Visit to L'Escala in Spain - Montpellier - Perpignan - Sunday November 7th

The train for Perpignan left at 11:57. The journey was 1 hour 40 minutes.

Sete Train Station had some interesting art.

I just love this. The photo was taken from the train so I wasn't able to inspect the picture fully. Does anyone know who the artist is?

The SNCF trains are very striking.

I'm not sure which town had the castle. After Sete, the train went through the Carmargue. I saw several groups of flamingos and other birds that I didn't recognise.No photos though. A fast train gets you to your destination quickly but makes it difficult to take photos.

Despite our communication difficulties, Mandi met me at the station and Dave drove us to their home in L'Escala. It is the first time since I was a child that I have driven through a national border. France and Spain are both in the E.U. so we did not have to show any travel documents.


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Visit to L'Escala in Spain - Montpellier - Sunday November 7th

As per my hotel in Paris, I managed to book one a couple of doors up from a sex shop. I have seen very few in the U.K. and the contents of the shop tend not to be visible from the outside.






My train for Perpignan was due to leave Montpellier at 11:57 so I had time for a photographic walk around the centre of Montpellier.

The Christmas Decorations were already up.

I like to take unusual photos.

Again, it was warm enough to breakfast "outside" in the tent. I went to the same place as the previous evening.

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Place de la Comedie (click to view full size)

La Gare de Montpellier St-Roch and surrounds (Click to view full size)

Visit to L'Escala in Spain - Montpellier - Saturday November 6th

I arrived safely in Montpellier. The train was due at 16.44. I am amazed at the speed of the trains. I travelled 313 miles (502 kilometres) in 3 hours 25 minutes. It was much faster, more pleasant and safer than travelling by car. As far as I am concerned, the French drive on the wrong side of the road. I'm not sure if it is an old wives tale (oh dear - that wasn't PC), but I have read (on the Internet probably) that Napoleon was left handed and he ordered people to travel on the right so that his sword arm would not be disadvantaged if he were to be attacked on the road. I have driven in France on a couple of trips. I have found that I am at most risk of driving on the wrong side of the road when I have returned home and am no longer thinking hard about it.

There is a business renting bicycles just by the edge of the railway station. There were lots of bikes so I suppose that Montpellier get lots of visitors.

Like many European Countries (including the U.K.), the government in France is trying to cut down public spending. The government in France wishes to raise the retirement age.

According to the BBC "Under current rules, both men and women in France can retire at 60, providing they have paid social security contributions for 40.5 years - although they are not entitled to a full pension until they are 65. The government says it will save 70bn euros (£58bn) by raising the retirement age to 62 by 2018, the qualification to 41.5 years, and the pension age to 67."

There was a demonstration against the increase in the retirement/pension age. It was very good willed and there were quite a few children present.

I had difficulty finding my hotel. I made it in the right general direction but ended up completely lost. I asked a young couple. They didn't know where it was. They offered to phone the hotelier to ask directions but in the end found it on Google maps on his Smart-phone. I love Smart-phones. I couldn't use mine for Google Maps because I hadn't managed to get it enabled for use abroad.  I was reasonably close and was able to remember the location and arrived safely. I stayed at the Abbeliss Polygone Hotel. I remember now how I was able to get close to it, there was a Polygone shopping centre and a big sign with the name on is visible from quite a long way a way. The hotel was OK, it was very reasonably priced and within walking distance of the town centre. It also had free wi-fi.

I dumped my stuff and went for a walk. I went to the shopping centre first and found a Finac store. I have been to Finac in Spain and didn't know that they had outlets in France. Finac sells Books, Music, Videos and Computers. I was very restrained and purchased one book. Les fées, de Charles Perrault et Charlotte Gastaut . It is a book for children between 5 and 8 years old, which means I was able to read and understand it. It has the most gorgeous illustrations.If you search for "Charlotte Gastaut" in Google Images you will find lots of her illustrations. Her blog is here.

