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Suddenly in pulled the Eurostar on its return journey from Paris and the idea was born for our next adventure! A two night break in London with a trip on the Eurostar and time to explore the delights of the French capital and hopefully a game against Crystal Palace which would see us challenging for a place in the play offs.
So all was arranged, tickets booked, a cruise on the Seine confirmed. As the day got nearer it became more obvious that our dream of a play off place was slipping away! Being hardy Burnley fans and used to disappointments we set off Friday lunchtime knowing that our place was in the Championship for another year but safe in the knowledge we were going to enjoy ourselves. Picking up in Preston and then at Lymm Service Station that made our compliment up to thirty two, we then enjoyed refreshments a stop at Banbury and a grateful stretch of the legs. We arrived at our London base at Charing Cross around ten and an early night was in store for the travellers to France.
Six a.m. arrived and the twelve musketeers assembled clutching a packed breakfast for our 7.30 train to Paris. Passports in hand we set off on our French adventure at the Eurostar terminal. Large queues met us but after passing through passport control it felt like our journey had finally started. Boarding the train, eating the aforementioned breakfast, we were ready for off. A journey of two and a half hours lay ahead. Some spent the time asleep recovering from the night before whilst others, after eighteen minutes in the tunnel, took in the sights of the French countryside.
Meanwhile the rest of the party were slowly surfacing and tucking into a full English breakfast after which some were seen shopping while others took in the sights and sounds of our capital city before taking in shows in the West End.
In the meantime in Paris, the musketeers were enjoying a cruise on the Seine with a three course meal and copious amounts of wine. After disembarking an open top bus tour of the sights was on the agenda. The sun shone brightly on the intrepid travellers as they were whisked around the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame and all the other major sights. Much better than their experience in Dublin where several were seen hiding under their coats to keep warm!
Then making our way back to the Gare du Nord for the Eurostar home we called off to sample a glass of local wine in a street cafe before leaving at 9 15 to arrive back in London at 10 30 having enjoyed a fun packed day where the laughter only stopped to take breath.
Sunday morning passed quickly and we all met at noon for the short trip across the capital to what we thought maybe a fitting climax to the weekend. It only took five minutes to realise that this would not be the case so after sitting through another 85 minutes of football - well by Crystal Palace at least - we set off home, calling at the Woolpack in Banbury for a roast beef Sunday lunch which was probably the best part of the day arriving back in Burnley at 11am tired but already looking forward to the next one.
Our thanks must go to Joyce and Stefan for their organisation and to John for the trouble he spent in making sure the Paris experience went without a hitch.