Paul in London

Travel continued: Its not the destination, its the journey... Getting to and from a destination is part of the fun of going by train. On the return leg yesterday from Lille to Waterloo it was a little more interesting than normal. It sort of went like this: Two small bottles of Bordeaux had certainly made me comfortable and relaxed as we went into the Euro Tunnel. It also took its toll on the bladder. Making my way to the bathroom I noticed I was being watched. When one is getting checked out it is always worth checking back. After leaving the bathroom I got the surprise of my life to see that he was right outside. At this point I explained to my colleagues at work (for the sake of brevity among other things) that I struck up a conversation, but that wasn't the case. Not expecting anyone outside the bathroom as I rolled back the door I was a tad startled and retreated back to my seat. Afterall, there is no mile-high club on a high speed train surely... But returning to

Scenes from Lyon - Outside Hotel De Ville Saturday morning. It was Non, non et non. Pretty much like the result on Sunday really. Later that day a Oui poster was put up over some of them. It was a simple poster of a botox babe with European Union stars in her eyes. A little disturbing actually. It was too little too late and too unappealing to sway anyone's opinion...

Scenes from Lyon Sunday 21:10. Boats at the Parc De La Tete D'Or.  

Travel: Things to do in Lyon With the Lyon City Card you get free entry to many museums and galleries in Lyon. So over two days: I saw Musée des Beaux Arts - great exhibition of art and antiquities and there wasn't the crowds so you could enjoy the Picassos and Reniors and Manets without fighting your way through the crowds. Of course this was Sunday morning the morning after the big football celebration that took place outside its doors so maybe people were a little tired. Musée de la Civilisation Gallo-Romaine, which is next to the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre. Lyon was the centre of Gallic Roman Empire so there was plenty of ruins, mosaics and artefacts on display. I later caught a rehearsal at the amphitheatre for a play that was opening this week... Musée Des Tissues and Musée des Arts Decoratifs. This was a quick Sunday trip but was well worth it to see (among other things) Napoleon and Josephine's bed that they used when they were in Lyon. The woman at the d

Things to do in Lyon on a Saturday. I would pick the weekend that Lyon wins the French Football Championships for the fourth time. It is 01:11 and the team had arrived back in Lyon for a small welcome by its citizens in the Place des Terreaux. The people were friendly and in a rather jovial mood. At the time the team song was catchy too...  

Travel: Getting to Lyon Spent the bank holiday weekend out of London - went to Lyon by Eurostar and TGV. That meant that half the fun was getting there. Well at 6-8 hours you would want it to be fun. I am typing this on the return leg from Paris Nord to Lille Flanders on the TGV to pass the time by. I have seen this part of the countryside before. Friday's journey involved leaving London at 14:00 and making a connection at Lille and arriving at Lyon around 9pm - enough time for dinner at a sensible bouchon - or something like that. It was a hot day, and so was the Eurostar as it left Waterloo. In the section I was travelling there was an American businessman, a woman from Manchester, a French businessman and myself. Shortly after leaving London the woman started complaining about the heat. It was over 30 degrees in London Friday so when that happens the city becomes a sauna anyway... She could speak French so the crew were sympathetic but explained there wasn't anything we coul

Scenes from Oxford Circus Thursday 19:49 - shopping et cetera... 

News: Crime's up and Prats are down The yellow signs that pop up around London at the scenes of recent crimes are to be reviewed after they have been attributed to increasing fear of crime across the city . Perhaps they shouldn't always have in bold letters "MURDER" "STABBING" "GUN CRIME" emblazoned across them... And the text of the boards "A gruesome bloody murder took place at this location last night..." Perhaps should be reviewed. Ok it doesn't usually say that on the boards, but you can read between the lines (and use your immagination with these things... And from crimes on the street to crimes against the city, it has almost been a week of posturing and hissy fits between the South Bank Centre and the endless number of supporters lining up for the London Eye which the Centre has threatened with closure (as the Eye sits on part of the South Bank Centre's land), Ken Livingstone has called South Bank Centre Chair a pr

Scenes from the Piccadilly Theatre Tuesday 20:16... House full again... 

News: Bargains It's true, you can really get a shoebox in Central London for £135-a-week as a former cupboard goes back on the rental market... The previous occupant was small... And didn't spend too many nights at home...