Volume 17 - Day 181/184, 2025 - Monday

Oh my goodness, today has been a day. We had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel this morning, and we left for the Paris train station at about 10 o'clock. Sorry, but it was not the greatest of all experiences. It was really hot, and did not seem to be very well organized. In spite of all that, after about a 50 minute delay, we were on the train (Eurostar) and headed to London. I remember when I was a kid, reading about the TGV, Tres Grande Velocite, but that train runs only in France. The Eurostar runs (I think) only between Paris and London. There are monitors on the train, and I did see that the train was traveling at 384 kph, which breaks down to 238 miles per hour. Mike thinks we got a bit faster, but it was a comfortable ride. There was no fan fare when we crossed below the English Channel. SO, now I can say I have done that, and I don't need to do it again. We admitted defeat yesterday and surrendered to our (my) mistake of thinking we had to return to the US through Heathrow. Whatever, live and learn. When we got to London this afternoon, it was a one-hour cab ride to the airport hotel we are staying at. We will be getting up about 6:30 in the morning, and out of the hotel at about 8. This is the last day of the trip, last day in London, so what would have been better than fish & chips. And, it was good. Now to get some sleep, and back home. Mike's flight to Miami leaves about an hour before mine, so I will see what kind of trouble I can get in when left alone at Heathrow.