Don't Pull Your Hair Out, July 2010 23 Travel By Sebastian Peake I


ttook barely acouple of minutes after arriving at the gleaming St Pancras station, to show our passports, have


our luggage checked and be in the departurelounge. Along, gently inclined moving walkway took us up to the first floor wherethe Eurostar that would whisk us to the French capital, was waiting to receive us. Within afew minutes of leaving the station, the train was hurtling through the long tunnel beneath north London and aquarter of an hour later Kent, and the wide Medway estuary, appeared to our left. The children, excited and full of questions stared out of the window at the passing countryside which, when looked at directly,was nothing but a blur.The dining car,luckily just one carriage away,provided packets of the inevitable crisps and bottles of juice while with the kids propped upon the narrow ledge beside the window,we entered the Channel Tunnel. Within two hours and 15 minutes, having covered adistance of just under 300 miles, we werepulling into arather less imposing GardduNord station in Paris. Stepping offthe train onto French


soil and into the sun of aJuly day,we took ataxi to our nearby hotel where we dropped the luggage in our rooms and after aquick wash, set offonthe Metrotovisit well known landmarks in the centreofthe city. The Picasso museum, the Eiffel


Tower,the SacreCoeur,awalk along


EAST DULWICH DENTAL CARE


020 8299 0240 16 FOREST HILLRD, LONDON SE22 0RR


COME AND MEET OUR SMILE TEAM AND PUT ASMILE ON YOUR FACE. N.H.S. &PRIVATESERVICES AVAILABLE


HygienistServies White Fillings Oral Surgeryfor Removal of Wisdom Teeth Affordable Implants Cosmetic Dentistry e.g.Veneers, Crowns etc.. Tooth Whitening in 1hr Emergency Services Evening Clinics Appointments only


TOOTHACHE IN SILENCE! DON’T SUFFER


the banks of the Seine, alook at the books on the numerous stalls and another of our regular visits to the famous recordstorewherethe most comprehensive range of music from around the world can be obtained. In the Walt Disney shop on the Champs Elysses, every toy sported the ubiquitous Micky Mouse motif. We had arrived, at least from the chil- dren’spoint of view at asort of nir- vana, wherethey werefreetotry on hats of every sort, and squeeze into any number of outfits. With the influence of American cul-


rude, even ruder is to leave aFrench shop without the customary au revoir. This formality,which one hears every- where, creates the necessary profes- sional distance between client and


Aweekendin Paris


shopkeeper in which pride in one’sjob can create adegree of mutual respect. Far removed from our own often per- functory greeting that is if one is offered one at all, this consideration for others is taken for granted in France. But an amble up and down the mile


and aquarter long Champs Elysses had been the real purpose of our short summer stay to Paris. On this visit it was not just to admire


tureembedded in every article, one was greeted nevertheless with a cheery bon jour by shop staff. Not to respond likewise is considered


the car showrooms that line either side of what is known in French as la plus belle avenue du Monde, the Most Beautiful Avenue in the World, but a chance to watch the riders as they pedalled furiously down the avenue on the final stage of the Tour de France. Beforethe klaxons and police sirens announced the arrival of the peloton, therewas just time for the boys to look at, admireand sit in, the latest Citroen, Mercedes, Fiat and Renault. They found this opportunity particularly allur-


ing given that apart from the cars them- selves, other exciting ideas abounded in these glamorous Mecca’softhe car. Having now sat in 20 or morevehi-


cles, we wandered down the Champs Elysses with ice creams in hand, on the lookout for avantage point beneath the clipped horse-chestnut trees that line the boulevard. The riders wereshortly to speed between the ArcdeTriomphe at one end, and the Place de la Concorde at the other of the street, in afinal burst of energy. The end of agruelling 3500 kilome-


tretour,which had included stages in both Spain and Switzerland; the riders had even climbed Mont Ventoux in Provence the day before, it was also the first time an exhausting mountain stage had preceded the Tour’sarrival in the capital. We werehanded tricolour flags to


wave by onlookers standing nearby, while inscrutable, tough-looking CRS police stood in front of the crowds looking menacing. Then, suddenly,inadeafening announcement of their imminent arrival, the whole phalanx, including outriders, journalists and photographers, flashed past us in amatter of seconds. Afew days later we caught the


Eurostar back to London, with memo- ries of the Tour de France etched forev- er on certain young minds.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36