I also went to a super market, I like going to supermarkets when I am travelling to find out the different sorts of food that other cultures eat. I have also found that food is displayed differently, especially meat and fowl. I bought DH Paul a present, although it wasn't French. It was a tube of Wasabi sauce, the green very hot stuff that you have with Sushi.

Prior to the trip, I had been hoping to catch up with my brother and sister in law. They live about 20 minutes from Montpellier. However, they had just become grand parents to twin girls and were anxious about the health of one of them and were glued to the phone, so our meet up didn't happen. I'm pleased to say that the twins are well and are at home. The in-laws with the twins, blogged by the new mum.

So, no catch up with the in-laws. It was surprisingly (to me any way) warm in Montpellier. I had my evening meal "outside". It was on a terrace which had a plastic cover for the roof and sides. The front was open. They were heating the stratosphere though with burners. I had a very pleasant meal and wended my way back to the hotel. I went to bed very early and slept very well, I was pooped after all that travelling.

I didn't find this map until the following day, but have added it to Saturday's blog. It shows the Railway station, the location of the hotel and the square where I had my evening meal.

Visit to L'Escala in Spain - France - Saturday November 6th

My train to Montpellier didn't leave Paris until 13:19. This meant that I had plenty of time to explore. I decided to take a walk to the Seine which didn't look as if it was far.

Gare de Lyon

On the way to the Seine, I spotted a shop which sold furniture which had been designed by Children. There was some very strangely shaped furniture. Unfortunately I don't have any photographs.

Brightly Coloured Seat

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There were quite a few art shops.

Invitation to an Art Shop

I popped into a courtyard and found the "Promenade Plantee". It was a garden walkway on top of a railway bridge. It looked much more interesting than walking in the street. Several people were out walking and running. I also saw a couple of people doing Tai Chi.

View looking down from the Promenade

The Promenade Plantee

Interesting Chimneys

Walking above the tree line

Interesting Carving across the road

Quite a few houses had triangular corners to fit in with the ends of the road

  

I like the simplicity of this

 

Interesting name for a police station

If you have 100 euros in the bank, it is your problem. If you have 4.9 million euros in the bank, it is the problem of the bank!

Back at ground level

After the walk, I popped into a restaurant for a hot chocolate. The lamp shades were gorgeous. I was surprised to be given a glass of water to go with the chocolate. The chocolate was very turgid.



I saw some adverts in a Restaurant for pictures by the artist Dilley. I hadn't heard of him before. I took a photo so I could view the web site when I returned home.

Advert on the side of a lorry - it is a trick photo which makes you think the lady is taking bath inside the lorry.

I had lunch on the station concourse. I nearly missed my train to Montpellier because I was unable to get a waiter to take my money. I was in carriage 16 which was a long way down the platform. The train had lots of engines on it between the carriages. I'm not sure if they were required to make the train "drive" fast or if they were being delivered to other stations. It is 749 km (465 miles) from Paris to Montpellier. It only took 3.5 hours. I had a seat upstairs which gave very good views. The train was very smooth.

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

The next part of the journey was to the Gare de Lyon. I chose about 6 different machines to purchase my ticket from, but was able to do it in the end. The Metro train was a two storey train and quite busy. I had to stand but it was only a few stops. The hotel was just three streets away from the station. Mind you, that depends on which exit you take. The station is enormous and has about 15 different exits. I stayed at the Hotel Lyon, Bastille. It is a three star hotel and cost £92. I would stay there again. It was nice and central and very clean. It also had free wi-fi.

The view from my hotel room

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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Introducing Miranda

In September last year I went on a face making course with Jan Horrox in Cromer. These are the Heads that resulted. I have now created a body to go with one of the heads. Jan has a new book An Introduction to Cloth Doll Making and I used the first pattern in the book for the rest of the doll. She is called Miranda.

The legs are made from a re-cycled blouse. The body has vermicelli stitched in gold on top of organza and some recycled silk from a waist coat that a friend made. The top of the arms use the same silk, but an area which was previously dyed with silk paints. The first two pictures are work in progress pictures. Her clothes are stitched to her body so I wanted to take photos before she was covered.

Here she is finished.