Wednesday 15 November (Day Fifty-nine)
And here it is. The last morning and the journey home. Getting ready to leave went more smoothly than for any other journey i can remember. I finished my last-minute packing, made the sandwiches, packed the lunch things and then out of the door.
As expected, there were no seats on the bus as we sped along for the twenty-minute journey to Porta Susa. This was where we got on.
Porta Susa looked a bit more friendly today, although we grappled with where to go and when. I messaged Liat to come meet us. I had a bag full of perishables from the fridge – and something had leaked out of the bag onto my jeans while we were travelling!
While waiting for her, Krish noticed that the station had meters to measure the solar power collected.
With about quarter of hour to spare, we were on the platform waiting for our first train of the day, to Paris.
Thank goodness this time our seats are facing forward and we’re in them in a flash. Off we go on our six-hour journey.
The journey, although smooth, has its downsides – there are several women surrounding us and they are really noisy. The yelling across the aisles and the laughing made the journey fun for them but wasn’t the greatest for the rest of us. I had determined to watch some movies again and had had Tari upload a couple and also the last series of Girls. However, my tablet hadn’t charged and it takes about two hours to produce enough power to watch anything. Then ironically, when I got it going, one of the noisemaking women came up beside me and gestured, then pushed my headphone into the jack properly, letting me know they could hear my entertainment! Crazy!
However, the annoyance of our train companions was tempered by the amazing scenery for a lot of the journey.
And I had my healthy snacks!
The six hours seem to fly on the way back. When I notice signs of Paris I’m sure there must be another hour to go! Luckily, I’m wrong. We get out of the train and have a really long walk to the barricade. In front of our long train is another long train so on and on we walk.
Negotiating the Paris RER train is much easier this time and arrives only a few minutes after we get to the very plain platform. At Gare du Nord it’s a real maze but eventually we find the staircase to the Eurostar.
Despite our two hour layover, the wait doesn’t seem long at all. We are on the Eurostar and through the chunnel and into StPancras station as smooth as can be. I’m tired, my arms are full after I pick up some soup, sausage rolls and milk from Marks and Spencer, and photos are out of the question.
I want to take a mini cab, Krish wants to take the bus. He wins!
And then we’re home. It looks odd, as it always does after being away. And it’s damp and chilly but we made it. We have our snack and then it’s bedtime at 132.