3.3.2011, Thursday: Goodbye London, hello Paris!
We walk up and down Oxford Street in search of a dress for Gabi for Isa and Reto’s wedding. The right size seems to be sold out everywhere. We finally have to give up and get back to the hotel.
After checking out, I load the (now much heavier) baggage and Gabi into the car. We drive out of the city crossing Oxford Circus, Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square. It’s absolutely legen… wait for it… dary and feels great to drive here, but it takes ages – about one and a half hours precisely – to leave the city. On the way back to France, we stop at Bluewater again, where we find Gabi’s dress in the right size.
Shortly after, we arrive in Folkstone to board the train. It’s great to see everything work smoothly. Our number plate is recognized automatically and the machine at the gate prints our details on a paper to put on the rear view mirror. We wait in our lane until given the green lights to drive onto the platform and in the train. The train is much bigger than I thought and is able to hold cars on two levels or busses. You can walk on both sides and there even are some toilets. The train runs silently and smoothly at about 250 km/h through the tube. It takes about 30 minutes to get to France and to come to a standstill – it is over almost too quickly.
It’s now less than 300 km to get to Paris. Having lost one hour because of the time zone, we arrive at the hotel near Disneyland rather late. We continue to the Disney Village where we have dinner at the Rainforest Café and visit the stores.