Yes, you read that right....Here is a great story.
Our day was already stressful today because we had to be checked out of our room by 10:30 am, but did not wake up until 10:00. We rushed to leave, but were able to get out in time. We found a cafe nearby that offered 10% off because we stayed in Belgravia Rooms. We got a traditional English breakfast. Not so good. But interesting nonetheless. It was just a bit past 11:00 am at this time, and we figured since our train did not leave until 3:30pm, we had tons of time to just relax. So we did.
We sat at that cafe, bought post cards, wrote them, and chatted the afternoon away. I am so glad that Kristin came on this trip with me, we never run out of things to say, and I have yet to get sick of her. (Love you cuz!!) So, at about 2:30, we headed to the tube station to get to our train station.
Being the experienced Train Travelers we were by getting to and from Edinburgh, we figured we did not need to be at our train very early. they do not even tell you what platform it is on til like 5 minutes before it leaves, so what was the hurry?
Well, it took about 45 minutes to get to the train station by the tube from where we were, and it slipped our minds that HELLO! This was an INTERNATIONAL train ride. We had to show passports, go through customs, etc.
Well, long story short, we got to the St. Pancreas station exactly 5 minutes before our train left. NOT acceptable for international trains. We missed the train. So one of the ticket people wrote down what time we got there, and directed us to ticket sales to explain to a representative why we were so late.
So many things were going through my head. Neither of us could afford to purchase new tickets. What would we do? Kristin's friend from Germany was already waiting for us in France.
We walk up to the desk, Kristin talks a mile a minute explaining what the heck happened. The lady just looks at us, slowly says that our ticket clearly says to be there 30 mins before departure, and that our tickets were non-exchangeable, and non-refundable......BUT since we did arrive before the train actually left the station, she was able to get us tickets for the very next train. (just one hour later). What a relief! So we get our bags inspected, go through security, show our passports, and made it onto a 4:25pm train to Paris safe and sound. Luckily, we had a four-seat table to ourselves, and somehow we had purchased first class tickets, so we got free sodas, and a great meal on the way.
Plus, Paris is one hour ahead of London, so the train ride was shorter than expected.
The area around Paris Train Station was SUPER shady, and we were a bit frightened to try and find our hotel on our own, so we got a cab to take us there.
Kristin and Nadine were so excited to see each other. (Nadine was a foriegn exchanage student that stayed with Kristin when they were in high school). And we were relieved that we had made it to the hotel and to Paris. It was an exhausting day.
Our hotel room (which Nadine booked - thanks Nadine!) was amazing! We had our own shower and bath, plenty of bed space for people to sleep, a fridge, a microwave, free internet, free movies, and it was only 90 euros for each person for four nights. It was a steal that Nadine found on the internet - usually one room for one night would be over 100 euros, so we really lucked out to have such a cool place to stay. Plus, for me and Kristin, going from hostel-type places to having our own private bath and shower was AMAZING.
It was pretty late by the time we set out to explore Paris, but we did go out for a bit to see a few sights and just get out into the city. We passed Notre Dame, and just saw a bunch of shops and a few street performers, very low key for our first night. Although, I am a little disappointed that the gargoyles did not sing like they did in that Disney movie.... ;)