17-JUN-2013
Got to get value from those senior rail passes!
A class 153 to Wakefield c/o Northern.....once again no faults with the train, on time reasonably comfy for the short trip.
Calls first at Kirkgate that has been smartened up then onto Westgate for the East Coast main line.
Why isn't there a link straight into Westgate from the west would save a lot a phaffing around???
17-JUN-2013
East Coast get a bit of stick..
.. but this service only failing was the lack of reservations for the seats...not enough time to do them. So it was free seating but quiet at the front so not really a problem.
On time arrival at Kings Cross despite some delays en-route south of Doncaster.
17-JUN-2013
The catering was Ok as well.
Pie was filling and tasty. Plenty of red to wash it down as well. No complaints with the service..attentive without being intrusive...fine by me.
Just missing the chips!
17-JUN-2013
The apartments used were in the Borough area of London...
...Think Apartments London Bridge
10 mins walk from the Borough tube....clean, tidy, quiet enough, not convinced of the "American Twin" design of layout....seems a bit pointless as neither bed had privacy yet both had a bathroom.
Kitchen had everything needed though the cutlery took some finding......designers what is wrong with a drawer, why hide then under the cooker housing??
.
A simple redesign of this could make it a very usable two (en suite) bedroom apartment and could be used by two couples but as it stands everybody needs to be good friends! As there was only the two of us this was not an issue.
Handy for the River, Tower Bridge and Tower of London etc.
23-JUN-2013
The apartment face onto Long lane, ours was round the back away from the traffic noise and apart from bin men at 6am one morning no noise at all.
Image courtesy of street view as I never got round to taking one! (Ignore the date stamp.)
23-JUN-2013
Evening meal was at Del Aziz a Moroccan style establishment
Image c/o Streetview. Monday night is 50% off tagine night and as such the meal was excellent and about rightly priced....full price would have been a touch expensive.
I do recommend the lamb tagine though extremely tasty.
The group on the table next to us didn't look as if they were long out of school.....or am I just getting old! Even the manager asked for ID before serving alcohol as they looked 16 years old .....it is with regret he didn't feel the need to challenge my age.
18-JUN-2013
Tuesday morning and a walk to London Bridge to get a river trip.
Passed the Shard which was having some of the windows cleaned....bit like the Forth Bridge...finish just in time to start again.
No amount of money would entice me into the job of window cleaner on this building!
In this day and age there must be a simpler/safer way of cleaning windows from inside the building surely.
That's the pair of blokes in the blue square.
£30 a pop for a trip up the Shard if booked in advance rising to £100 a go if you turn up and go...I now understand why there were no queues......
18-JUN-2013
River trip upstream to Embankment before returning east to North Greenwich
This is a section from the RAF War Memorial at Embankment.
18-JUN-2013
At the Dome there is now a gondola system over the river "Emirates Air Line"
Emirates seem to sponsor everything these days.
Weather not at its best but on a clear day the views would be impressive.
18-JUN-2013
Looking east the Thames Barrage can be seen spanning the river
18-JUN-2013
Looking west gives a view of the Dome and Canary Wharf area
Further round to the north the remains of the Olympic Park can be seen
As I was to find out later.....not much left at the Park apart from the main stadium.
18-JUN-2013
London City Airport can be seen in the distance, the planes make a steep approach and seem quite close as they fly over as you cross the river.
23-JUN-2013
Lunch was at Jose's Tapas Bar in Bermondsey Street.
Normally very busy but @ 2pm it was quiet enough to get a seat in this small bar.
The sherry was appreciated by the boss and the selection of Tapas was very good....the Iberico Ham and King Prawns in particular hitting the spot.
Good service if a little pricey for a Northerner's taste :-))
Image again c/o Streetview hence the blurred name.
23-JUN-2013
And Dinner was at "Fish" in Borough Market.
The glass house style roof allowed for train watching as they trundled over the viaduct into Cannon Street station.
Cod, Chips, Mushy peas and trains.....can't be beaten!
Take a hint TPEx and Northern, these were proper trains 8 or 10 carriages not the two or three coaches if we are lucky in Huddersfield. The promise of an extra carriage or two next year isn't enough!
19-JUN-2013
A new day dawns and its off to Paris for lunch on Eurostar.
Eurostar booked leaving 8-31 getting to Paris just in time for a nice long lunch.
First time on Eurostar so unsure of what to expect but St Pancras was fine. Check in, even at the busy morning period was smooth, security and immigration cleared quickly and plenty ofplaces to sit whilst waiting to board.....(c/f. Paris Nord departure comments later.)
Station clean and bright and did have that little bit of glamour that Sir John Betjeman would have approved of.
Whilst waiting in the departure hall we chatted to a couple from Brazil on a European tour....only to find that they were sharing the same table on the train...what are the chances of that?
750 passengers on the train, more than 2 trains capacity, 1500, in the hall...makes a big number of combinations.
On time departure, on time arrival all went smoothly. 192 mph (max speed is stated as 186mph so slight inaccuracy of the GPS) clocked on the GPS as we headed for Folkestone, 20 mins in the tunnel and a good hour sees you in Gare Du Nord.
You then simply walk off the platform with no further delays by customs/immigration/ ticket checking....good. (c/f with arrivals in St Pancras later.)
Tip:: You can buy your Paris Metro tickets in advance at the Information desk in the departure hall...no queuing on the train or in Paris.
19-JUN-2013
300 yds. walk (I'm British we do yards not metres) from Gare Du Nord
brings you to the small square containing the Church of St Vincent du Paul behind which you can find Chez Michel a spot chosen at random from good old Google maps.
No-one in as we arrived which didn't bode well but it soon filled up with locals which is a very good sign. The person on the adjacent table was a chef from another restaurant which it a good recommendation for this one...not so sure about his own!
19-JUN-2013
Le table d'hote menu:
Appetiser
....snails
Starters
....Mussels
....Fish soup
Mains
....Roast Cod and Red Peppers
....Pork casserole with Figs and fennel
A Nice bottle of Bordeaux to wash it all down.......worth the early start.
23-JUN-2013
Part of the entertainment during lunch
...was to watch the parking techniques of the Parisians
Basic technique is to
Define that the space is actually the same size or more than your car.
The same size is good enough as phase two is to manoeuvre the vehicle into the gap as best possible then make space by judicious nudging of the surrounding vehicles.
There is no restriction on the number of nudges permissible.
Phase three, if female, comb hair, look cool and walk away.
Memo to self....don't drive or park in Paris.
Picture c/o Streetview
19-JUN-2013
After a very leisurely lunch
...we burned off the many calories with a walk thru the streets towards the Seine eventually succumbing to the heat and effort so we jumped on the Metro.
Metro was clean and efficient and with windows that opened the carriages were well ventilated and cool, unlike most of the London tube which is stifling and unpleasant if on sets without air-conditioning.
Jumped of at the Ile de Cite station for a walk round the island.
19-JUN-2013
Once met an American who had done Europe, as they do,
....and he was strong in his comments on the drain problems in certain parts of Europe such as Spain and France. They never have these issues in the USA apparently.
Walking along the Seine in the heat of the day it was a good job he wasn't there as they did have a drain issue on that Wednesday!
Ah well all part of the experience.
19-JUN-2013
Nice warm summer sun
The Louvre looked fine under the blue sky, chance to sit and take the weight off the feet for a while.
19-JUN-2013
The French "old men" enjoy a game of Boules in the Tuileries Gardens
Surprisingly they didn't seem grumpy!
It's sort of Bowls without the worry of manicuring the greens, sorting out errant moles etc......closely related to marbles that we play as kids.
A bit of a walk round the gardens, then back to the delightful (not) Gare Du Nord to check in for the return.
Good timing as just as we got back the heavens opened and there was one big thunderstorm and downpour.
19-JUN-2013
On arrival at G du Nord, the station was irrelevant as were thru and out to the street, however not such a rosy picture on the return.
Lots of things not right here but not all of them of French making but in order as we found them.
1. Signing for the Eurostar check-in is non existent and it took some time to determine that we had to go to the opposite side of the station from the Eurostar trains to gain access to the upper floor level for the check in
2. Very cramped space and due to over crowding they only let you checking after the crowds have departed on a previous train. So everyone stands in line till they are ready for you.....much more like an airport than a train station.
3. The check in bit, ie ticket check, is fine but after that the issue is that you then have to clear the UK Border Cntrols and if you pick the wrong queue, easily done depending on which ticket gate you pick, you get stuck behind non EU passport holders who the border office take ages to process.
