Time for the next leg of our adventure

If you’re keeping track — and you really should be; it’s easy with our Keeping Track page — we’ve disembarked from the Viking ship and made our way to London via the Eurostar.

Here’s the Gare du Nord station in Paris. It’s a beautiful station with a history dating back to the 1860s. I was entranced the whole time we were there. Y’all know how I am about all things history.

We took the Eurostar to London, which meant we went through a tunnel under the English Channel. I was a bit nervous going through a tunnel under water for 20 minutes, but somehow I managed to keep calm. And when I say “somehow” I mean:

The Eurostar people took very good care of me.

When we arrived at the St. Pancras station in London, here’s the first thing I saw:

It’s a gigantic clock! “Quelle heure est-il” is still the question of the day, but now we can say, “What time is it?” in English. Try it with a British accent. You might end up with: “I say, could I bother you for the time?”

If you can’t read the wording below it in pink, it says: “I want my time with you.” Isn’t that sweet?

We’re staying in the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel. This place is amazing. We’ll post photos soon on the Oooh Look How Pretty page.

That time I channeled my inner Julia Child

Well, truth be told, I don’t have an “inner Julia Child.” I don’t aspire to master French cuisine — or any cuisine, being partial to take-out when at home and room service when traveling.

However, we did have lunch today at La Couronne in Rouen.

I sought out this particular restaurant because the food here is what inspired Ms. Child to get involved in French cooking … and the rest, as they say, is history.

Speaking of history, this place has been here since 1345. That’s impressive. Actually, anything older than Charleston (1670) impresses me.

It wasn’t always a restaurant. It started as an inn/tavern (here they call it an “auberge”). It faces the square where Joan of Arc was killed.

It’s an absolutely charming restaurant, and the food is perfection (they won a Michelin star in 2019). We had grilled steak and a bottle of red and lingered for almost three hours. Y’all know my typical speed is fast-forward, so you can take that lingering as a testament to the relaxed ambience.

Time is a big deal in Rouen

And I do mean big.

This is the Gros Horloge (which means “great clock” in French), an astronomical clock made in the 14th century. It still works, which is impressive, and it has only the hour hand, which is even more impressive because that way you can always claim you’re on time.