Back to London

After a much too short stay in Paris, we took the Eurostar back to London this afternoon. The waiting area at the Gare du Nord train station was much nicer that it's equivalent at St. Pancras station in London, but it had one big flaw. We had to go down two flights of stairs to get down to the track level. There were escalators for some tracks but not the one we left on. Fortunately, we had several people offer to help us, which was much appreciated.

Our hotel for the next five days in London is a also Hilton but not nearly as nice as the Hilton in Paris. It's okay, but just a bit small. Small rooms seem to be a common trait of central London hotels. 

Dinner tonight was at a nearby pub - Fountains Abbey. Very local pub with a cast of characters straight out of a British film. I would have taken a photo, but I thought I might get beaten up. I settled for a photo of the bar.

The food was listed as classic British pub food. That is in contrast with a lot of pubs who sell a largely American fare. For example, burgers, tacos and southern fried chicken (southern as in the US, not the UK). We even saw one place selling "Philly steak toasties." A toastie is English slang for "grilled cheese." I can't imagine that it would be any good.

Tonight, I had a Steak and Ale pie, which was really good and very filling. Jeanne had mac and cheese. We shared a Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert.