Our European Adventure: London, Paris, Barcelona, Lisbon, Vigo, La Coruña to Southampton

[OhhBother]

I love brining back fun memories, both my own and for others, thanks for following along!

Disneyland Paris was one thing I wish we could have made happen. In some early iterations of trip planning I though we'd pull it off but given the amount of time we had and things we wanted to do we had to save it for next time.

I just showed my husband your photos of the raspberry croissant, and I think that alone would get him back to Paris!

 

[Disnsyncey]

London Day 4 -- Posh Hotel and Awesome Indian Food

St Pancras train station is large open and beautiful train station.

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This photo is taken at the far end where the international trains depart. It is also in the movie Spider Man Far From Home. When you arrive on a train from elsewhere in London though you arrive on the other side of the station. It was a bit tricky to figure out where to go. We ended up going out side then back in until we found our way to the St Pancras hotel.

If you turned around from the above photo you'd see the red brick hotel wall and to your right you'd see this.

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The entrance from here to the hotel is through the door below the "Booking Office" sign. It takes you into a hotel bar you can cut through to the lobby. However we didn't know that and if I recall correctly we ended up going outside and back in.

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The hotel is a pretty incredible historic building. We spent quite a bit of time later outside admiring the architecture and taking photos. I think this one does a decent job of portraying the grandeur of the building. Harry Potter fans may recognize it from the flying car scene in the second movie. It is heavily implied it is Kings Cross station which it is not. However it is not totally unrealistic because maybe the Weasley's parked across the street from Kings Cross in which case the view is reasonable. For future reference Kings Cross is across the road and looks like this.

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Not nearly as interesting architecture.

The St Pancras hotel has a long history with periods where it wasn't a hotel. In the 90s a famous Spice Girl's video was filmed there I found out as I was doing research on it. It was renovated and reopened as a hotel again in 2011. It was originally part of the Marriott family under the Renaissance brand. Apparently right before we arrived in June of 2025 it rebranded to the Autograph Collection under Marriott. I didn't realize that until I just looked.

This is a luxury hotel and not a budget option but when I started researching the train to Paris I realized we'd likely want an early train and you have to go through immigration on the London side so you have to allow some time before boarding. I decided staying close to the train station would be really nice and this came up on the Marriott website. We were able to get one room for 2 on Marriott points and I did a prepaid rate for the other room, a family category for 4. It was pricey but ultimately totally worth it.

When we checked in they informed me they had upgraded my room for two I planned to share with my son to a family room as well and our rooms would be located right near each other. I realized they do have connecting rooms in that category but apparently none were available and we had one room between our two rooms which was fine. I'm horrible at remembering to take hotel photos but these rooms were nice. Two queen beds in a large room with nice storage and a luxurious bathroom. Definitely the nicest hotel we stayed in on our trip.

The hotel has a lot of history. The bell man mentioned they do tours though we didn't get to take one. We did explore the hotel with the kids for a minute and then while everyone was chilling I went out again and explored the grand staircase.

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Anyone can see it but they have a sign and someone monitoring to ensure only hotel guests climb it. Of course I had to do so and went all the way to the top and took this photo looking down.

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It's such a cool historic building and as a luxury hotel has great service. It was a splurge but it was my wife's birthday and it was super convenient for the train station. Being part of the Marriott family also means points can be used. So if you have the opportunity I highly recommend a stay there especially if you plan to take the Eurostar.

After a little hotel exploring and chilling some of the kids wanted to get a snack before dinner and look around. So we went to explore the train station. We found a convenience store with lots of snacks and foods and got a few things. There was also a store with Legos and a number of clothing stores. It felt almost like a mall. It also had some cool statues.

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I liked this one.

My son thought this one was cool.

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Being my wife's birthday I had arranged dinner for the evening. We had heard you have to try Indian food when you come to London and our family loves Indian food. I had some recommendations but none of them were close and going on Google Maps I found two close by Indian places with like 4.7 stars. So I picked one and made a reservation online a couple weeks before the trip.

It was called Tajmahal Indian Cuisine. It was a bit of a hole in the wall in terms of decor but man was the food incredible. The staff was super friendly. My kids loved they had Indian music videos playing on a TV by our table. We got appetizers, naan and entrees and it still ended up being one of our least expensive meals in London. The value was great.

I tried a lamb "Railway Curry" and it was one of the best curry dishes I've ever eaten.

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Score for a great birthday meal for my wife! She got to try her favorite samosas, and the kids got their "usual" chicken tikka masala. Their variety was a little different than back home but everyone enjoyed it.

Afterwards we did head over to check out Kings Cross station to see the Harry Potter stuff. The platform 9 3/4 photo op had a very long line. They have a very similar photo op at the Harry Potter Studio Tour we did so we wouldn't have to worry about it here. They do have a Harry Potter store as well with a lot of the same stuff.

