Mercredi becomes Wednesday!

An epic day today! Arose early and rode to Gare du Nord train station to take the high-speed train to London for the day! We finally located where to drop off our bikes and they were expecting us, with receipts and all the things necessary to hand over our good bikes to them. We were told at the ticket counter to head upstairs about 6 minutes before the train leaves. So we relaxed, bought some food and sat at the main level. We moved upstairs to find passport checking, metal detection and luggage scanning machines and all the personnel!!!! We did not make it through on time and missed our train. You can imagine all the things we said!! NONONE told up it was a BORDER CROSSING!!!!!

So we hung out and chatted with the ticket monitor about Le Tour de France. He sure knew his stuff, including a ton about all the American cyclists that did well over the many years! He especially mentioned the 7-11 team, the precursor to US Postal Service, etc.

So, we finally boarded and passed through endless miles of French farming countryside. It is the same countryside I saw last year from Bazel – if it were not for the occasional French village and the rolling hills, it would be freaking Illinois, Iowa or any corn farming state in the US! Well, France IS the breadbasket of Europe!!

We arrived at St. Pancras station north of the main part of London right on time. The ride through the Channel Tunnel was sure interesting. So was the gal in the food car using “Chunnel” and she works on it and is French. So there!

We quickly secured out bikes and stepped onto the London streets! Struck immediately by the old fashioned looking cabs, all the same, all in a row. Wow. Was it 1920?? Cool!!

First stop, Kessington Palace in Hyde Park. The London traffic was pretty cool, actually, and riding on the other side of the street really only caused a few problems – and a rather significant near-miss. Hyde Park was very nice – again it is amazing it is not trampled to death from the centuries of use! The Serpentine was very calm and nice to ride along. We meanered over toward the Palace and discovered the Albert Memorial, that I swear I have never hear of; quite ornate and gilded! Who says the British are subdued???! Across from Royal Albert Hall – wow, like seeing Mecca for the music world. Wow.

A large area of NO CYCLES so we walked our bikes across the field, trying to find a washroom. 1 per every 5,000 people I was to be told later today! Yikes.

We found the Palace and I went inside – looks just like so many Colonial buildings here, but we were the Colonies, and this was the ORIGINAL! Pretty cool, actually. Overall, quite understated from the outside. Kinda looks like so many buildings here in the US. Obviously, we understand the influence. Again, seeing it was cool and more than a bit different. It is hard to explain what it feels like to see something that looks completely familiar but pre-dates everything you know!

Onward we traveled, moving easily through the traffic. Being treated like you have the right to be in traffic is so different, and the Brits are equally happy with us there. That look-right thing, tho…that aint the whole story. You STILL have to look left, as you cross the street!

Ric turned quickly to stop and do the oft-done activity of looking at a map. The distances are shorter than they appear but you think you have traveled farther. Weird. As we turned, I saw a very familiar, ornate building to the extreme right. HARRODS!! We circled around and were delayed by seeing the Colombian Embasy right across the street from Harrods! Pictures were made and it was cool!

We circled Harrods and entered by the Men’s store. Wow. I don’t know what people mean but it did not seem like a shadow of its former self! Classy, elegant, BUSY. Armani, D&G, the works! And a doorman dressed in an all green, traditional olde-English-style suit. Elusive, tho. We would not get a picture of him.

On to Buckingham Palace. Yes, the Queen was home! Another ornate, gilded gate – several of them, actually! The Palace guard started his little loosen-up march back and forth. Very cool. A gilded statue in the plaza in front of the Palace. I gotta say this: the Palace itself looked like a large, downtown Chicago bank building. I know it is wonderful inside and it is massive and the center of government. But it is quietly British.

Riding along, I see it – WOW it is HUGE. Big Ben REALLY is BIG!!! And gilded! What the heck?? Why has no one ever mentioned this? Is it recent??? After days in Paris, I was glad to see it dressed up! Parliament is the BIGGEST Gothic building I have EVER seen! I just kept saying it! I counted over 85 Gothic spires, and I was not being careful, missing some!! Oh……my……God!!! The Treasury, 10 Downing Street, The Abbey, House of Lords, the recently-abandonded Scotland Yard buildings, the guy playing bagpipes on the bridge, the London Eye, oh, my god. They are all REAL! It is a bit overwhelming!!! I kept saying, they are all really real! Not just photos, or movies or pictures. Wow. Real buildings running a real country. Really amazing. I was more than a bit distracted and that is how the close call occurred. I have very quick reflexed and good bike handling skills, which I know amazed and please the taxi. Oh, well.

Near the Treasury, traffic was a mess and people, cars, really high, red busses and some construction caused Ric and I to get separated. I thought I saw him in the distance, but by the time I hit Trafalgar Square, I knew I was lost. Oh, geeze!! This is NOT good!! We were on our way to The Tower Bridge, so I decided to continue, thinking Ric would do the same. I eventually traveled quite some distance and got quite turned around and decided to head back to Big Ben, the last place we were together. I did circumvent Trafalgar Square and spent time looking around, Nelson’s colomn included! On my way back to Big Ben – did I mention it is REALLY BIG? - on Victoria Embankment, I saw him going the other way! I turned and chased him on the sidewalk, like a madman. We finally hooked up, losing only about 20 minutes. It is amazing how much distance a fit cyclist can cover even in major cities like London in 20 minutes.

As we approached Tower Bridge, the traffic was stopped! The bridge was going up!! We rolled right up to the gate, to a small group of other cyclists. I was verbally very excited the bridge was going up on my FIRST visit! Other cyclists got into it and eventually we had quite a conversation going!! They were all pretty amazed we had come in by train from Paris and had ridden all over London all afternoon!

We headed to Porter’s for traditional lamb and apricot meat pie for me and wild boar sausage for Ric. Both were very good and the boar was amazingly sweet!

Next stop? Covent Garden for shopping, souvenir, more interaction with the locals – too much fun! Especially when they are talking like our rock stars but that is their life!! Oh, yeah, London has some massive 70s buildings. Traditional London here and there, but not as much as you would expect. A lot of kinda generic stuff everywhere. Not new, just generic.

Meet some folks from Minneapolis! Chatted with them before heading back to St. Pancras, the train and Paris. What an amazing day!!! Arriving in Paris felt exactly like coming home. Ric said it out loud about the same time I felt it. We loved that.