London, under the Channel to Paris

Thursday, July 25th:  Yesterday we were up early and packed, at the St. Pancras Station by 8 am,  ready to board the Eurostar to Paris.  But we had to wait an hour to run the gauntlet for crossing from British territory into French territory (at the train station).   The passport control and security check was completed, though they found my Swiss Army knife in my luggage (which is normally checked on airplane flights so it is not an issue) and had to unpack my suitcase to view it.  After finding it, they said it was okay and I re-packed my bag and we moved on to the premier lounge/waiting area.  There were orange jacketed athletes from England in the lounge who were getting special treatment for their ride to the Olympics.  Also, a group of tall men arrived who were also ushered somewhere and never seen again -- perhaps the British basketball team.

The train ride was smooth and fast.  The one speed for the train I saw was over 125 mph.  We were served drinks, then I lunched on chicken, potatoes, zucchini, with a hummus starter and rhubarb tart for dessert.

We arrived in Paris at the Gard du Nord (the North Station) and while we thought we might be able to take public transit to our accommodation in the Marais district, we opted instead for a taxi.  This choice was influenced by the number of people and cars milling about outside the station.  It was only the start of the madness of Paris before the Olympic Games.  The taxi went a few feet and ran into congestion, then moved sort of well down a major street only to be told by reversing taxis that the street was closed ahead.  Our driver reversed also, and tried several more routes to our accommodation and finally said he could not get us to it and it would be a short walk.  So after our final jam (near the Place de la Bastille), he pulled over, unloaded our luggage and we huffed it.  With GPS, I found the apartment directly, but we had to cross several streets that were in the process of being barricaded.  There were many police at every intersection.  But we made it to 20 Rue de la Ciresaie at about 2:40 pm. (Note:  there is a hour time change between London and Paris.)  The flat was not quite ready (although we could drop off our luggage), so we lingered at a nearby cafe for a while.  The flat is on the ground floor of an apartment building between the Place de la Bastille on the edge of the Marais District, not far from the Place Des Voges.  The street is quiet (many inner city streets have been designated a bike lanes with limited vehicle access) and our flat is tucked into the ground level courtyard.  It is tiny and idiosyncratically furnished but we did get a good nights sleep for the first time on this trip.  But the plumbing and hot water is insufficient.

My first order of business was to get an eSim card, which was successful (I reported on this strategy in previous post).  And then we went to an ATM to get some Euros.

We then decided to walk along the barricaded road (Blvd Henri IV) to see how far it went.  And it went way further than we did.  All of the locals who were commuting home swith their bikes had to use the sidewalks and they were congested.  But it didn't stop them from riding their bikes.   It seems as if the city has closed and barricaded the main arteries along the river and limited access to the riverside neighborhoods.  Unless you can prove you live on the Ile Saint Louis, for example, you are not allowed to pass.  And it seems as if these conditions will last for several weeks, which much be very frustrating for locals.   Here are some photos:

The street that was barricaded was being used by cyclists training or whatever.  Notice the red shirted guy who is a blur compared to everything else in the photo.

These were USA guys.

Two more guys with their chase car.  Note the people on the opposite sidewalk.

We crossed the Seine at the head of Ile Saint-Louis

This was the only bridge open to pedestrians and riders. 

The waterfront has been barricaded for days and the purple curtains on the bridge in the foreground is the backside of bleachers.  Notre Dame is in the background.

A better view of Notre Dame and the re-construction progress.

Returning to the initial bridge, we noticed what looked like spray underneath the arches of the neighboring bridge (Pont d'Austerlitz).  I suspect this is a visual barrier preventing boaters from seeing the barges of the opening ceremony.  It is likely that the athletes' barges will come out just downstream from this bridge from the Basin de l'Arsenal.

The Basin de l' Arsenal

Our dinner spot a few hundred feet from our apartment -- a quaint, small cafe with outdoor seating.  The cafe's name translates to "the season of cherries."  We talked with a guy at the next table who was in Paris looking for a new French Horn.  He is an Italian classical musician who plays for the Malta Symphony.  His English was quite good and he seemed more interested in talking about basketball than music -- he knew of the Blazers and the trading of Damian Lillard.

We slept late and were challenged by the plumbing in the apartment -- very glad we are here for only a short time.  And we particularly pity the locals who chose not to leave town.  The city is a mess!  Ralph, good luck on moving about...the number of metro lines, stations, bus routes, and streets that are closed is mind boggling.  The police folks are going to make a lot of overtime pay.