Au Revoir Paris – Hello UK Winter!

All good things must come to an end, so after a lovely month in Paris, we finally had to close the doors to our apartment in the 12th Arrondissement. We were headed into the darkness of the UK and the approaching winter solstice. A proper northern winter will build character, we kept saying to each other. (As to why were making this choice in lieu of an island in SE Asia!?)

It’s not that we particularly wanted to leave France, but we had to get out of the Schengen zone as we were at Day 89 of our 90 day allowance, so cutting it a bit close. And there really is lot to love about the UK, even in winter. So we caught the post rush hour metro to Gare Du Nord for our 11am Eurostar to London. Yippee, a train not a plane to the UK! 

Our enthusiasm for our train trip was soon tamped down after we passed through Eurostar security and immigration to find the waiting area packed to the gills, with people lined against the walls, and sitting on the floor. This of course triggered my immediate moaning about the woeful under design of the waiting area. « Hey, I’ve sized waiting areas for HSR services, and this is a mess. « We didn’t get any photos of this fiasco, but trust us that it was very crowded.

Well, as it turns out, the normal cramped  quarters on the mezzanine of Gare Du Nord were stressed by the load of 3 trains worth of passengers, as the 9 and 10 o’clock trains hadn’t boarded yet due to big delays. The E320 train sets carry nearly 900 passengers full, so 3 trains full is a challenge for any building design. But the situation was exacerbated by poor info signs and an inaudible P.A. system, so we didn’t figure this out until we saw the chaos for the boarding area and an attendant holding up a tiny paddle with “9:00” on it. They should have held us 11 o’clock folks outside security, but made no indications of delays to our service, and so we were still subject to the 1 hour advance check in cut off. Eurostar can definitely do better.

So our Eurostar train finally boarded after nearly two hours, and departed only 40 minutes late. But hey, at least we didn’t have our bikes -:) Our slightly agitated travel states soon calmed down as we took our Eurostar plus seats; which is a nice upgrade (but certainly not essential) from the standard service with the bigger business seat car layout and light meals delivered to your seat. And yes, white wine; which tasted pretty good after the misery of the waiting area and boardiing process. Note that the Plus class is a much cheaper upgrade than business/premier class, so often only €20-€40 more than standard. Eurostar business seems outrageously priced in comparison as same first class type train seats as the Plus service: just fancier food service; dedicated boarding, and a lounge….ok, the lounge might have been nice our day; but not worth €100 more each! And it would have been packed with 3 trains worth of people.

We love returning to places we like; and we have fond memories our 2 week stay in Brighton in 2022. Ok, it was Hove, actually. This time we stayed for a week on the Hove/Brighton border and closer to the water. A great choice as it was a walkable and lively area, but less touristy than the Lanes or areas around the train station. I even went back to the same place to get a haircut as 2 years ago. Brighton was also an easy shot back to London and our next destination, Norwich.

So what was our strategy for the UK winter? A pub a day, lots of walking in the short « daylight » , and catching up with some friends as possible. The dark winter days were a bit tough for these Californians, but the countryside and old cities are beautiful; and there is nothing like a cosy English pub on a cold, rainy (or snowy) day in December. You often open the door to find a warm buzz of people, pints, and if lucky, a nice fire to sit by.  We often cite the footpath system and Pubs as what we would take from the UK to form our perfect Country.

After a nice recuperation in the familiar grounds of Brighton, we set off to the uncharted lands of East Anglia, and specifically Norwich. We had scheduled a long house sit to take us through the New Year and I admit, I had to look up where it was on the map, even after years of roaming about the UK. It’s the hub of Norfolk County and home to about 140,000 people.

Norwich is less than 2 hours by train from London, but a world away, and thriving with its own unique history as a center of wealth and prosperity in England going back 1000 years. During the Middle Ages it was a close second to London in stature, but started to recede during the Industrial Revolution as it had no coal or swift water to power manufacturing.

We had a nice warm cosy house and garden to call home for 3+ weeks, complete with the sweetest dog in the world. Our daily walks with her took us through the neighborhoods, parks, marshes, and rivers of the area, and certainly helped us feel at home over the holidays, especially in this dog crazy area, where dogs are welcome in almost all restaurants, pubs, and most stores. And our easy going golden lab was a popular addition to a few bus and train adventure as well, where she was welcomed and coddled by other passengers. 

We had a great time uncovering the layers of Norwich history and exploring the area. This is one of the joys of slow travel; diving deep into the history and culture of an area that most people from Abroad don’t even visit for a day. Norwich also has a few good small museums and we even took in a classic British holiday Pantomime performance at the impressive Art Deco Norwich Theater Royal, and almost felt like locals, as we met our friends there as well, and even understood some of the quirky local jokes and references. But not all.

With our dog, walking up a storm was easy; but our next goal of « a pub a day » took some dedication and admittedly we missed a few days. but fear not, we doubled up on other days to catch up. We also discovered that the pubs are popular throughout the Christmas period, when so much else is closed. So to the pubs we went. Do as the locals we say.

The weather was mixed during our stay, but blessedly dry for the most part. But there were many days of gray (the grisaille!) with heavy low clouds and a bit of cold mist. But the pubs did their trick, and were a great respite on the dark sunsets (at 3:30!!). Friendly locals and lots of conversation…not to mention my favorite real ale cask bitters. 

We highly recommend you go a bit out of your way to see Norwich. We plan to return, but perhaps in spring or summer when we can sail on the Broads and see another side of the beautiful area. Happy New Year and new adventures!