EUROSTAR Trip

Buddy was impressed with the bullet train ride from London to Paris and back. On the train he studied the magazine that illustrated how the tunnel was constructed. He then drew his own versions.

Notice that it is dark next to Buddy in his window seat. That's because we are actually in the chunnel at that moment. That part of the train ride lasts only 20 minutes. Once we are out on the French side it takes an hour to reach Gare du Nord in Paris. The train zooms along at a high speed of up to 298 km (186 mph) all the way and links the cities in 2½ hours. The ride is smooth and quiet. Seating is reserved if you wish or you can buy a cheaper ticket and risk finding an empty seat. There's also a first class. We had reserved seats. We didn't bother with going to the dining cars but hubby went to the  snack bar for tea. We had our own food from home.

There is table seating and it was very practical. Each car only has two of these so we were happy guests to have this set up. It makes using an iPad and drawing so much easier.

 After our three day visit, hubby and Buddy checked out the bullet trains from a departure platform in Paris. The Eurostar trains have a separate entrance with extra security similar to that of airports. We boarded the train below through a special set of stairs going down.

The trains certainly are impressive. And the ride was definitely fun!!
Buddy is proud to announce he has travelled under the seabed of the English Channel twice. Buddy loved the whole tunnel thing and hubby loved the train ride. I loved watching them have fun.

P.S. Did you know that Buddy's BIL is a geotech engineer who helps in the construction of such tunnels? He is currently working with a team creating a new tunnel in the London Underground. Buddy finds tunnels very fascinating.

SLEEP TIGHT

On Saturday, May 2, my daughter took me to Montgomery Inn Museum for a tour , tea and a concert. The drive from my home was a fair distance as I live north east of Toronto and the Inn is in the south west part of the city, the now infamous area of Etobicoke, the residential area of Mayor Rob Ford, a man whose character I've always had doubts about. He has made light of some serious matters by running a large metropolis without a sound mind since substance abuse does interfere with one's judgement. 
The area is very lovely and so is the old Inn that was established back in the 1830"s along Dundas Street also known today as Highway 5.The picture is taken from the rear east side of the in.

The tour was educational and the guide added some humour that always adds to the fun of learning and recalling things. It's hard to imagine how the people back then enjoyed the use of Inn facilities in comparison to our modern times and our hotel room expectations.

There's the fact the ladies had to have a travel companion to vouch for them and ladies had to use a family bedroom.

The little cot was for children and was stored under the big one when not needed.  When I first saw the room pictured below I thought it was the servant quarters but I was very wrong.

This is the room assigned for the men who needed a bed and it was expected that three men would use the same bed at the same time. The term sleep tight comes from the fact that three adult men side by side was a very tight situation. Privacy was of no matter. It was more a case of survival. Warmth was important as the winters were very frosty cold with no heating provided in the bedroom. But there's also the fact that the mattress sat on knotted rope which had to be kept tight with a tool so that the mattress wouldn't sag in the centre. It was tightened every other day.

This photo shows a bit of the rope (and the porta potty, ha ha ha).

I imagine the Inn would have had less customers in need for a bed in the summer months because it did get warm in the area. Choosing sleeping under the stars was not uncommon then.

Next time you say, 'sleep tight' to someone, imagine the image of three to a bed that were likely not always related and nine to the room. I try to tune out the snoring as I think of it. 

Buddy, hubby and I are off to sleep tight at our daughter's place in Bromley, UK for a bit. And we also have planned a 'chunnel' train trip to Paris. We three will sleep tight at Hotel Henri IV for a couple of nights.
It was difficult finding a room for three. How times have changed.

Thanks in advance for stopping by. We hope you are well and we often think of all our blogging friends. We'll have new stuff to share soon.

P.S.  George and Betsy, one of our roses has fully survived our crazy winter and the other has one tiny branch that is green. We are hoping both roses will bloom again maybe in June?