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Took the Eurostar fast train to Paris (2.5 hours) via the Chunnel. It was a very comfortable ride that didn't appear that fast, except when we travelled parallel to a highway and the cars travelling at 100 kmh seemed so slow. We're not sure the of the speed of the train, as it's not indicated anywhere on the train (well hopefully, the engineer knows). There's many little tunnels and elevated platforms on the route to try and keep the grade as even as possible. Some of these tunnels are quite long. So, we only knew we'd been through the chunnel when we noticed that cars were driving on the right side of the road. The countryside on both the English and French sides is surprisingly flat. Not Saskatchewan flat, but certainly not BC hilly.
Arriving in Paris Nord station, the first thing we noticed was a lot of graffiti everywhere, from the outskirts of Paris to just by the train station. We were surprised by this. Also, there appears to be more racial tension in Paris than in London, Especially towards the many Africans who form a substantial portion of the populace in Paris. On the surface, London seemed more
at ease with its' cosmopolitan fabric.
Paris has way more English signage than we expected. Not just “Le Hamburger” and “Hot Dog” but everything from “Take Out” to “WC”. Most restaurants had Mediterranean food, including Greek, Turkish and North African, such as Falafel, Cous-cous, and various forms of kebabs instead of what we expected as traditional French food. Of course, there are bakeries at pretty well every street corner and people walking about with Baguettes in their hands.
There's just as many cyclists in Paris as in London. There are even bicycles on a pay-per-use system, where registered users flash a smart card over a bike stand and ride away with a bike of their choice. All of the bikes are adult bikes with no gears. No bikes suitable for W.., so we didn't use bikes for getting around. We did use the metro a lot.
A 5-day metro pass was 28 Euro per adult with half price for children. From a visitors' perspective, the Paris metro systems is easier to navigate than the London tube. Lines are numbered and not named, so that you don't get confused over Waterloo vs. Bakerloo. Exits at each station are
also numbered and named with a map of the local areas posted before you have to exit the station. In London the maps are generally shown outside of stations, once you've committed to taking a given exit. Less chance of getting lost, when you can look at a map and choose the most suitable exit.
The Metro is also not as deep as many of the Tube lines. Consequently, mobiles and crack berries tend to work in the Metro. On London streets, there were many crack berry addicts who can't get their fix while commuting. The Paris crack berry users seemed more gentle and laid back compared to their London counter-parts. The mobile phone users in Paris also tend to be discreet in their conversations and certainly not loud. Maybe that's why London tubes don't have cellular relays inside the system. It's a natural detox area. The London tubes were generally cleaner than their Parisian equivalent, and there was a lot less graffiti along the tracks. Many of the Metro trains have rubber tires making for a smoother ride than on iron wheels.
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