It has been quite the ordeal getting to this point, but I have finally left England yet again. 🙁
After being quite ill for almost four weeks, then packing up the house and putting everything into storage, I finally left beautiful Torquay on a magical sunny day…
…drove five hours up to Liverpool to put Prince (beloved car) into storage (I am coming back from Ireland by boat and we dock at Liverpool) – then checked into a lovely hotel right in the heart of Liverpool city…
…and for a fine hotel, the fact that they had a special for guests in their restaurant for two courses only 17.99… Yum! First course, scallops (that were beyond delicious!)…
…followed by steak Diane… that sizzled for a good five minutes after it arrived…
The view from my window…
Parts of Liverpool look lovely…
…and I am sure Lime Street Station will look lovely when they are through with the renovations…
Caught the fast train into London…
…and stayed for a couple of nights at the Tower Hotel. Wouldn’t recommend the hotel itself, but the location was heavenly!
I love beautiful architecture and the Tower Bridge is yet another stunning example of when people actually cared about creating a functional monument that was also incredibly beautiful.
Here, below, are several photos of the bridge as the sun sets behind her… (taken through the windows of the bar upstairs at the hotel)
Looking at these windows as the lights come on, reminds me of the movie “Hugo”…
…and perfect reading material…
I realised that I had left my coat in Prince, so of course one had to go into Oxford Street to go shopping for another… Upon my return, a late, leisurely lunch…
The marina next to the hotel…
I feel very blessed – when I checked out I asked for a taxi to take me to St Pancras Station, only to have the concierge tell me that the road had been closed, so I would need to schlep my way up the hill on foot, dragging my luggage behind…
“Ah yes – no. That is not going to happen,” was my response, followed by, “I have faith in you, sir! I know you can twitch your nose and find me a ride…”
After asking me to take a seat, within less than 10 minutes a taxi mysteriously arrived to take me to the station.
If you haven’t travelled on the Eurostar from London to Paris, it’s just like going through security at an airport, only waaaaaaay less people, and much more civilised.
…and back to my comment about when people cared about what they built… Look at the beautiful tiles around the iron-work in the ceiling…
Onboard – and Eurostar is just lovely!
Farewell, London…
The seats have everything you could want – including mirror and two different types of power outlets.
Going into France by road looks like it is nothing like the ridiculously long queues to go from the USA to Canada or from USA to Mexico…
Through the “chunnel”, out the other side, and I caught sight of a pink commuter train – love it!
Arrived at Paris Gare de Lyon and then hightailed it across the city to Paris Gare du Nord for my connection to Zurich…
Whereas first class on the Eurostar from London to Paris included delicious meals and wine in real glasses… first class from Paris to Zurich included a welcome drink in a plastic cup and snack for which you had to pay extra!
…and this is the majestic sight that greets one at the exit from Zürich Hauptbahnhof…
…view from the car on the way to my hotel…
…and the view from my window (it looks a little dingy in these photos, but is actually very lovely and quaint…
The hotel is right in the absolute centre of the city and is just lovely – small, quaint, friendly… and it even comes with a Samsung tablet for travel guide, alarm clock etc…
…and yes, that is a hat. I’m a girlie-girl… 🙂
…and after a wonderful night’s sleep, this is the view downstairs – I stayed in bed working until about noon before greeting the day…
More about that in my next post…
~ Bella
