The bus drivers are the true heroes

I always thought I’d like to drive buses in my retirement - maybe just a couple of regular local routes to connect with people and earn some pocket money. I’m pretty sure if I lived in London I would NOT want to be a bus driver in retirement because I think it would be the most stressful job on earth. 

Like physicians, their job is to keep people alive, no mean feat when the cyclists here are hell-bent on squeezing between any tiny gap in traffic, riding the narrow streets and labouring up the climbs with traffic piling up behind them. The drivers I’ve had have been very patient, waiting for gaps in oncoming traffic to manoeuvre around said cyclists who at the last moment decide to veer right without signal or warning.  

Couple that with narrow roads that barely allow two buses to pass by and don’t even start me on the routes out of Greater London. The bus to Twickenham yesterday would have to wait as there were cars parked in our lane - they were reliant on drivers the other way stopping to allow them enough road to pass.

And don’t get me started on the pedestrians!

Started the morning early at Regency Canal and a leisurely hour walk along the canal, admiring the houseboats and marvelling at the lock systems used to manage water levels and float the boats up and down. There are boats of all shapes and sizes. Some have long-term moorings, others must move every 7 days. It’s a hidden gem that I’m glad to have unearthed.

Another bus and I was on my way to the Postal Museum. They have a great little Mail Rail exhibit, where a small train takes you through the tunnels used to move the mail around the city.  The exhibits were interesting and I once again realised that this was my kind of museum! The history of postage in the UK was something I hadn’t thought of before and I’m glad I took the time to visit this one.

On my walk back to collect my luggage, I decided to hire a Lime e-bike and make my way through the streets. It felt good to be on a bike again after a very long absence and it will be interesting to see how I fare on the cycle part of the Camino!

Next stop, St Pancras International where the Eurostar awaited to transport me to Paris. Interesting to watch the British passport holders relegated to the wait in line queues due to their now non-EU statuses. A lot of them lined up in the EU queue and became quite indignant when they were moved along.  Sorry folks, but Brexit has spoken.

Quick train ride under the channel and I’m in Paris. Anxiety belly has meant I’m not eating a lot as I constantly feel nauseated, and it only culminated further while trying to work out the rail system from the Gare du Nord.  Tracked down the machine where I can buy my Metro card, lugged my suitcases up and down a million stairs and found my gorgeous little hotel one block from the Arc d’Triomphe.

Upgraded to a nicer room by pure chance and complimented by the gentleman at reception who said I wasn’t a tourist if I used the Metro! Air conditioning was sublime to collapse in, shower and then hit the streets again to catch up with my travel buddy Rach at the Louvre.

That place is massive and absolutely bursting at the seams with artwork of all kinds, to the point where it is almost overwhelming! We walked through a number of the expositions and then decided we had had enough and were ready to call it a day.

Something to eat needed to end the day, so I settled myself at Cafe Etoile just up from my digs, and enjoyed a delicious but very expensive Veal Tenderloin with mashed greens and two cokes (yes I know it could be wine, but I’m trying to manage fatty liver disease so alcohol can’t factor every day!) Now they say don’t do the math with the conversion, but at 48 euro I couldn’t help but think I’d just eaten an $80 meal - $35 of which was my two cokes!

So now I’m cooling off again in my hotel, looking forward to tomorrow’s adventures. Until then…