Thursday June 3 was a mainly cloudy day. We dodged a few rain showers, but didn't need our umbrellas. High of 18C. We caught the 11:09 a.m. Eurostar from Gare de Nord, Paris and arrived on-time in London at St. Pancras Station at 12:30 p.m. local time. Very fast trip, but we must say that the seats were not as comfortable as the Eurostar train we had taken between Rotterdam and Paris.
 |
| Leaving Gare de Nord, Paris |
 |
| Arriving in London |
 |
| Great neon sign: I want my time with You at St. Pancras Station |
Of course, there was a London Tube strike on for the day. There had been a strike on Tuesday and because no deal had reached, there was a second strike on Thursday. The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union had voted to oppose the voluntary introduction of a four-day working week with hours reduced from 36 to 35 hours a week. It would mean drivers would work longer days, but fewer days each week and fewer overall hours each week. The union wants a 32 hour week over four days. The other Tube workers' union Aslef which represents a slightly higher share of Tube drivers had agreed to the deal, and were very critical of RMT not accepting the package. The bottom line was that even though half the Tube workers were working, there was considerable disruption on a number of lines.
Our hosts had suggested we take the Thameslink to Whitechapel (one transfer), which we did. Allan, unfortunately managed to break the handle of my suitcase as we were boarding one of the trains. He doesn't know his own strength. We had about a 20 minute walk from Whitechapel station to the Airbnb. We managed with the broken suitcase, but will have to get a new one.
Google Maps was taking us in circles but luckily someone pointed us in the right direction. We are staying in Benthal Green, not too far from Shoreditch where we have stayed before.
 |
| We walked through Weavers Fields to get to the Airbnb |
We are on Hague Street, a very small street near the park with a series of 18th century row houses.
 |
| We are staying in the house with the green door on the right |
We are staying with a very nice gay couple. We have one bedroom and the use of the rest of the house. It is well equipped and quiet, yet only two minutes from Benthal Green Road. The guys are going to be away from Saturday to Monday, so we get the whole house to ourselves.
 |
Living room- Nic who met us gave us a coffee and we had a chat
|
 |
| The adjoining dining room |
 |
Kitchen, with dishwasher and clothes washer and dryer
We went upstairs for the tour of our bedroom, the work area and bathroom. Their bedroom is also upstairs |
 |
| Nic's work area- where I can do my blog |
 |
| Bathroom with a large shower and soaker tub |
 |
Our bedroom
|
We started walking over to one of our favourite streets in Shoreditch- Redchurch St and realized the two coffee shops we were going to check out closed at 4:00 p.m. It was close to 4:30 so we stopped at Coffee Matters on Benthal Green Road, a very comfortable place with some Greek savoury treats.
 |
| Our coffees and snack |
 |
Alain heading to the back seating area
|
We carried on until we reached Redchurch Street, which actually runs off Benthal Green Road. There was a very funky clothes store on the street, which is dedicated to showcasing emerging and conceptual designers since 2013. The prices were reasonable and they also had a great jewellery selection. I did try on a few pieces, but no luck.
 |
| Sign at 75-RC |
 |
| Very nicely designed store and a salesperson who liked our glasses |
A few doors down was a cool T-shirt and jeans place that featured a collaboration with the Wim Wenders Foundation. They had wonderful Paris, Texas t-shirts and other cinema related tops and hats.
 |
| Great window at SCRT |
 |
| Near the end of the street |
We decided to have dinner at Smoking Goat at the corner of Redchurch and Shoreditch High Street. We had eaten there before and the place was buzzy even though it was early. They have a menu of spicy Thai street food. We shared a number of items: Fish sauce chicken wings (yum); BBQ Pork skewer; Stir fried Squid and salted duck egg (another stand out; and a very spicy sausage.
 |
Very tasty food
|
 |
| Open kitchen- someone was having mussels |
As we walked back on Redchurch we saw a huge crowd gathered for drinks outside The Owl and Pussycat pub. It's definitely fun being back in London. Such a different scene than the Paris cafés.
We headed back to the apartment. A tiring day but we are very happy with the Airbnb arrangement. The guys had been out and when they returned we had a nice chat. They are very helpful with recommendations in the 'hood.
Comments
Post a Comment