Early Rise and on to Paris

Lille was quite uneventful, really, even arriving two hours earlier we only just had enough time for a quick repast at a nearby bar, before returning to our nearby hotel. Moules Frites for me and Omelette for Sylvia, and very nice too. The area around the stations was a bit seedy at night and no sign of Joe Cole, although with the eurostar connection doubtless he commutes. Good luck to him with food like that readily available.

Lille Flandres, the local station was where arrived.  The following morning we left early from the Ibis, where the staff had been very welcoming and helpful. We cycled the short distance down a boulevard to the other railway station, Lille Europe arriving early in the morning shortly after 8am.  We had breakfast while we waited to board the train to Paris. The Eurostar and intercity trains come through this international railway station which seems to be very modern, predominantly glass structured, and which had everything Calais Ville did not. Namely a lift.

The Pain aux Raisins and Café au Lait went down well and we waited for the departure board to reveal the platform number 15 minutes before the train left for the Gare du Nord, Paris.  When we received the call we fought our way into the vast glass lift and once descended to the platform shrugged off the now customary “Non” from the conductor to our cycles by brandishing our tickets.  A cursory look and he waved a general arm towards the rear of the train where we found a place to store the bikes for the journey, which was comfortable and uneventful.  It was lovely looking out upon the landscape which had much in common with the Low Countries both in its appearance and the names of places the train sped through.

Arriving at the Gare du Nord we made our way to the exit to find our way on to the cycle route to the Gare d’ Austerlitz, four miles or so through Paris.  Although I knew  it was a recommended way to cycle as I had searched for it on the internet,  we did not know what to expect. Was it designated cycle ways or just relatively quiet roads? Neither could reasonably be expected in any major city.