Journey via Euro Tunnel

It was 2 o’clock on Saturday morning, we started driving to Folkstone where we would take the Euro tunnel to France. The country road was a bit dark, but there were many bright stars shining in the sky. We arrived in Euro tunnel terminal starry eyed. It was only 4 O’clock, the terminal was empty, with only one coffee shop open. While having our morning coffee in the rather cold building, I was getting quite excited about the journey. We drove onto the train carriage, inside which there are several divisions. The loading and uploading or the drive on and drive off process were rather smooth, and it is only 35 minutes through the tunnel. And when we drove off from the carriage, voila - we were already in Calais, France.

At the crack of dawn, we stopped at a small town Arras on our way to Paris. The morning light shed warm glow on the old buildings in the big square at the city centre. The square and lots of buildings were rebuilt as they were destroyed during the 1st war. The Saturday morning market was in full swing, offering great variety of vegetables, meat, fish and cheese. I was especially intrigued by the green sausages covered with herbal ingredients, very exotic looks! There were plenty of cheap clothes, toys and plastic utensils sourced from China, apparently global economy has reached the farming community in France. And for a town of forty thousand residents, this Saturday market is quite impressive.

It was still drizzling on the way to Paris, but the autumn scenery was very appealing with trees changing colours and green fields stretching miles after miles. French countryside has its own charms.

The hotel in Paris is on a tree lined street in Latin Quarter, very close to Montparnasse. Rain had stopped and we were greeted by the clear sky and beautiful afternoon sun. We took a stroll at the Cemetery in Montparnasse, very quiet and peaceful. A bit chilly in the air, but the sun was casting nice shadows on the pavement. Some of the tombs were quite old, with rather broken and shaky sculptures on the top. A lot of artists and painters were buried there, which is not a surprise given the popularity of Paris as an inspiring place for art.

Luxemburg park is a small park in the city centre with nice trees splashed by lush autumn colors, sculptures and fountains scattered around. We walked along the trails covered with falling leaves in the park and it was just the time they were about to close, there were policemen whistling to get people out of the park.

The metro system in Paris is still as good as how I remember it from last time in Paris three years ago, and fare seems to be staying on the same level, much cheaper compared with London. The trains are lighter, running on rubber wheels and they are quite frequent with no strange delays caused by the rather cumbersome signal system in London underground.

The Corneille concert was in a development area at the north of the city, with modern new complex consisting of cinemas, theatres and opera/concert halls. Obviously it was a very popular show and security was high at the entrance. But the queue moved fairly quickly, we just got in on time. Music is really the centre of young people’s life these days, I also spot my company’s ad on the big screen outside the concert hall. Well, I guess this is our target audience and that goes together with our music proposition.
One and a half hour later, after two bands warming up the stage, the long awaited Corneille emerged on the stage. Sitting in the back row (it is free seating, we didn’t get in early enough to get the good seats), I can’t really see his face very well. But his songs, seamlessly go together with his unique style, dark, enchanting smile and warm character. The crowd went crazy for him, especially the young girls in the inner circle, all stretching out to give roses to him.

When we walked out of the concert hall, rain unexpectedly poured down. Catching the last subway back to hotel, I literally fell asleep several times on the train, I think the lack of sleep just caught up on me.

After breakfast at a local brassery, we decided to go for a walk along the river. This was part of the river bank I didn’t walk on last time, quite different landscapes compared with more touristy part. There are quite a few high rise buildings on the side of the river, which reminds me of the south bank area on the river Thames in London. Some new development is still on going, with big signs that said “Nouveau Magasin” (new shops) open soon, that actually reminds me of Beijing, so many constructions are going on right now, I might hardly recognize my city when I am back there in January.

In the afternoon we rushed ourselves to Galleria Lafayette, to our big surprise all the shops were closed, and that was only 2 o’clock on Sunday afternoon. Well, I guess French enjoy a much laid back life style. Coming from Asia, this is still a cultural shock to me once in a while since the shops in Asian open 7 days a week and 12 hours everyday. I was spoiled in that sense.

After just 24 hours in Paris, we started driving back to Calais again. It was quite beautiful landscape all the way back, with clouds hanging in the sky like Chinese painting colours. Not much traffic on the road, we were driving at 100 miles an hour most of the time, and French police didn’t seem to be interested in stopping the English tourists. After all, they are the ones buying loads of French wine, cheese and chocolate.