We Made it to Paris. JUST!

Monday July 22nd

Today we got up bright and early to drive to Ashford to catch Euro star. The check in time was before 9.25. That meant you had to be checked in before that time otherwise you would need to buy another ticket as Mary had taken the cheapest option, non refundable and non transferable.

Hamish had taken good advice from Louise's family the night before and they had said we would need to leave to 7.30am. It was only about 30 – 40 min away but they suggested you needed to build in time for possible dealys on the motorway at that hour of the day.

So we set out at about that time and Louise looked at the directions on the piece of paper she had got when she paid for the parking. It said to take the M2 to the M20 and that would be the quickest route. We hit the M2 and had to go in the direction of London for one junction. As soon as we got on we were crawling and then we ground to a halt. Shortly after that we heard sirens and up the service lane came police, fire engines and ambulances. Lou checked her phone and there had been an accident just around the next bend. suddenly the air ambulance appeared above us and we knew it was very serious and they must have stopped the traffic so that the helicopter could land on the motorway.

We then sat there with the engine turned off until 9.10 when we suddenly started moving. It was a pretty grim time with gradual acceptance that our chances of making it to Paris on the 9.55 train were rapidly fading.

In the mean time  the big people we were hurridly making alternative plans. Hamish rang Eurostar to see if there was anything we could do. Obvioulsy they knew we had non transferable tickets but did say there were two seats on the 4.40 train.  Only two Eurostar services a day actually stop to pick up passengers in Ashford. Most people go straight out of St Pancras in London . It sounded as if they might consider our plight but it didn't really solve the problem, as there were four of us.

So they came up with a number of scenarios.

1. Two of them could buy tickets to go on the later train, but that left two behind.
2. They could go down to Dover and catch a boat and drive up to Paris. Problem 1. Where do you park in Paris? Problem 2 Hamish was not insured to drive abroad. Both could be solved but would be expensive. Hamish googled and found there was a parking building near the hotel that we could park in for 60 euros but who in their right mind really wants to drive to Paris?
3. They could leave the car in the parking already paid for in Ashford and get a train down to the port and go across as foot passengers and then get a train up to Paris. Louise looked at this and it would have been possible but could have taken a long time. But they could have used our return Eusrostar tickets to get back.
    

As the time went by they sort of gave up but never entirely. At 9.10 the we started moving. Well it was a white knuckle ride in the Beamer. I think Hamish thought he was on the autobauns in Germany. He did a 30 min drive in 20 mins. There could be a letter waiting for him in the post when he gets back home!

While they were travelling they revamped the plans. Alan andMary would get out with their bags and try and talk themselves onto the train while Hamish and Lou parked the car and followed them up. They ran up the stairs and were met by the nicest of women who reassured them that we would make the train. They printed out the tickets and said they would hold Hamish and Lousie's at the desk, and that they should go through passport control. This they relcutantly did but they had only rounded the corner when Hamish and Louise caught them up. There was  no time to waste as an announcemnet said that all Eurostar passengers were to go to Platform 4 immediately. They found the part of the platform where carriage 16 would stop and got there as the train drew into the station. They had to kick people out of their seats, and finally  sat down the train pulled out of the station. 

Safely aboard Eurostar with hardly a minute to spare with a very relieved Hamish  and Louise. So here we  are now sitting in Eurostar driving through rural France on the way to Paris. I must admit that I was curled up in my rugby ball as we made that mad dash down the motorway. It was too scary for me.

How they made it onto the train on time was a miracle. Lou had checked the price of buying new Eurotsar tickets for the next train or even the next day and they were over 200 pounds each. This was a bit of a shock as the whole package for the 4 of them was just under 250 pounds each and that included accomodation.( (I sneaked on for free.) Louise had also booked and paid for parking and tickets to the Moulin Rouge so they really needed to go. Well what ever happened They were going to problem solve and find a way!

Stepping off the train at Gard Du Nord they were met by a wall of heat, It had been airconditioned on the train so they had no idea what they were in for. England had been hot but this was something else. Big people were all hungry so grabbed a bite at the station. They then bought  five day rail passes and headed to the hotel which right at the other end of Paris. They were able to do it in two changes. A friendly local helped them outside the station but sent them on rather a long walk, but in the end they found the hotel which is very nice. They all needed a shower and a rest.

At 4.30 they took me out  to explore Paris. They  still couldn't believe they had got here but were all feeling quite upbeat about splashing out on doing stuff since they hadn't had to spend another lot of money to get here. 

Here I am finally in Paris at the Arc de Triomphe.

They took the metro over to the Arc de Triomphe to see the traffic driving crazily around it. It was bizzare as there are no lanes and there are at least 6 random lanes of cars jsotling for position. 

 Unsurprisingly we saw a crash and the two parties stopped and got out in the midlle of all the traffic to discuss the damage.

While this was happening the others avoided them and the madness continued.

Golden dinosaur  window display inLouis Vuitton

They walked the wonderful wide Champs Elysees but stayed out of the designer shops. Dinner was at an outdoor cafe and  we all watched the world go by. They wandered on down towards the river and ended the day with a beautiful evening boat cruise on Seine which took us to all the sights along the river.