 hours straight! Hopefully that helped work off some of the food I've been eating nonstop on this continent!
When I arrived back at the hotel, I claimed my luggage and headed for the metro, the cheapest way to get to the Eurostar train station called Gare du Nord. The directions the hotelier gave me were perfect, with one small exception. The 2nd train I needed to transfer to, is out of service until May 3rd. So when I got off at the station and the number "4" was x-ed out, I knew I was in a bit of trouble. There was no one around so I struggled with my bag up 2 flights of stairs until I saw two young girls, and I asked them in French if they spoke English. "Oui" they replied, meaning yes. So I asked them if they knew how I could get to Gare du Nord another way. Thankfully, they did. It was only one more stop to Republique, and I could transfer to another line, the number 5, to go to Gare du Nord. They were so sweet and nice and helpful and friendly, and I was very grateful! I waited only a few minutes for the next train to arrive, took it the one stop, transferred to the number 5 successfully, and made it to Gare du Nord. I guess I would say the NYC equivalent would be Penn Station. They don't just have subways/metro that arrive there, and not just Eurostar, but other suburban train lines, something that goes to the main airport, and lots of options. I followed all the signs correctly for Eurostar departures, got my tickets from the electronic machine, and ended up having to go through Passport Control for France and the UK right after each other. I approached the UK desk with my passport in hand just as I did for the French one, and the guy in the booth asked me if I had filled out a "landing card" so I said no, he pointed me in the right direction to the table to fill one out. I got it, filled it out, and got back in line, but to the other side of his booth where a woman was doing the passport checks. The only reason I did that instead of go back to him (and maybe I could have avoided waiting in the line again but whatever) was because I didn't want to have to walk through another line of people to get back to his side; I just joined it. I got up there, showed her my passport and landing card. Our conversation went a little like this:
"How long will you be in the UK?"
"Two weeks" (as is indicated on the card I filled out)
"Where are you staying?"
"London, Belfast, Manchester..."
She cut me off before I could finish, and she said, "Do you have an address?"
"I'm staying with friends all over the country."
"So you don't have an address in London? Where are you going when you get to Kings Cross?"
"My friend is meeting me there, and taking me 2 tube stops away. I have the address but it's in my email."
"Well that doesn't do me very much good, does it?"
She stamped my passport and I smiled, said thank you and walked away. I was appalled.
Do customs officers think they can just be as rude as they want to people? I certainly won't really be arguing with someone at customs checking my passport with the ability to grant or deny me access to the next step. You could be arrested, detained, something. So I didn't say anything back to her, but there were so many things I could have said if I had the guts to do so. "I had no indication that I'd have to provide a street address when I got here." "If the Eurostar reservation prepared me to do so, I would have made sure to have it written down." "Can't someone just go and travel to London without having a particular destination in mind? Where's your sense of adventure?" All went through my mind as I was standing there, but I politely said, "thank you" and took my passport back.
Then I had to go through the metal detector and have my bags scanned. Very easy step. Continued down the hallway, following signs for carriages 1 through 6, as I was assigned to carriage number 5, and was directed down the escalator. Another woman pointed me in the right direction to number 5, and I found it, put my duffel bag in the luggage compartment, and happily found my seat. Ahhh, a bit of relaxation finally! And no heavy luggage either. The only downside to the Eurostar ride was that I was facing backward, and my stomach was already a bit upset from the metro ride. I closed my eyes, slept for a few minutes of the first hour of the ride, and then we were in the "Chunnel" for about 20 minutes. When we got out of the chunnel we were in England! The train made one stop before mine, and then I got off at St Pancras/Kings Cross, one of the major train stations in central London. Carla came and met me right in the terminal and we were on our way!
I guess no trip is complete without a quick stop at Platform 9 3/4 so I went to Hogwarts for half a second and came back. Then we hopped on the tube to get to Carla's apartment. We hung out for a while, many hours, each skyped with some people, and finally made it down the block for some yummy deep fried Chinese food. 10pm dinner - lovely. Well the day has come to a close and it is time to go to sleep! Tomorrow I will be doing some laundry in the building (convenient, cheap, hooray) and then hopefully we're getting tickets to see Wicked! Wish me luck!
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