We wanted to find a gelato place for dessert and I looked on Google Maps and thought I saw one in Kings Cross. Then after we were over there I realized it had Kings Cross in the name but was actually just a couple doors down from the Indian place. It was pretty good gelato and rounded out the evening nicely.

I got a nice photo of the train station and its clock tower on the way back to the hotel.

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This trip was filled with so many incredible experiences and memories. You have to stop and enjoy little moments though too. I had one that night as I laid on my bed watching one of my favorite British TV shows. I was in London, watching Red Dwarf, having just eaten some of the best curry of my life. That will always be a core memory.

As a young adult/college student I'd often spend my Saturday evenings doing homework or just relaxing watching the evening schedule of British comedies the local PBS station put on Saturday evenings. Red Dwarf was a favorite. It's a SciFi show and I guess you could describe it as the Office in space with a human, hologram, cat and android. Probably sounds weird and it is. I hadn't seen an episode in years and years but there I was in London watching British TV and I was pleasantly surprised to be reunited with an old friend for a bit.

With that I called it a night and we will call this post done.

Up next: The train to Paris.

When I was stranded in London during the Microsoft meltdown last year, we ended up staying across the street with a nice view of the station before we took the Eurostar the next day! That hotel looks amazing

 

[Disnsyncey]

Day 5: Eurostar to Paris and the Eiffel Tower

Let's talk for a minute about the Eurostar as I haven't seen it mentioned much on this forum.

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It is of course the high speed rail line that goes under the English Channel through the chunnel and on to Paris, Amsterdam and maybe a couple other places from London. There are also routes between other cities on the mainland Europe side. For us we were heading to Paris. They have trains from the morning through to the evening every hour or two, so lots of options.

We booked our tickets direct through their website the day they went on sale about 6 months in advance. I'm not sure if that is the best strategy from a price perspective but I wanted to make sure we got them for the time we wanted. We selected a 9:30 train which is one of the more popular and pricey times but we wanted to maximize our time in Paris without getting up too crazy early and being super tired. If you want to find the best price being flexible and watching is probably the best strategy but the morning they opened up I saw the price go up a bit while I was watching and just pulled the trigger.

There are three classes of service. We booked the mid tier called plus because I had read the extra space and amenities were worth it given the generally relatively small price increase. Additionally I believe you have to book plus tier to select your seats. I wanted the family sitting together so it was worth it.

However about a month out I noticed our seats had all changed and they had spread my kids into different train cars than my wife and I and we were all over the train. I called (the do have a US number) and they explained there had been a train equipment change and there was nothing they could do. I could ask the train manager and he could potentially get people to switch when we boarded. They told me their computer doesn't keep families together when this happens. I thought that was kind of a crazy answer given we paid extra to pick our seats and booked opening day. We weren't just split up a little we were in different cars. So I sent an email as well to their official complaint department explaining the situation and asking if there was anything that could be done. It seemed the front line customer service agents just didn't have any authority to do anything.

It only took a day or two and I got an email response they couldn't do anything either because the train was full in plus tier. However they could upgrade us to the premiere class which did have seating available together for our family and they would be willing to do that. They'd just have to cancel and reissue our tickets. I wasn't expecting that but was totally open to it. So that's how we ended up in premiere class.

That morning we awoke and walked from our hotel directly into the train station and down to the premiere class dedicated entrance. That is the first big perk with this highest class of service, a dedicated entry line. Going on the Eurostar across the channel means you go through immigration before you board so you don't have to worry about it when you arrive. I had read lines can get backed up but the regular line didn't look bad this morning and the premiere line wasn't particularly smooth so I'm not sure how great that perk is. Maybe better some days than others.

After clearing security and immigration the next perk is they have a dedicated lounge for premiere class passengers. That perk would be nice if you were waiting. The main waiting area was pretty chaotic. They had light snacks, pastries in the morning, juice, soda and other drinks available. We only had a few minutes though in the lounge before they called our train. At that point you have to merge into the mob heading up to the platform. It was fine though and soon we were onboard.

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The plus and the premiere classes share the same type of cars and seating. The seats were nice and comfortable. They have single seats on one side and two across on the other. Not all the seats are around a table but we had one for two and then the rest of the family was actually behind us around a table for 4 people (2 on each side). There were luggage racks on either side of the train and we had no problems fitting our 3 suitcases. We had to unnest one suitcase at this point to hold our treasures collected in London. There were overhead bins that worked for our backpacks.

The next big perk for premiere class was the food. We got full multi course meals.

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This was my option, an omelette like thing, tomato, beans, sausage and mushrooms. Kind of a full English breakfast. There was also a muesli cereal type thing and croissant course. Some of my kids opted for a fresh fruit course instead of the hot option. The food was all okay but nothing great. They did also offer us various drink options.