Don't get me wrong, they are doing a good job, its just the number of them and the bad signage means those that can quickly get thru get stuck and make queues even longer. In the UK's defence the space available in the cramped customs area is so small they physically can't get any more booths in.
4 Once thru that the scan and luggage checks are quick, letting you into what can only be described as the dire, dingy, seedy, badly lit, poor seating area they call a departure lounge. Not the glamorous image of intercontinental rail travel that St Pancras tried hard to facilitate.
So if St P got 8/10 for departures, G du Nord gets 4/10.
2 hours 20 mins later you arrive at St Pancras.
Where things are not as good as they could be. Despite having cleared immigration in France you have to disembark, enter the bowels of the station....all new shiny and glitzy still...walk around 3 sides of the large immigration area ( where there are booths and people but no-one has to go thru them).. to get to the customs post ..that you simply walk through. Not even sure there was anyone on duty as we passed thru.
Takes 5 -10 mins when you could be off the platform in one from carriage number one! Keeps someone in a job I suppose. So the French win that one!
20-JUN-2013
Next day started with a wander around Borough Market...wonderful selection of food and drinks on show. Good quality produce. unusual and not the run of the mill stuff.
Flowers, meats, cheeses, veg and fruit. Ciders/and fruit drinks plus "street food" stalls.....and some wonderful cakes.
Yes, at first glance it does look like the stall holder is wearing a mankini!
20-JUN-2013
If you are interested in flowers and in London , one really good place to visit on a Sunday Morning is the Columbia Road flower market out in the East End. Old Street and Hoxton are the nearest tube stations.
Good value for money , plenty choice but you have to carry home what you buy so don't "over do it"
This was one of the vendors in Borough Market.
20-JUN-2013
After the market we jumped on the DLR with a view to having a look around the Olympic Park...lack of research here as it is closed to the Public whilst it is being regenerated
Part of it is due to open in July on the anniversary of the games...oh well a meander thru Westfield was the back stop!
20-JUN-2013
As a railway fan it was good to be able to sit "in the cab" of the DLR trains.
......in this case the back
Out by Stratford the DLR runs alongside the "heavy rail" lines and you get a good view of the passing trains as they overtake...in this case a Greater Anglia Class 315 I think....little things please little minds and mine's small!
Lunch option....over priced food in Westfield or Pie and Mash
No contest Pie and Mash with Parsley liquor in Maureen's world renowned Pie and Mash outlet.
DLR to All Saints station, cross the road, walk thru the Chrisp Street Market to find Maureen's establishment.
Pie and Mash twice was 1/15th the price of lunch in Paris...bargain! One pleased grumpy Yorkie!
Lovely friendly place.....a firm recommendation
20-JUN-2013
After lunch back into the City and a visit to Aspley house on Hyde Park Corner.
Once the home of the Duke of Wellington it houses many paintings , china abnd other memorabilia relating to the Great Duke...including his Wellington Boots.
The Duke of Wellington regiment has strong associations with Halifax my birthplace from Wellesley barracks to the now defunct "Dukes" speedway team. Long since demised but the days of Tommy Roper, Eric Boothroyd, Eric Boocock and Dave Younghusband bring back memories of my youth sheltering behind the clip board from the shale and sniffing the dope in the fuel.....happy days.
20-JUN-2013
A walk in the park thru the formal borders
It showed that the southern climate is more condusive to early flowering than that of the upland north where little is in flower yet.
More like April than June up at 650 ft above sea level in Yorkshire.
Roses and other herbaceous plants in full bloom, if not beyond their best.
Lots of dead heading needed by the local residents.....Liz and Phil busy?
Finished the day with a ride out to Morden
...a place often visited on work trips but never made it to the National Trust's property, Morden Hall Park
An old deer park right in the middle of suburbia....an oasis of peace and quiet apart from the squawking of the green parrots in the trees.
20-JUN-2013
The Marigold Pub.....
Not quite the nearest to our apartment but it felt like our local.
Friendly staff and clients. Quiet apart from when the racing is on the box and the final furlong looms.
Doom Bar Bitter on draught from Cornwall was excellent. 2 pints finished off the day nicely.
