Day 2 Tuesday 2nd June 2009 Euston to Paris via Brussels

Day 2 Tuesday 2nd June 2009. Euston to Paris via Brussels.
After a hearty breakfast we left the Travelodge Euston at 9am and in line one after the other we trailed our bags along busy footpaths about one kilometre to the St Pancras international rail terminal. It was a large station; it had to be as the Eurostar is about ¼ mile long. (Courtesy of a station attendant) the assembly point and customs were at street level with the trains on top under a large all encompassing glazed roof. We loaded onto the train about a ½ hour before its departure at 10:57am. Although the train travelled fast and smoothly I was a little disappointed with its interior. I have seen better appointed trains in Britain and Ireland. The Eurostar took us to Brussels in two hours and six minutes. We were twenty minutes under the English Channel. We were in the Brussels station for one hour and ten minutes before leaving on a Thalys TVG train. This was a far better train, and not because we were in first class with its complementary refreshments and wireless internet which I could not get to work before the journey ended. The signal was dropping out a lot. The countryside was pleasant with green fields of grass and grain crops. We took one hour and twenty two minutes to reach the Paris Gare du Nord in France. Our hotel Mercure Terminus Nord was just across the road from the station entrance. One of our members had the misfortune to have his small camera bag stolen while we were waiting at Brussels. He lost valuable property in the bag.