The ride is only about 2:30 hours. The scenery for me provided plenty of entertainment though I also brought a book. Unfortunately I tried reading and was distracted as we entered the chunnel. It happened rather quickly and I missed taking a photo of the entrance. I just suddenly realized it was dark out and we were in a very long tunnel. So kind of anticlimactic but still cool to say I've been through it.

They do have TV screens that display trivia facts and show your speed.

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Traveling over 180 mph by train was really a cool experience. It was very smooth and comfortable. It did make taking photos of the scenery a bit difficult. You spend a little time in the English countryside after leaving London and quite a bit on the French side before getting into Paris.

Overall I highly recommend traveling on the Eurostar. It was a great introduction to high speed rail in Europe! I don't think the premiere class of service is worth the additional price difference I've generally seen. In the future I'd be just fine with the plus class if I needed to pick seats or even the standard class would be fine. It was really cool to experience it though.

In Paris you arrive into the Gare du Nord train station. Because you've already been through immigration you just walk off the train into the station. We were staying just outside the Gare du Lyon train station because that is where the train to Barcelona leaves from. So we had to make our way to the RER which is a Paris commuter train service to head to Gare du Lyon. You probably could take a metro too but it is just one stop on the RER. It wasn't too bad to navigate and find our way. Its a big train station but signage was pretty good.

My sister had been to Paris a couple months early and I asked her if she'd grab some Paris transit cards for my family so we'd be set and wouldn't have to find a machine. I had read that standing at the machines is a common area for pickpockets. I don't know that it would have been a big deal but it was nice to just head for the RER. One note about Paris transit they do have a phone app now. I actually just used my phone to pay but we didn't want to do that with the kids phones. You can recharge the transit cards though from a phone. So while my sister just bought one trip on the cards, I was able to add fares directly to the cards from my phone which was super convenient.

The RER was easy to navigate and very quickly we were at Gare du Lyon which is also a large train station. There is a lot of walking through these train stations in Europe and I was glad we went with backpacks and only a couple suitcases. It definitely made it easier.

Our hotel in Paris was the Marriott Courtyard Gare du Lyon. I booked 2 family rooms on points. Each had a king and a pull out sofa bed. The hotel is in a fairly tall building you can see from the train station which made walking there quite easy. The hotel is nice and modern and we really liked it. The staff was super friendly and helpful as well. They tolerated and helped me practice my French. I had completed a French one course from Pimsleur before the trip. It is always much easier to study a language than use it in the real world but I did okay. My biggest problem is I kept wanting to slip into Spanish which I speak fluently. Crazy enough one of the desk clerks was from Mexico so that worked with her. They all of course also spoke great English but I love learning languages. Anyhow our rooms weren't ready but they agreed to store our luggage so we could head out and explore.

My kids indicated before the trip they really wanted to go up in the Eiffel Tower. Tickets in the summer are hard to come by. I rope dropped when they opened for our date 60 days out. I managed to snag tickets for an elevator ride to the second floor at 4pm. My kids weren't concerned about going to the top, they just wanted to go up in it. They also offer tickets if you are willing to walk up the stairs to the second level but they don't open until 14 days out.

We didn't have a ton of time at this point before our tickets. However I knew there was a bakery with good reviews around the corner from our hotel. We stopped by on our way. My teenage son said he wasn't hungry but the second we walked in he told me to forget it, he was super hungry. I'll share more about this bakery later but suffice it to say everyone decided they needed to try their first French sandwich or pastry as a snack.

One of the tips I got before the trip from a YouTube video from the Frenchies I think is the name was not to take the normal metro station for the Eiffel Tower which is Bir-Hakeim. They said it isn't a super nice station and doesn't give the best Eiffel Tower reveal. So we took the metro to Ecole Militaire instead and walked up to the back lawn. It gives you an awesome reveal and a ton of photo ops.

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We had time to take a bunch of fun photos. It was a bit hot, there was a possibility of rain but none so far. I did run to a little stand there to grab a water bottle and ran into my first place I needed Euros instead of a card. I did have some but call it out while London was totally cashless in our experience, Paris was not.

It was something to actually be at this landmark I'd seen in photos and on TV for years but now I was there live. Most of us see photos of the Eiffel Tower from a distance. It wasn't until I was there up close I realized how big it is. I don't think this photo really captures it either but its the best I have.

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You do have to go through security to get into the plaza under the tower. In the end we were a bit early. The tickets tell you to allow time for security checks but they went quick. We wandered and looked in some gift shops and around to kill time before getting in the line for our time slot. You go through another check before getting into the elevator to head up. The elevators remind me of the ones in the St Louis arch. They are almost more like a funicular than an elevator as they go up at an angle.

The views from the second deck are pretty incredible. We walked around each side taking photos. This was one of my favorites.

