Off again on the 1004

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Geo: 51.3307, -0.270059

1004hrs Well here we are again on a mini adventure to Lille - only 1 hrs 30 ins from St Pancras to Lille (Gare TGV). Whoop whoop!

We have left "Kiwi Steve" in charge of the dogs "home alone" He seems very competent and he and his wife "June" are over from NZ on an extended sebatacle. Nagging worry that he is already rummaging through Cathy makeup drawer or worse........

A trip of this size can lead one into a false sense of security. Paaaah! Only 2 nights and only Europe (barely). Already, I have forgotten to pack my "brouges", caffetiere and have no back up smart socks incase of a formal meeting scenario! Other minor lapses include:-

10:50hrs: Arrive St Pancras International. Cathy gets stuck through the disabled ticket flipper barrier at Vauxhall. It must have been the "Oligark Bimbo Fur Jacket" affecting the IQ...

11:22hrs Minor checkin failure with Eurostar Ticket. Unusual lapse of travel knowhow.

11:45 hrs Coloured gentleman spotted in "Voodoo Priest" Tracksuit looking like Jimmy Saville on LSD. Sorry photo not possible. Must try harder.

11:48 Cathy has bust up with the manager of the Eurostar sandwich shop. £5 buys a tepid squished up vege/cheese puke waffle. Not good enough...she is in there like a rattle snake on Redbull. Full refund!!

Train 9148 slides out of St Pancras dead on time and whisks it's way through Kent at 180mph. What a fantastic bit of kit. Lille is soon upon us and we trundle off in search of our Hotel. The station area is a little seedy with a few Romanian type female beggars with babies looking like Russian dolls wrapped in home knitted clothes. We wheel our cases over cobbles and soon find the route to our Hotel which is a converted 16th Century Hospice.

We are staying a little out of the tourist "cobbly" zone but the Hotel is excellent and we have been upgraded to the Royal JFK - Obramavich suite and feel pretty perky as we set off for a recce. Lille is lovely with an eclectic mix of Flemish/French and Central European styles. Looks promising........

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