Flying the long way to Europe to take the world's slowest express train (plus a wedding) - HCO

[PrezRegan]

Apologies for the gap in update - essentially last few days have just been spent down in Tunbridge Wells (Royal Tunbridge Wells as I keep getting reminded) for the wedding. Staying in the Premier Inn, a chain that's apparently famous for its bedding. Decent rate I think came to 400 AUD for two nights.


Friday was spent on a pub crawl before the wedding, some real gems of a place like the one below. Beer is not as cheap as I thought it would be, on par or even in some cases more expensive than in Aus.


Survived the wedding, which was held in the nearby town of Robertsbridge rather than Tunbridge Wells itself. I can definitely get around the British tradition of going to the pub before the wedding for a few drinks, then drinking throughout the very brief ceremony, and then continuing to drink for the rest of the evening. Admittedly it was a very low-key thing - the "proper" ceremony was done in Australia a few months back - but the weather was amazing.

This morning was the world's okayest full English at the hotel restaurant, 12 GBP for the buffet. It was very busy and the food was being constantly topped up to keep up with demand.

Then a couple of trains back to London and I'm now in the Eurostar Premier lounge at St Pancras. I decided to splurge on Premier instead of first or second class and it earned its keep straight away - Premier check-in meant avoiding the horrendously long lines for everyone else, then straight through immigration and security via the separate Premier queue and into the lounge.

The lounge is a decent space, much quieter and less packed than outside but still fairly busy. No hot food, just bar snacks, but free pour spirits and wines.

The other perk is that Premier comes with unlimited free changes to earlier or later trains. My original booking was the 1401, so I just asked to move to the train an hour earlier - they seem to run about every 30 minutes - which still gave me a chance to check out the lounge. I could have taken an even earlier one and gone straight to the platform to board.

I lose a couple of hours to the time difference heading to Paris, so I'm glad to be getting in a bit earlier than planned.

 

[RooFlyer]

Eurostar Premier

Great that you’ve covered this, thanks. I’m on it next year.

Hoping for some pictures from on board facilities

 

[PrezRegan]

The train was delayed mid-trip by about 1.5 hours due to a signals issue. Compensation is apparently available in 24 hours. I think had I gone with the original train I'd have been even later.


Food was good, but it's not like a flight where you can keep getting drinks - I think after the meal service the drinks stop, which would normally work fine for a 3 hour trip. Used the stop to wander up and down the train and see how the other half live. First is not bad, but second is pretty packed, like a zoo. There were some large groups just sprawled out across the chairs with food everywhere and spilt all over the carpets. I do not regret going Premier now, particularly with that delay.


Made it in the end, and a very quick 5 stop transfer on Metro line 4 to my hotel in the 1st arrondissement - Novotel Les Halles. Slightly hard to find, it just says "hotel", but it's located off what appears to be a very bustling square with lots of bars and takeaway joints.

Checked in around 2000. Room is nice, no mention of status or upgrade or anything - I've heard Europe is not great with status acknowledgement for Accor. Room is decent though, and whilst not cheap you can't really fault it on location, right on top of the RER with the Louvre a short walk away.
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Wandered around the city for a little while before heading to Notre-Dame for the tower climb. Originally booked for 1930 but couldn't make it due to the delay, so rebooked a later slot. Climbing towers appears to be becoming a thing across my trip.s Got a nice view of the Paris cityscape at night and was also able to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle at 2200.
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Short walk back to the hotel, and decided I needed to refuel so stopped by Macca's to see what regional delicacies they have. They don't seem to have anything special that's French, just more sharing chicken things. The special burger is a spicy Chicago one, which was not spicy. Interestingly the receipt said "Macdonald's" rather than "McDonald's" - turns out that's the actual name of the French operating company, though everyone here just calls it McDo.

It was very much stretching my memory of my one year of high school French to work out how the server would say the order number (5238) but I managed to get the right order.

 

[PrezRegan]

Got up early to try and partly beat the line at the Louvre and see the Mona Lisa before the crowds arrived.

The museum opens at 9 and there are two entrances - the Pyramid itself, which means queuing outside in the courtyard, and the Carrousel du Louvre at 99 Rue de Rivoli, which takes you in through the underground mall. I opted for the latter. Slightly disconcerting at first because you walk past shops and a food court and start wondering whether you've made a mistake, but it does link up - you're aiming for the inverted glass pyramid hanging from the ceiling, and security is right there.


