Au revoir Paris
Tuesday 11 November was our last morning in Paris. We reached Gare du Nord around 9.00, went through customs, and were ready for the Eurostar.
We were quite excited to be going on the Chunnel but we found it very much the same as any English train ride - always fun being on a train but there was no way we could tell we were 'under water'. We had seen much of the French countryside on our way from Brussels, and you don't get to see much of England before you arrive at St Pancras.
We tubed to Liverpool Street and then on the express to Stansted Airport, where we hired another car from our friendly car people at Sixt. This time it was a small (Focus-sized) Mercedes-Benz, which we found very good.
We headed for Cambridge, where we drove around drinking in the architecture, but found the ring-road system confusing. We eventually escaped and headed north, past the region where my Goodwin ancestors came from: the village of Collyweston, which used to be famous as a slate-quarry and for its expertise in working with slate.
We eventually reached the YHA hostel at Thurlby, just over the county line into Lincolnshire.
Wednesday 12 November, which was my 75th birthday, was a fine, still day, as we headed north along the main road through the Lincolnshire countryside, past Lincoln, and eventually across the Humber Bridge and on to York.
We left the car in a large parking area and walked in to the city, enjoying the quaint old streets, and finding one or two shops we needed in or near the Shambles.
Birthday lunch was a delicious Italian lunch at a restaurant, and afterwards we walked up to the main door of the Minster. We were interested to discover that there was a statue of Constantine, the Roman Emperor outside the door, as he had been crowned at York while he was on a military expedition in that distant part of his empire.
Then we walked back to the car and drove the short distance to Harrogate, where we spent an hour in the local library catching up on our emails.
No comments:
Post a Comment