Eurostar

The Eurostar runs under the English Channel between London and Paris. Getting to it, however, was half the adventure due to a partial tube strike. We managed to route around the out of service routes and made it to St Pancras with about an hour to spare. Fortunately, the station is home to a M&S Food, so we grabbed lunch, drinks and snacks to go whilst waiting to go through security.

The train was nice, but a bit anticlimactic as the views were limited. It was a very comfortable and civilized way to travel, however. There was a cafe car and clean bathrooms – always a win.

Upon arriving in Paris Gare du Nord we transferred to the subway to get close to our hotel. One very cool thing was we could buy our subway tickets on our phones and simply use Apple Wallet to go through faregates.

After checking in to our very basic budget room, we walked to dinner at a great local Brassiere. Jen had the tartare avec frites et salade; Dave had a massive bacon cheeseburger and a glass of wine. The portions were massive and very delicious. We thoroughly enjoyed the ambiance. It also sheltered us from a passing thunderstorm.

After dinner we went to the Boulanger for a baguette and the local grocer for cheese and chorizo salami – breakfast for tomorrow.