European holiday...farewell Paris....hello Leiden

We had breakfast in the hotel dining room before packing our cases, and setting forth for the Gare de Nord station, arriving almost an hour before our train to Amsterdam was due to leave. We had checked out the platform and the procedure for boarding the train the day before, so we were confident we could manage it with ease.









There were some tree fellers at work across from the station, providing some entertainment, many people were photographing the work.
They were doing a great job, and we had to scurry past the roped off area where they were dropping the branches.

Whilst we waited for our train, Aysha and I checked out the shops one more time, and she purchased a new carry on case to pack her excess luggage in. Hopefully, we can manage with the cases we brought with us. I am always mindful when buying things that they need to be carried home, and I travel as lightly as possible to begin with. With hindsight, always a wonderful thing, we would have brought our carry on case, and packed the backpack in it to begin with. Next time we travel, that will be the order of the day.

Boarding the train involved a ten minute walk, as our train was last on the platform. Along with everyone else, we were pulling our luggage along. Once we found the right carriage and hoisted the luggage on board, TRO stowed it away in the right area. We found our seats, which unfortunately for TRO, were not forward facing, and settled in for the journey.

After about twenty minutes, a number of casually dressed men and women, some of who were wearing armbands saying "douane" approached two ladies sitting diagonally opposite us, demanding to see their passports and tickets. After a few minutes they took them to the end of the carriage, and it was ten minutes before they returned to their seats. We have no idea what that was all about, but were preparing to show our passports if required.

The remainder of our journey was pleasant and uneventful. Aysha and I had some lunch from the buffet car , TRO found himself a forward facing seat once some folks had left the train at Brussels, and before we knew it, the train was pulling into Amsterdam, and we found our way to the station for Leiden.
Liz picked us up, and we enjoyed pizza for dinner, feeling quite at home again.

The bunny has grown, and become quite friendly with the Matilda the bird. They even share their food and water. There may be a very confused bird there !

Location:Leiderdorp,The Netherlands