London - October 21, 2014

True vagabonds!  We woke up in Paris and are going to sleep in London!!

It was a travel day and we had a lot of hauling around our belongings.  The day started with breakfast at the hotel and then about 11 we hailed a cab and jammed four adults, 5 suitcases and 2 backpacks in a cab meant for 3-4 people!  Fortunately, the ride wasn't too long and we were offloaded in the street in front of the Gare du Nord train station.  We found the Eurostar area and began the check-in process which means passport control and immigration since we are changing countries.  Then it was scanning of the luggage and blessedly no taking off of the shoes!

We had a bit of a wait until they called our train and then we boarded car #18 which was very handy to the gate!  That should have tipped us off since it was the last car it meant we had about a 10 mile walk to the exit when we arrived in London!!

The ride itself is quite nice and very smooth so we decided they must have upgraded the tracks since I rode the same train about 15 years ago.  The portion of the trip that goes under the English Channel only takes about 20 minutes!  All in all it's a very nice way to travel!  We had bought some lunch in the station to take with us on the train and that worked out well.

After our 10 mile hike in the London station we were directed to the "next" cab in line and the luggage and people stuffing began once again!  Luggage (some) went in the passenger seat and the four of us, one big suitcase and two backpacks were squeezed into the back with Ed and I on jumpseats!  Thank goodness it was just a 15 minute ride!

The taxi couldn't bring us closer than about a half a block to the hotel so we schlepped once again.  The hotel is perfectly located in the theater district, close to Piccadilly, Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square!  Clean, modern and fast internet! Yay!

Today was the first day that we felt the cold!  London is chilly and was a little rainy when we went to dinner.  I may have to break out the jacket!!

No plans yet for tomorrow except to see what kind of last minute tickets we can get for a matinee.  If there's nothing we are interested in then we'll plan something depending on the weather.

We went to one of our favorite places to get a quick meal in London called Wagamama which is a basement restaurant with long tables that specializes in Asian "noodle bowl" dinners.  It's loud, fun and fast......also very close!  Winner, winner!!

Time to get some rest....catch you tomorrow!
XOXOXOX
M