6 & 7-Jan-25 Paris, France

Two hours to Paris at high speed. Having sat in my booked seat departing Lyon realise I need something out of my bag literally a few steps away on the baggage shelf at the end of the carriage.

Am literally out of seat for one minute. And return to discover some homeless looking scruffy oik sitting in my seat. Needless to say. He is taught two English words. One of which is off. And he begrudgingly moves. Moaning. Doubt he has a ticket. Let alone a First Class ticket. Cheeky sod.

Arrive Paris Gare de Lyon. The Man in Seat 61 (whose website you have to thank for my travels www.seat61.com – one of the best travel websites!) highly recommends dining at the Train Bleu restaurant in the station. So do that. Seeing as it’s lunch.

WOW!

What an interior.

Don’t think I’ve dined in such an opulent room before.

Architecturally stunning. Incredibly detailed features. What a place to have lunch.

Smoked salmon. Roast lamb. Carved at a trolley at table. Old fashioned style.

Being used to dining in London over the years whilst working there am used to London prices.

But.

This takes the biscuit.

And is even more expensive than London.

Keep telling myself I’m paying for the stunning surroundings. And an enjoyable and memorable moment in life.

Even so. Jeez. It’s expensive!

Cross town by taxi to the 25 Hours Hotel (www.25hours-hotels.com/paris/terminus-nord/). Which is fast becoming my favourite stop off in Paris on my travels via Eurostar. Quirky décor with a nice Middle Eastern restaurant on site.

It now being early afternoon only have a few hours free. Notre Dame Cathedral has just re-opened after burning down in 2019. Sure I have read that all entrance tickets are sold for the next few weeks assume it will just be a look from the outside.

But.

Emerging from the Metro and crossing the road to the square. See a queue of people going in seemingly without tickets. Hmmm. I wonder if I’ll be able to get in or are they part of some organised tour group?

It’s a fast moving queue so try my luck. Expecting to get turned away. But no. Am soon inside. For free. Which surprises as thought you had to pay.

Given the sheer volume of people. A one way system is in place.

WOW!

Magnificent inside.

White stone makes it feel light and airy. Sunlight streams through the stained glass windows casting streaks of colour on the inside.

Quite the achievement to re-build all this in five years.

Amusing to see a group of about twenty chairs cordoned off. It’s the waiting area for confession!

As they say…a picture paints a thousand words. So see the photos below.

It’s the final day of this sector the following day.

But I nearly can’t leave France.

Passport is not scanning again. Those with a good memory will recall that I nearly couldn’t leave England at St Pancras al those weeks ago because the French couldn’t scan my passport.

Well.

It’s happening again.

Even when they input my details manually the system doesn’t recognise me.

Oh ‘eck.

That’s all I need.

Stuck in Paris.

Eventually after a lot of faff it somehow works and am let through to the UK passport control. Where my passport immediately scans and am allowed home. Flipping French.

Settle into the Business Premier lounge for coffee and croissants. Before boarding. At the front of the train. Which must be about 600m away from the lounge. I kid you not. I looked it up. A Eurostar train is about 400m long. Plus distance from lounge to platform. Quite a scrum once leaving the serenity of the lounge. And joining all the other passengers. All jostling to get ahead.

Middle Eastern couple sit across the aisle from me. As we zoom through northern France, the male thinks it normal to listen to his Arabic music without earphones in. So the whole sodding carriage can hear. Not having that dear reader. No. He’s told to put his earphones in. Rather bluntly I might add. If they’re rude enough to do that. I’m rude enough to tell it straight. When I’m dictator…

Straight run home on the train. To arrive home. To discover it’s freezing cold. Heating has only been on a few hours each day whilst away. Jeez. It’s cold. Takes two days for the house to heat up properly with the heating on 24/7. Won’t make that mistake again.

And that is that, dear reader. Sector 1 Iberian Peninsula. Tick.

It has been dreadfully cold. I have had severe manflu for weeks. The remnants of which are still with me.

And now to start planning Sector 2. Nottingham to Vienna and Montenegro.

But first. A trip to Peterborough. And the Passport Office. For a new one.

Four hours waiting in Peterborough. For those who haven’t been to Peterborough. Four hours is four hours too long to be waiting in Peterborough!