Trip Day 60 – Home again

It is another cool start in Paris, I am catching a 9am taxi to start my trip home, I have allowed 1 hour travel time to the train station but I have a surprise this morning as the 1st of November is All Saints Day which is the start of a weeks holiday in France. As such my trip to Garde de Nord takes 11 minutes and so starts my trip home that will see me travelling for 2 days.

After reaching the train station I have a 2 hour wait for the Eurorail train to London, this is first updated to leave early to avoid track maintenance and then delayed due to a train fault, making the departure time as it was when I booked the train 2 weeks ago. The trip through the French countryside is a pleasant one, we are plunged into darkness as we enter the channel tunnel and it stays this way for about 15 min as we pass under the sea, emerging into the bright sunshine on the Dover coast. After 2 hours travelling I arrive at St Pancreas station and after clearing customs it is off to find the metro. A 1 hour trip down the Piccadilly line to Heathrow is followed by a 7 hour wait for my plane.

9.30pm and we are finally on our way to Hong Kong, a 12 hour flight finds me in a overcast and foggy Hong Hong, the turn around time is 1 hour which is just enough time to get off the plane, clear security and then have a 35 min wait to get back on the plane, I am pleased to find that I have a spare seat next to me for the flight back to Sydney, a 9 hour flight to Sydney and I touch down, a glorious red sunrise is a welcome greeting home. I now have a 2 hour wait for my flight to Melbourne which passes quickly and then back in the air again for another hour. Finally after a trip the started 9am Monday Morning I arrive at my door at 12.30 Wednesday morning, a very long but trouble free trip and the end of a wonderful Holiday.  

Trip Day 58 – Last day in Paris

Cool and Crisp, seems a fitting day to bring to an end my time in Paris, today I have two main things to do before I can leave, the first is to get the lift to the top of the Eiffel tower, the second is to sit on the steeps of the Sacre Cour Basilica and watch the sunset over Paris.

It was suggested that the best stop on the metro for the Eiffel tower was the Trocedero, this sits on the other side of the Seine and gives a great view, it is a very popular spot with people to sit and look out over the tower. A short walk across the bridge finds me at the base of the tower, the line, for the lift, snakes its way around in a horse shoe and it is an hour before I get to get a ticket for the lift ride to the top. This is done in 2 stages, first a lift to the second floor then one of four lifts to the top, all of these lift have big glass windows and give a commanding view. The view from the top is amazing you can either look out from the enclosed deck or climb out onto the second caged floor.

Next it is off to Sacre Cour, the metro ride is not long and it gets you to the bottom of the hill, it is then a matter of walking up the street filled with souvenir shops top the bottom of the steps that lead up to the Basilica. The steps at the top are filled with people waiting for the sun to go down, it is a pure carnival type atmosphere as there are buskers and performers all entertaining the crowd. Many people have brought wine or beer with them. The sunset is spectacular with the white building of Paris turning orange and pink hews before the lights take over the city. A perfect way to end my time in Paris.