Named after a sand bar off the Atlantic coast of Cornwall apparently.
Again I recommend if in the area. 244 Bermondsey Street....seems some call it The Hand and Marigold ...for those that do dishes and want soft hands?
21-JUN-2013
The morning started Ok with a trip round the Bermondsey Square Antiques market.
A little disappointing in both scale and content , and it was cold!
Nothing to our fancy but at least there were some paintings of artistic merit on display!
The last full day continued with a trip to the Tate Modern.
I need to be fresh when I write this bit up so it will have to wait till tomorrow but just to give you a steer.....I have never, in my very humble opinion, seen so much total and utter dross as what was displayed as art in this place.
For something to be worthy of admiration it requires a certain skill input.....so how does an 8 foot square (approx.) plain grey canvas, with nothing that any painter or DIY fanatic bwith a tin of paint and a roller couldn't do, consider itself ART. Follow the link for a view.
It makes a good 18% grey card for photographers.
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/richter-grey-l01682
I don't buy the "returning to plain roots from a colourful period" as even coming close to justifying this pretentious waste of space...I would rather look at the white painted walls
The Emperor's new clothes..................
Its been on loan for over 21 years so its not particularly loved by its real owners!
21-JUN-2013
A nice wide view to give to you the full effect of the "skill set" used in producing ART
1. A piece of cloth arranged round a plastic cylinder....I have seen my bed look more artistic before its made in a morning
2. Some sheets of felt that has been cut and allowed to fall into a random arrangement takes skill beyond my comprehension.
3 An arrangement of stones tied together and supported off concrete blocks....can be seen on any building site... but they use wooden scaffold planks. Multi-media I think its called :-)
4. Some wood that would appear the have been cut by a machine.....B&Q offer this service for free on the purchase of wood at their stores.
Unbelievable that there are people there discussing the merits of the felt arrangement!
21-JUN-2013
If I saw this on a pre-school classroom wall I would take the youngster to one side and give them some guidance on how to prevent runs and drips when painting.
Works, I used the term with caution, give Graffiti a good name.
In my very humble philistine opinion, this has only one place in life....a skip.
21-JUN-2013
Now being an engineer I was distracted for a moment by this offering.
Assuming some contractors were at work , and with my H&S professionals hat on, I wandered over to ensure all was well from a safety aspect during the obvious work to upgrade the air-conditioning.
How wrong could I get! This is an exhibit!!!!!!!!!!
Close by was a part water filled glass cube that was generating condensation on the sides of the glass.
I got home to find I had at least 4 works of art that I had assumed were simple misted double glazing panels...its doubled the value of my conservatory.
By this time I had had enough and we lft without making a donation as requested....with hindsight that was wrong as this was one of the most comedic episodes I have had for a while and I should have contributed to ensure it continues.
I despair.
21-JUN-2013
The culture fix continued with a visit to the British Museum with the main attraction being the Pompeii exhibition.....saw more artistic merit within 5 secs of entering the main auditorium than in 2 hours at the Tate....there is some hope.
More to follow.....
21-JUN-2013
This art lark takes some getting used to....and its not for the squeamish.
Pulling a barb piece of rope through your tongue.....sort of puts "leg waxing" into the shade!
On another panel a gentleman was about to do the same with one of his appendages!!!!!!!!!
21-JUN-2013
Never did get round to taking any images of the Pompeii stuff mainly due to the fact it was so busy.
What is the point of timed entry tickets at a substantial cost, when there is no marshalling of the crowds through the exhibits?
In the end more people are coming in than leaving and the place gets very busy.....some even got to the end and went back for seconds...mainly the school kids getting some kick out of what was happening to the goat! Just Google "Pan and Goat"
All in all not that impressed with my culture day...probably says more about me than the exhibitions.
22-JUN-2013
And finally home.
If you are ever in Kings Cross and want some peace and quiet and a coffee or food then I can recommend the bar of the Great Northern Hotel.
Access is from the new station forecourt and it was really quite quiet for a Saturday compared with the hustle and bustle and over crowded outlets within the station itself.
Bit expensive but worth it for the calm ambience and waiter service/attention.
22-JUN-2013
Should send this one and one of St Pancras to the French Eurostar operators....a busy station but a pleasant environment....look and learn Paris, Gare Du Nord.
