Saturday June 29th - Slightly overcast, coolish but no rain, 15°C to 19ºC
Newport transporter bridge
Coffee at Roman ruins Newport
Diana's Memorial garden
Diana's Memorial garden
Lunch is sooooo good
Swans at Hyde Park
London Mardi Gras and no way out
Jan, where are you!!!
Today we almost missed our Eurostar connection because of the Gay Mardi Gras in London. When we finally arrived in Brussels Ian wanted to ave the last of the bottle of Mateus but no way. Today was such a helter skelter day travelling on or between trains for 14 hours. But in between trains we did get to see the Roman Ruins in Newport Wales, Diana's Memorial Park at Kensington Gardens, and the Mardi Gras in London.
We're awake early at 5.30am. We need to be out of our B and B Somerville House by 7.30am to catch the 7.50am train to Newport in Wales and then on to London. There's an hour to spar so I check on line to book two nights on the Moselle at Trier and Traben. Bill, our host, knocks on our door to make sure we are awake. Quickly we're showered, packed and up to for breakfast of scrambled eggs on toast before we cycle the 1k down to the train station. No problems getting the bikes on the train, but another cyclist turns up unexpectedly without a booking and we make room for him. He's getting the train to Abergavenny to do a 70 mile (120k) ride up through the Brecons in Wales). He doesn't book his cycle on the train - just takes pot luck. But he's been kicked off trains a few times and harassed for holding them up. We couldn't take that chance with so many connections.
At Newport we have a 2hr wait for our train to London. So we go for a cycle along teh fiver front which is very tidal and has a transporter bridge which a bit like a ferry carrying cars across, but up in the air. We didn't see any cars transported, but it was quite an amazing structure. There's a sign to some roman ruins - a good place to fill in time. So we cycle the 5k out to the ruins, have a coffee in front of the soldiers latrines, and cycle back to Newport Train Station. There's lifts and rail bridges, which takes 10 minutes to negotiate, and when the train arrives, it's totally full. In fact, I booked the tickets back in early June and we still had separated seats. Saturday morning it seems and everyone is on their way to a football math somewhere.
London Paddington and we have 3hrs to fill in before the Eurostar leaves for Brussels. A cycle to Hyde Park for a picnic would be nice. On the way down, there's people spilling out of pubs - the Aussies have just won the Rugby test 16-15 against the Lions. It's chaos, and signs everywhere noting that there's road closures on June 19th (today) for an event. I guessed it must have been a cycling event or a triathlon that morning. We get round the chaos as best we can and go down to Diana's Memorial Park in Kensington Gardens. It's packed with tourists but we find a seat for a picnic lunch. Time to relax, have our ham and cheese and a left over beer, take photos of the swans, and relax before the 15 minute cycle down to St Pancreas to catch the Eurostar.
From Kensington Gardens we have one and a half hours to spare to get to St Pancreas. I's chaotic but flowing. Then all of a sudden we arrive in Oxford Street, expecting to turn right up Marlybone, and whoa, there's a street parade. It's the Gay Mardi Gras. So this was the June 29th event advertised. Theres absolutely no way across. We ask a bobbie where to go, and he just shakes his head and suggests we wait until the parade is over - how long will that be? - about and hour. NO NO. We do't have that long to wait. So on our bikes and pushing through the crowd in the opposite direction. No way through. We meet up with another cyclists who's in a panic trying to get to Euston Road Station. Good, we'll follow him. We're blocked off again. So we go back to Hyde Park to get around the start of the parade and 40 minutes later where through. But we still have 5k to go to St Pancreas.
Pedal fast. Faster. In and out of bus lanes until we reach St Pancreas and the Eurostar. No time to spare. Lucky we know the layout of St Pancreas from last week and rush down to book on the bikes at the Euro Despatch. Then back up the 600 metres to the check in gate and through security and passport control where they pinch Ian's gas can - again - no more coffee by the road side til we buy another can in Germany. On to the Eurostar. I need a drink.
It's two hours and a smooth ride to Brussels and our bikes arrive intact. The Euro Despatch is only 100 metres from the Arrivals terminal. Brussels is such a maze, we're still not sure of our way back to the same B and B Maison Royale with Brendan and Matthieu. Ian's checking out his GPS, when we're approached by two Japanese girls who are lost. They have the same google map as I had last week when we got lost - a street map of Brussels Zuid Station with A to B showing the way to their Hotel. We spend 20 minutes trying to sort them out and give up, suggesting they talk to a local, but not the same local who sent us in the wrong direction last week.
It's still a maze to get up the the Maison Royal and it's 8pm when we get there. Ian looks after the bikes and baggage and I take my purse and race off to the Carrefours supermarket, which I know is just around the corner, for a picnic and a Mateus Rose and Stella Artois beer for Ian. Up to our room and relaxing with a rose and cheese at last. Ian, did you get any photos of the Mardi Gras for my blog??? He moaned that he was too busy looking out for me to stop and take photos. A stressful time. Oh to be on the Moselle River.
Time slips away and it's almost 11pm. I need to check the train tickets for tomorrow, a route down to the Moselle from Luxembourg, and to make sure our B and B bookings for Trier and Traben are confirmed. Whatever did we do before internet. Well I'll tell you. In 1980 when we cycled for 5 months around Europe staying in youth hostels, we rode 80 to 100k days and turned up at a youth hostel taking pot luck, and if it was full, we cycled to the next one. I carried 3kg of Ordinance Survey (for the UK) and IGN (For France) Maps, a 1 kg notebook as a diary and one change of clothes. Somehow we managed. Today in 2013, it's stressful if we don't get WiFi to talk to the family at home every night and by golly, it had better be a good WiFi connection, not flakey.
How times have changed. I now carry a 1kg Airmac to write up a diary and Ian carries a 700g Samsung Notepad with maps.
Really looking forward to the Moselle. The detour over to Hereford was well worth the hassle but now it's good to be bak on the bike - just a three hour train trip from Brussels to Luxembourg in the morning and we'reon our way again.