Right now I'm trying to decide which is worse: an underground and under-ocean tunnel or an airplane. Personally (and I've told this to many of you) my ultimate nightmare is to be trapped on an elevator whilst on a plane. It gives me the shivers just to think about it. (Great glass elevators are -- of course -- a-okay.)Seriously though, I can't believe how expensive Chunnel tickets are. It's cheaper and faster to fly British Airways from London to Paris. I save three hours and about ₤20 if I fly, and although I hate flying, the thought of being under the floor of the ocean is a little disquieting.
Thanks to the help of Rymenhild and others, I will be getting an Oyster Card as well as a Student Rail Pass for my longer excursions. Now, if I could just learn to look the correct direction when I cross the street!
4 comments:
Chunnel tickets are pricier, but they're not too bad if you buy them in advance. My last return to Paris was 29 pounds each way - which also put me right in the middle of Paris instead of out at Charles de Gaule, plus took less time than flying. (Okay, technically the flight is shorter than the train trip. But I don't have to be at the train station 2 hours in advance, and the train station is centrally located and thus faster to get to.)
The under-the-ocean bit is remarkably dull and only lasts 20 minutes.
Oh, I didn't realize that de Gaule was outside of Paris...hmmmmm....so many choices...
Look right, look left, look right again. Just keep saying that over and over in your head. That will keep you generally safe. But many times, the street is helpfully marked with either "look right" or "look left" at the curb cut -- especially helpful for one-way streets and bends in the road!
The mantra is so useful I can run through London without getting hit (or without slamming into another pedestrian). And I'm *really* dopey when I run.
I may be at the BL end of next week or the following week. I'll look for you!
CDG is almost an hour out of Paris on the RER and is a navigational nightmare. LHR is almost an hour out of London on the tube and makes CDG look well planned. The combination of the two is enough to bring any sensible person out in hives and send them heading for the Eurostar website.
If your budget allows, see if you can get a first class ticket on Eurostar (if you book early enough and stay over Saturday, the prices come down from the stratospheric to the merely painful). There's just something so civilised about sitting sipping champagne as the Pays de Calais slips by at 300kmh!
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