Jan 8 – Aboard the QM2 (Yes, this title is getting boring!). Oh well, only one more to go. If you read my previous days at sea you know what I did today.
Jan 9 – Last Day Aboard the QM2. Oh the joys of nothing to do. Of course there was the last dinner to eat. Farewells to say to Janet, Robin, Barbara and Vic. It was a very nice table. Lots of conversation, very little of it about children, grandchildren or pets. Of course each told us about their families on the first night and having done that, they were never mentioned again.
Personal Note:Nothing worse than being stuck at a table where all they talk about is their kids and their friends. People you wouldn’t know if you tripped over them. It wouldn’t be bad if the comments were interesting anecdotes or humor but they rarely are, just a long string of Yadda went to Yadda2’s place and met with Yadda3 and all their kids. Yadda, Yadda, Yadda! Keep in mind that if I actually know your kids I love to hear about them. It’s about the only reason I’m on Facebook.
After dinner it’s packing up and bags out in the hall before Midnight. Not really a problem because we only unpacked for 6 days.
Jan 10 – Disembarkation Day and the Dash to France. We had to get up early and have breakfast as our transfer to St Pancras station is scheduled to leave at 8:40am. I stress that because the only thing not first class about QM2 is disembarkation. They are invariable late and the places they make you gather are wildly inappropriate. For example, the transfers to the airports and train stations, always people with lots of carry off luggage, meet in the balcony of the Royal Court. Narrow aisles, lots of stairs do not make for easy negotiation at the best of times and an absolute nightmare with luggage. That, plus we were 2 hours late disembarking and that is not unusual.
Once off we headed for the St Pancras bus and had an uneventful drive into London. We arrived at just after 1:20pm and several people had missed their trains. I scheduled us for the 16:22 Eurostar to Paris, knowing that scheduling an earlier train could cause problems, as several of our fellow travelers found out.
We stopped at a station café for a sandwich lunch and they headed to the check in for our train. For the first time ever one of my bags was selected for searching. Finding nothing, but delaying us, we were soon seated in the lounge. A nice young lady volunteered to call the elevator for us when the train was announced and shortly thereafter we were seated on either side of a table for two. When you travel with a lot of luggage you have to go first class. The regular cars are filled with backpackers and every nook and cranny of the car will be filled with their gear. Once we had to put pieces of our luggage in three different cars. Unacceptable!! So it’s been first class ever since. It’s a little more, on some trains not that much but the coach will usually be at least 50% empty and there’s plenty of space for your luggage in spots where you can keep an eye on it.
They serve a small meal in first class on the Paris Eurostar, and I do mean small. It’s always tasty. Today Diana had a cheese plate with salad and I had thinly sliced beef with slaw. Wine, soda, coffee, tea and water are included. Two and a half hours later you’ve gone under the English Channel and across France to Paris. Unload your 2 large suitcases, 2 carry-ons, backpack, hose-bag and Diana’s travel purse and you’re on the way. Perhaps a little explanation on the ‘hose-bag’ is needed. Duluth Trading, and on-line and catalogue store, sells some very high quality products. One is a small many compartment bag in two sizes; I have the smaller one, made from fire hose material. It’s waterproof, tough and still light. Mine is chock full of all the critical travel stuff, cash (in three currencies), train tickets, passports, Surgicep, granola bars and other small items. My Kindle Paperwhite fits in easily. The larger one would hold a medium sized tablet but not be nearly as convenient. I love the thing. I don’t know what to call it so it has been christened the hose-bag.
Quick taxi ride across Paris and we landed at the Holiday Inn, Gare de Lyon. The Lyon station is where we have to be at 6:45am tomorrow to catch the train to Barcelona to change to the final train to Malaga. Our cab driver told us there’s a large demonstration scheduled for tomorrow but since we are only about 150 yards from the station and can easily walk there it should not inconvenience us at all. Hope he’s right.
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