Monday Tuesday 20, 21 Aug 2018

We took American to Paris CDG via Dallas. Then took the Eurostar train through the Channel Tunnel to London. This involved a connecting subway and taxi moves, but it was cheaper than flying into London Heathrow. Since we will eventually return home via Paris, our air is round trip Tucson – Paris.

There was some trauma. Our Dallas – Paris flight was delayed 2 hours so our connection to the Eurostar train from Paris was very tight. The train left from Gare du Nord in Paris so rather than taking the train from CDG we took a taxi. We made it with about 10 minutes to spare! The rest of the journey was routine.

I have always been impressed by the engineering involved in building the Channel Tunnel so wanted to experience it. Except for the long approach to the tunnel – an excavated, gradually sloping “valley” – it was just a 20-minute train ride through the dark. But now I’ve seen it.

We are staying at an Airbnb near Hyde Park in Bathurst Mews. We learned that a mews is British for stable area. This area was used for stabling horses used in the past to ride in Hyde Park. In fact, as we walked around after arrival we saw some stables still housing horses. Our place is a small one bedroom flat with separate living room/kitchen. Our host, Robert, lives downstairs and is very helpful. We walked a little of Hyde Park before eating at a restaurant (pub, really) Robert recommended. Great weather.