Tuesday, 19 April 2022

T Stands for travelling out of Paris

Hi everyone, you may have already read that our trip Paris was not as successful as any other trip we have had there! 

We had seen weather forecasts that warned us that it was going to colder than usual for the time of year until part way through out trip(we also knew that it was going to be colder in the UK too)

We opted for taking layers but hadn't taken hats, although fortunately had gloves and I had a couple of scarves.

It was cold when we left home and the journey to London to catch Eurostar should have been our warning! We were part of a small minority wearing face masks and the coffee machine on the train was broken. When we got to London we took the short walk to St Pancras station and the wind was very cold.

We did however have a very nice meal before we went to the Eurostar terminal.

We bought salad and sandwiches to eat on the train before we reached Paris and had a lovely welcome at our usual hotel before a comfortable night's sleep! 

The next morning there was a beautiful sunrise over the rooftops.



By the time we were ready to leave the hotel the sun had disappeared. We had a plan to visit Coulommiers where hubby, when in his teens, had done some restoration work on the Commanderie in Coulommiers.
After receiving some assistance from an SNCF employee we had our tickets and boarded the train. A super modern train!
 
When the door opened the ceiling light changed colour.


Coulommiers was very quiet and very cold......





...but an attractive looking town


We were too late for coffee so we started to look for a place to eat. We had already passed one restaurant on our way from the station but confident that there would be lots more in the town centre we headed that way. 

We did come to one but it only seemed to be serving beef or veal(no thank you)
The next place looked promising but on walking in there were lots of men around a bar and a couple more at a table eating - I didn't feel so comfortable with that so we finally settled on Italian

The tuna and tomato pasta was comforting and delicious...and huge!


Hubby had Cola and I had Tonic water.

I was willing the couple sitting here to leave before us.
The restaurant was quite full when we arrived but as it was warm we took our time!
By this time it had been raining!

We went to the tourist office to find which bus we needed to catch, only to find that the Commanderie was closed. Time to get back into Paris we thought. We spotted a church and thought we would take a look before heading back to the station.






Lots of Mistletoe in the trees - it must have been a good year for this parasite plant - there are lots in the UK too










Back in Paris - we had a little walk before going to a restaurant for a  starter and dessert.

On our way back to the hotel we walked through this beautiful gallery.



A disappointing first day - but the next day there was a craft show to visit!!!

Thanks for looking, Chris

Note - blogger has had me scrolling up and down for ages putting gaps where I didn't want them and not allowing me to place photos where I wanted!

16 comments:

  1. That's a very fancy train, love the lights Chris. That pizza place looks really cool too. Sorry the weather was a different kind of cool. How was the craft show? Happy T Day! Elle/EOTC xx

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  2. Blogger can be a "pain" at times for sure.
    I enjoyed seeing and reading about your Paris trip. that is a very fancy train I look forward to reading about the craft show-sounds fun Happy T

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  3. I love that train too!! shame the weather was so cold for you, you are normally walking around in brilliant sunshine! Looking forward to the next post already xx

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  4. That was some adventure getting started. Very cool train and very quaint town. Too bad it was cold, but it looked like you made the best of things. Looking forward to seeing more of your trip. Happy T Day

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  5. I always enjoy traveling with you. My favorites were the interesting trees on the street, the lovely old-world architecture and the gallery. I can imagine ladies and gentlemen strolling through them in Victorian garb. It looks cold but I am glad you still had an enjoyable time. That sunrise was gorgeous.
    So glad you shared.
    Happy Tea Day, Chris.
    Kate

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  6. I always enjoy and armchair travel with you. The atmosphere does look cold but also very old world and moody. I expected some gentleman in a top hat to appear around the corner.

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  7. I loved seeing your photos of Paris, it's such a diverse and interesting place to visit 😁. Your pasta dish looks so yummy too and the scooter coming out of the wall is fabulous, it made my hubby smile - he loves scooters (grin!). Can't wait to see more, Happy T Day! Hugs Jo x

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  8. Thanks for sharing the photos. I really enjoyed them. Hope you have sunshine for the craft show.

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  9. So sorry this has been a disappointing trip to Paris. Your first day didn't turn out as you expected, but at least you ate well and managed to get warm most of the time. Thanks for sharing these incredible photos of your trip, the train, and your meals and drinks with us for T this Tuesday, dear Chris. Hope you are feeling better dear. Loved the mossy photos.

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  10. It still looks like a beautiful day Chris. Your lunch looks delicious. And Coulommiers looks like a charming little town. Too bad it was cold. But I had fun looking at your photos, and it was a great T day post. Hope your cough is doing better. Hugs-Erika

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  11. I am sorry it was cold and rainy for your first day. But it sounds like you made the best out of it. Blogger has done that to me to, makes long gaps and I can't get them out. Thanks for sharing photos of Paris and Coulommiers. Happy T Day, Chris.

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  12. Looks so lovely even with the cloudy and rainy skies. You are so lucky to go to these wonderful places. Amazing!! TFS, Chris. Happy T-day. Love your Paris posts! Hugz

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  13. My one trip to Paris was in January, but I wouldn't trade it for anything :) I'd love to be in a place where I could go again. And Again :) No day in Paris could be a bad day. Thanks for the lovely photos! Happy T Day

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  14. Blogger has made posting challenging for some time now but your post looks good.
    Sounds like a very cold and damp trip first day. A lot less people out and about for sure. Still some beautiful spots.

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  15. Aw, too bad it got so cold and dreary, but hey, it's PARIS! Love Coulomniers with its old buildings, and the churches are especially nice.
    What a fab train to take- very clean looking too!
    Glad you managed a good meal and day. Hope you'll tell us the weather gets much better:)

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  16. That is a side of Paris I have never seen, thank you for sharing it as I will never go to Paris not that I know of anyway. Love that pasta
    Bridget #20

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