Day 7 - a trip to London (August 24, 2024)

[Editor note:   I started this post over a year ago, and forgot to finish it.  so... here it is now]

waiting in the station for our train (in the background)

Well, Steve decided that he really did need to see a Tottenham game in person (soccer). 

He also determined that it was cheaper to just take the eurostar from Paris to London to do that, rather than to take a flight to London from Victoria.   

And so.... we decided to take a couple of days out of the Paris vacation to take a quick 1-night jaunt to London.   And the eurostar was our vehicle of choice.  

having breakfast on the train

It did mean a very early start to the day, and there was a bit of a fancydance at the beginning (where it intially appeared that our tickets were for the day before?!), but we managed (even with our intermediate french skills) to sort it out and get ourselves onto the train.

The view out the window is a mixed bag at the speed the train travels.  

A mixture of beauty, and an edge of vertigo.  I particular enjoyed the countryside, and the strange (to me) experience of farm lands presenting themselves as 'wind farms'. 

all the wind farms on the way...

There was something delicious in the beauty of their sharp angular structures agains the marshmallow grey puffs of the clouded sky.  

I also found myself contemplating the various speeds of movement:  I felt like I was sitting quite still  in a train moving at 300km and hour, amplified when other trains would pass us going the other direction at the same speed, while the clouds moved slowly across the skies, and windmill blades rotated around at their own speed, moved by the winds, or being moved by them?  Here's 20 seconds of video from the train: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_c6aITKvZ4

And so, we arrived happily at St. Pancras train station. 

I do love coming in through St. Pancras.  

What a beautiful station.  

Just looks so much like a castle.  

I did have to stop on the stairs to just spend a 20 seconds watching the clouds moving past the roof edge.   I could have stayed longer:

https://youtu.be/BXB0ehJ1NzY

Because my hips and knees were giving me grief, Steve undertook to get us a hotel room super-close to the train station, so I would not have to do very much walking.  

He was as good as his word, and checked us into The Standard Hotel, which is exactly across the street from St. Pancras station.  It was literally a stone's throw.

I don't want to sound like I am doing hotel promo, but... it was a lovely place to stay.  :-)

It had such a retro/modern feel, both outside and inside. 

Super nice job on the design features.

I loved the windows, which were curved on the edges, as if you were on a ship of some sort.  

And then the view out the window?  Wow.

Feels a bit like you are entering a ship cabin

The room was called "the King of Kings"

ah... chill-axing on the king bed and enjoying the view

I love how it feels like the windows on a cruise ship

the close up view out the hotel window

Steve, kitted out in his Tottenham gear

Having caught our breath, we went our separate ways, planning to meet up later.   I was heading off to see "The Cursed Child", parts 1 and 2 (meaning a matinee performance, followed by an evening one).

Steve was going to be heading off to the Tottenham game (where he had got himself a box seat), but he had a bit more time to chill out.   He did agree to send me a selfie once he got to the game.

And so, I grabbed my jacket and I headed back to the street, but with a slightly tighter timeline.  

and of course it starts to rain....

Of course, those beautiful puffy clouds had turned to rain.  

No worries.  

We too live on a green island, so I know very well that rain is just a visit from a relative.  :-)

The only snag was that, after having filled up my oyster card, and planned my travel route, I missed my bus.  urgh.  Ah well... it was taxi time!  Another fun adventure.  (trains, planes and automobiles all the way!)

arriving on time at the Palace Theatre

I arrived at the Palace Theatre with a bit of time to spare.   

I couldn't help but remember that this is where Bonnie Wyora and I saw Les Miserables for the first time in 1985, where Duncan got to see Singing in the Rain with Arta in 2012.  

Always fun thinking about the scores of feet, and scores of song (hahaha) that have wandered through its hallways.  

Yes... a return visit to the show

this time, a seat in the stalls, not the balcony

I love all the details in the building itself

Reminding me of clock in Musee d'Orsay

Seeing the full play in one day does mean some significant time spent in a theatre seat, but I love such things.   But one does need a meal in between the matinee and evening show.   I followed an old pattern, and walked down the block to the closest Weatherspoons to have the chicken tikkia masala (this being one of the places where we could easily satisify the different palettes of the two boys the year we lived here).  So... just another comforting retro moment. And then, back to see if the play would end in the same way.  :-).  It did.

The rain having stopped, I headed back to the streets, and grabbed a bus for the ride back home (yes, I am aware it is a hotel, but home is where the heart is, right?)  

On the way there, Steve texted me from a local pub, so I got off the bus a few stops early, and found him.  

We met up there to chat and debrief the adventures of the evening (while listening to a great musician do a couple of sets). 

And then we headed back to the street for the short walk back to the hotel. 

Not only had the rain stopped, but the skies were gloriously clear.  

The moon was like a beacon in the sky.  As clear from London as it often is from the backyard in Victoria (what?  the moon is something we share?!).  

The buildings along the street were illuminated, and shaded in colour.  

Not many things are better than an evening walk on a warm summer night, where the rain has pulled the dust and pollution out of the air.  A perfect ending to a very full day.

St. Pancras clock tower at night