Leaving Bordeaux For Paris
Bordeaux St. Jean station was full of TGV Atlantique trainsets as I left for Paris.
It appeared that some trains were coupled together in pairs, to make massive people movers for the journey to and from Paris. Incidentally, each train can carry 485 psassengers.
I was not worried about the date of Friday the Thirteenth. I’ve left jobs on this date twice and I’ve always gone on to better things.
The Philharmonie de Paris
I read about the Philharmonie de Paris in The Times this morning, where they say that Parisians are snubbing the new grand concert hall, as it is on the wrong side of town. But according to this article from the Guardian in 2012, it looks like it’s been in trouble for some time. The Guardian describes it as a grand design that’s turned into a £300million bottomless pit.
It certainly looks to be something that I’ll visit next time I pass through Paris.
The Disused Circular Railway In Paris
Surprisingly, I’d never heard of this railway that connected the main railway stations in Paris, but there was a piece on it, on BBC Breakfast this morning. If such a railway had existed in say London or New York, it would have been the subject of books, documentaries and probably as famous as the sewers of Vienna, immortalised in The Third Man.
I think the next time, I visit Paris, I’ll find a tour or an expert and do an explore.
Notes On The Louvre
At places in the museum, there are a series of notes, giving details of the museum itself.
Notes On The Louvre
It is a good idea, that some museums in the UK could copy.
A Good Way To Show Small Paintings
I’ve never seen this done before, but it showed the small painting well.
A Good Way To Show Small Paintings
I’m sure many art galleries have lots of small paintings that are never shown and could benefit from a version of this technique.
Queues At The Louvre
There were long queues at the Louvre.
You can buy advance tickets and the details are here.
I queued for about an hour and a half to get in. But it was worth it!
A Day In Paris
As I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get home, before I left, I booked a ticket on the 21:10 Eurostar from Paris to London.
This effectively gave me nine hours in Paris, so I decided to go to the Louvre and then do some exploration.
Unfortunately, my camera ran out of juice, so there isn’t many pictures.
But I enjoyed myself otherwise!
I did even find a gluten-free creperie in Montmartre, but unfortunately it shuts on Mondays.
This wouldn’t have been a disaster, as I knew I’d get a good supper on Eurostar.
But unfortunately, I’d somehow mixed up getting my gluten-free meal.
The staff however, rustled me up some very acceptable chicken with chick-peas.
I was in my bed in Hackney by just after eleven, after eight trains in seven days.
Being close to St. Pancras means that trains are a very good option, as I can always get a bus home if the train is a very late one.
The
From Geneva To Paris
Four words sum up the TGV Duplex trip from Geneva to Paris; fast, frequent, comfortable and boring. This bridge was the only interesting thing I was able to photograph.
From Geneva To Paris
To describe the trip as boring is actually a complement and I arrived in Paris just over three hours after I left Geneva.
If only all travel was as simple.
Customer Support From Eurostar
On Saturday, I felt I got exceptional service from Eurostar on the last leg home from Budapest. So I told them!
I recently travelled back from Paris after arriving in the city on Saturday the 13th on the sleeper from Munich.
I hadn’t eaten for about 36 hours, as I couldn’t find any gluten-free food, in the Munich area of Germany.
However, once on the train to London, your gluten free light lunch that I had ordered filled part of the hole.I hope in my hungry state, I didn’t get on your excellent staffs’ nerves.
Ninety minutes after sending the e-mail, I got a reply.
Deepest condolences regarding your losses and the health issues you had, we are happy that you still found the strength to enjoy life. We at Eurostar are pleased that you enjoy this with us and we want to thank you for choosing us. I am sure that our on board staff were happy to help.
I am extremely disappointed to hear that gluten free meals are not obtainable with Deutsche Bahn as this is not an uncommon food request.
I hope your nest trip to Palermo will be a relaxing journey and without the need of being hungry.
You can’t fault the speed of reply and the message.
The Sleeper From Munich To Paris
It takes over ten hours, but as I wanted to be back in London in time to get to Ipswich for the Hull game on Saturday, it was the only way I could do it.
I had booked the sleeper on Deutsche Bahn’s excellent web site at bahn.de. I had a self-printed paper ticket, that worked well. These are some of the pictures I took on the journey.
We arrived in Paris on time at 09:30. I had slept reasonably well.