Even by 0845 there were already maybe 50 people ahead of me, and by the time they opened there were probably the same number behind. But the lines move quick once you're through security.

Then it was a beeline for the Mona Lisa. Up into the Denon wing, up the Daru staircase past the Winged Victory without stopping, turn right into the Grande Galerie, and about two thirds of the way down there's an opening on the right into the Salle des Etats. I reckon it worked. I was able to get an uncrowded photo at the front after maybe a couple of minutes wait and could then explore the rest of the museum at leisure. Tip for anyone doing the same - stand slightly off centre rather than dead in front, the glass is very reflective straight on.

Also worth turning around once you're in there. Directly opposite is Veronese's Wedding at Cana, seven metres by ten, the largest painting in the building, and essentially nobody looks at it.

By the time I circled back about an hour later the Mona Lisa was a scrum about 10 deep.

After getting my picture I went back down to the main area, got a croissant and coffee for breakfast and watched the atrium start to fill. Useful thing to know - Napoleon Hall is inside security, so going back down there doesn't count as leaving and you don't lose your place - but they may double check your ticket to make sure it's not for the wrong day. Rejoined the shorter internal line and went straight back in.

Rather than hiring a multimedia guide I just downloaded the official Louvre app, which is free and has audio on all the main works. Then spent the next four or so hours working through the place. The three wings connect to each other upstairs at the corners, with the exception of Denon to Richelieu, where it's quicker to drop back down through the hall and come up the other side.

Below is a very small selection of highlights I took.

At the gym now - Novotel's is being refurbished so I'm next door at the citadines. Their gym... Leaves a bit to be desired equipment wise.

 

[PrezRegan]

Follow up on the Eurostar delay - compensation came through and it's more generous than I expected. The offer was either a 227.40 EUR e-voucher or 1,437 Club Eurostar points. The numbers on mine: the fare was 379 EUR one way in Premier, and the voucher came to 227.40, which is exactly 60 percent.

The catch is the conditions. Valid 12 months from the date of the delayed train, redeemable only at eurostar.com, has to be booked in the name on the voucher, and the full value needs to be used within that window. It can't be applied retrospectively to an existing booking.

The points option I ruled out. 1,437 points is just over the 1,000 needed for a one-way Standard Value redemption, so you'd get one ticket and strand the remainder. Club Eurostar also devalues on 29 October, with Channel Tunnel redemptions going up 10 percent, so that balance buys less in six weeks than it does today.

So a 90 minute signal failure has effectively paid for a good chunk of a future London to Paris leg. Can't complain although did have to pay another 16 Euro for the rebooking of the notre dame.

Incidentally this is the second time Premier earned its keep on the same journey. The unlimited free changes let me move to an earlier train at St Pancras before I'd even boarded, which turned out to matter a great deal once the signal problem hit.

 

[PrezRegan]

Post gym I went across the road and decided to enjoy the alfresco dining experience over a couple of glasses of wine and a pate en croute. Just lingered and watched people go by. Beautiful day, sunny and warm. Came to about 35 EUR all up, around 7.50 a glass, and the wine was surprisingly nice.


Then a nap, and the RER out to climb the Eiffel Tower.

I'd booked the 2000 slot a couple of months back because I was worried it would sell out, and at the time the only thing available was the more expensive lift ticket - 36.70 EUR. The way it works is you buy access to the second floor, and then for an additional charge you can take a lift from there to the very top. Getting to the second floor you can either take a lift or walk, and walking is about 10 or 11 euros cheaper - 26.10 for stairs plus the summit lift, against 36.70 for lifts the whole way.


So they were quite surprised when I rocked up and said I wanted to walk instead. Despite it being timed entry there was a very long line for the lift, and funnily enough no line at all for the stairs. 674 steps to the second floor.

Still quite busy up there despite the late hour, but I made it in time for sunset and got some lovely golden hour pictures. Because the line to get to the top and back down again was so long, I ended up still being on the tower at nine when the light show kicked in. Very interesting experience being on the tower itself while it strobes, rather than looking at it. You can see people sitting out on the Champ de Mars outside the fenced area, watching and clapping. Seems to be a universal thing.

Then a quick RER back to the hotel.