Day 18 Paris

We left Camden at 8.30 am to catch the bus to St Pancras station, deciding against dragging our bags again.  When we got into the station there was a huge queue for the Eurostar, and Neil's bag got thoroughly searched.  The only thing I was worried about was the prospect of them taking our last cheese!
The trip to Paris was fast, at 300 km/hr plus.  We had only enough time for a wine and a snack, before rolling into the Gare de Nord.  It was much cleaner than the last time we were there, with no dodgy people on the stairs.  There were no toilets open, however, so we had to wait until the next stop, at Massey-Palaiseau on the RER line out to St Remy les Chevrueses, where we were staying with our friends Louise and Stefan.  I went to school with Louise's older sister Yvonne, but Louise and I have more in common and have met up in Paris three times over the years.  She is married to a Frenchman and is well-established there.
We arrived at 5.30 pm and had drinks at Le Chalet, a little bar near the station, whilst waiting for Louise to pick us up on her way home from work in the city.
Stefan arrived home around 7 and from then until 2 am we ate couscous and many other courses and drank four bottles of red wine plus a few beers.  I love the way the French like to spread out their entertaining over many hours.  The wine must have been chemical free as I woke up with no sign of a hangover.