London to Paris, Thursday

Not surprisingly we were up early since we had to get across the city to St Pancras station to catch the Eurostar for Paris Gare du Nord.  We checked out of the hotel, walked up to Paddington and caught a taxi to the train.  St Pancras has been completely remodelled but it has retained many of the original nineteenth century elements.

Modern St Pancras Station

It was originally opened in 1868 by the Midland Railway as the southern terminus of that company's Midland Main Line, which connected London with the East Midlands and Yorkshire. When it opened, the arched Barlow train shed was the largest single-span roof in the world.

The Barlow Train Shed in Victorian Times

The undercroft of the station was used to store beer barrels brought by train from Burton-upon-Trent, a major brewing town served by the Midland Railway.

Beer Storage under St Pancras Station

Beer traffic was handled in the centre of the station between platforms 4 and 5. A central third track ended with a wagon hoist lowering wagons 20 feet (6 m) below rail level. Beer continued to be stored there until the middle of the 1960s.

We left at 12:28 PM from St Pancras and were in Paris in less than two and one-half hours.  We were actually under the Channel for approximately twenty minutes.

A taxi took us to the apartment-hotel where we are staying and after unpacking we headed up to the Place du Tertre for a drink at the Sabot Rouge.

Le Sabot Rouge

On the way back to the apartment we stopped to buy some Roquefort cheese, a baguette and a pear.  A delightful supper was followed by an early night.

Oh, yes, one last thought from London.  Although now-a-days the double decker busses are all very modern and they carry no conductors, there are still a very few of the old fashioned ones (including conductors).  These are largely for tourists, but they are still fun although you no longer have the conductors issuing trip slips or, as I remember from the 1960s, cranking out a long paper ticket.  Neither can you ride on the back area where we used to jump on the moving bus to get on or jump off when the bus slowed down.  It is undoubtedly safer now, but not nearly as much fun!

An Old Style Bus