October 5 (Paris to Yorkshire)

We were up at 6:30AM on Friday. I hate having to set an alarm while on vacation but what can you do? We were out the door by 7:30AM, after bidding a fond adieu to our little Parisian flat. I can’t say enough about this charming studio apartment. If you are interested, contact me for details. We wheeled our suitcases one block to Rue Sebastopol and we able to nab a taxi in short order. He was an excellent driver and not chatty so our drive to Charles de Gaulle airport was uneventful and blissfully quiet except for our own conversation. My bag was 2 or 3 kilos overweight so we had to pay a small fee before we could receive our boarding passes.

Our EasyJet flight was an hour late, due to fog in Paris. However, they had a “relaxation lounge” at our gate and I was able to snag to full-length loungers. Unfortunately, the lounge wasn’t exactly closed to the rest of the airport so we could see and hear the kids screaming in the play area. It was a long wait and there were no seat assignments so when we were finally loaded on the bus to be transported to the plane, I was expecting to sit at the very rear of the plane. However, we were able to sit in the first row, by the door. What luck! We had 3 seats between the two of us and Rob chatted up the flight attendant about her job during our one hour flight. We had to buy our coffee and snacks on flight but they were surprisingly good. Not bad for a 39€ trip!

We landed in Newcastle about an hour late but the skies had cleared, affording us a spectacular view of Swaledale from the plane. Deplaning and clearing customs was a bit of a cluster f***. There were two lines – one for citizens of the European Union (Britain, France, Italy, etc.) and one for non-European citizens (Canadians, terrorists, etc.). Rob has both passports but insisted on standing in line with me. The line crawled along and, in spite of the fact that we were the first off the plane; we were near the last to get through customs. I had to prove I was actually leaving the country.

I was starving again, so I insisted we buy sandwiches at Gregg’s, an English chain of fast food and drinks. The sandwiches were fresh and tasty at only £1.85 each! Rob’s parents frequently hire a driver to take them places so Trevor was on hand in Newcastle to collect us. We drove to Richmond along the M1 and finally arrived to a warm welcome from Rob’s folks and warm soup on the table. After lunch, Rob and I took a short stroll around town. We wanted to see the marketplace, Castle Walk, go to the HSBC and get some batteries for my camera. We bought them at Woolworth’s, and then strolled through town and along New Biggin Street where I found a lovely silver shop with some nice pieces. I saw a bracelet I liked but didn’t buy it.

Once back at home, I had a bit of a lie down for a couple of hours until 6PM, when it was time for an aperitif. Rob’s parents strictly adhere to this charming practice and I think I will adopt myself at home, but only on weekends. They offered to take us to a local Italian restaurant for dinner. In fact, I believe it is the ONLY Italian restaurant in town. They also have a Thai restaurant and two Chippies. There are many, many pubs as well. Dinner was lovely but the restaurant became very crowded towards the end so we had to carefully manoeuvre Rob’s Mum down the stairs with her cane. Again, we were early to bed in anticipation of the next day’s adventures.