Friday 19 November 2010

Visit to L'Escala in Spain - England - Friday November 5th

Friends of mine, Mandi and Dave, moved to L'Escala in Spain a few years ago. L'Escala is about 2 hours south of Barcelona. I visted them in November, the journey there was by train and the journey home was by plane.

Paul (DH) took me to the railway station on Friday morning in plenty of time to catch my train to London Paddington. I had booked my ticket well in advance and took the option of a complimentary first class ticket and booked a seat in a mobile free carriage. The train had started at Cheltenham and I picked it up at Gloucester. It stopped at Stonehouse, Stroud, Kemble, Swindon, Didcot, Reading and London Paddington. Stonehouse, Stroud and Kemble have short platforms so you have to choose the correct carriage. The train conductor advised that at least one stop was a request stop, which is strange for trains. We arrived a little late, the train had to go more slowly in the Stroud area, due to leaves on the line. I have poo pooed "leaves on the line" in the past but it makes the tracks slippery and one wouldn't want to be on a train that derailed.

I believe that Paddington Station was built in Victorian times. The picture below shows a window which is at the end of the train shed. The frame is very elegant. I should use it as a basis for an embroidery or quilting pattern.

Paddington Train Shed
 The next part of the trip was an underground train from Paddington to St. Pancras station. I usually prepare underground routes in advance, but hadn't done so this time. I was perturbed when I couldn't find St. Pancras on the tube map. When I did find it, it was only about 4 stations away. I still managed to get on the wrong train, it only went 1 stop. Luckily I didn't have to go up any stairs to catch the next train, it was on an adjoining platform. I only ever travel by tube when I am in London.I have no knowledge of how London streets connect to each other, but have a "logical" tube understanding of London. This does mean that I am at risk of getting on a tube to travel from station a to station b when they are only around the corner from each other over ground.

I just adore St. Pancras station. I purchased the cheapest tickets for my journey which meant I had to catch the single train that the ticket was purchased for, so, I had given myself plenty of time between trains. I had time to walk up and down the concourse taking photos and choosing a place to eat. The station was built in Victorian times and renovated and expanded in the 2000s (the noughties) in preparation for the Eurostar trains travelling under the channel.  There is a very interesting article about the station on wikipedia.

Entrance to St. Pancras Station


Clock in St. Pancras Station
Architectural Detail of St. Pancras Station
















I ate lunch in "des Vins". I ordered an anipasto of meats. The waiter brought two sets of cutlery and I was surprised at the size of it. It was gorgeous, but I did have to leave some behind.

Antipasto


Lamp Base
After lunch I checked in to Eurostar. Once you have gone through passport control you are officially in France. That is how I interpreted the sign on the passport control booths. Although, I'm not sure where I was once I was on the train. The train was very comfortable and arrived on time at Paris Gare du Nord.


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1 comment:

  1. Hello! You take really excellent photographs of very interesting things and views! It is a pleasure to look at your posts.
    Thank you!
    Lynne

    ReplyDelete

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