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I can only imagine what it would be like to go all the way to the top. The tickets are a lot more expensive and harder to get. I don't think it is necessary to enjoy the experience. I could post a lot more photos but with the 10 photo limit I'm going to move on. They do have some gift shops, some snack bars in addition to the really expensive restaurants.

We elected to take the stairs down to avoid the elevator line. It was fun I thought. They have a bunch of signs talking about the Paris firefighters and their relationship to the tower. After taking the stairs down we were glad we didn't have the tickets that required we take them up, there were a lot of them. It would have been good exercise but it was pretty hot out.

I really wasn't sure how long we'd spend at the tower so I hadn't really planned anything else for the day. My thought was we'd just walk over to the Champs de Elysee. So that's what we did but it was a pretty long walk. Definitely interesting things to see on the way. The biggest Dad fail was assuming my family would want to see this great fashion avenue in Paris. The did want to shop but not at the sort of shops there. They were looking for more touristy shops which we found some but that isn't the main focus of the area.

The good news was I had found on Google Maps a highly rated local hamburger place right in the area. Everyone was getting hungry for dinner so I suggested that. Maybe hamburgers seem like the wrong choice for Paris but we didn't want anything fancy and it had really good reviews.

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Let me tell you it was really, really good. Probably the best burger and fries I've had in a very long time.

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Everyone loved their food, we didn't have to wait to be seated and it was casual with super friendly staff. I can't recommend The Kitchen enough if you are in Paris. Turns out my sister had eaten here on her trip as well and loved it.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel to actually check into our rooms. As usual I didn't take room photos but they were very similar to Courtyard rooms in a big city in the US. Not huge but nice and comfortable.

My younger daughter wanted to head out and check out shops in the area so my wife and I took her shopping nearby. Shopping wasn't great in the immediate area but I also stopped by the bakery again for dessert. I really didn't need more food but I wasn't going to pass up another chance to try a French pastry. Who knows when we'd be back.

We ended the night with a "kiss goodnight" to use the Disney term from the Eiffel Tower. One of our rooms had a view and we got to see it light up.

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Up next: A rainy morning at Notre Dame

I am missing my Olympics trip with all the memories that just came up on fb from a year ago, I am living vicariously through you!

 

[Disnsyncey]

I love brining back fun memories, both my own and for others, thanks for following along!

Disneyland Paris was one thing I wish we could have made happen. In some early iterations of trip planning I though we'd pull it off but given the amount of time we had and things we wanted to do we had to save it for next time.

DLP is so fun! Hope you can make it next time!

 

[greensombrero]

Day 6 -- The TGV to Barcelona

The TGV or inOui as they call it now felt very similar to the Eurostar in terms of the train layout. The cars felt maybe a bit older but the chairs were still plenty comfortable. They only have two classes of service and we did book 1st class so we could pick our seats. There weren't really any other benefits. Once again we had a table for 4 and a table for 2 that we sat at. I did watch and buy our tickets as soon as I could which was like 4 months out. I ended up booking through Trainline.com rather than directly with the French railway SNCF because I had read they had an easier to use interface and had all the same features, selecting your seat etc. There were also some comments foreign credit cards sometimes had issues on the SNCF site. I'm not sure if it really mattered either way but we had no issues using a third party to book.



This time the luggage rack was right behind where we sat and we piled everything up there and could keep an eye on it. They did have an overhead area for bags but it was fairly small and wouldn't fit one of our expanded backpacks very well.



This was a much longer train so the tables were nice if you wanted to play games. I hoped to play cards but no one was interested until the end of the ride, oh well.

This train is quite scenic. You go through the French countryside.



You pass little towns and villages.



The announcements from the conductor were always made in French and Spanish but I don't think very many were done in English though they had a few prerecorded ones that played at each stop. There are multiple stops along the route where people get off and on. I found it interesting the announcements in French seemed to all be a bit longer with more information than the Spanish ones which I could fully understand. I think for the most part the differences were more apologize for being late in the French announcements towards the end of the journey.

Unfortunately we got a little late pretty early on.



They had smaller TV screens than the Eurostar but you could still see your speed, the upcoming stop and how the train schedule was faring.

The route is very scenic and if you kept your eyes out you caught site of medieval looking villages and castles.





You do pass through the Pyrenees Mountains and along the Mediterranean coast.



They do have a dining car where you can get drinks and snacks along with some real food items. Nothing is included with your tickets even in first class. I had read the food wasn't very good so I just enjoyed my sandwich I brought. I did buy some water and soda at one point. Towards the end of the journey we did get a bit hungry and I broke out the croissants I bought at the bakery along with some other snacks we had. Definitely recommend bringing some food because even if you eat before you board it is a long ride.

The train was scheduled to take 6 hours and 40 minutes or so and get us in around 9:40 PM. Unfortunately we had a little delay early on and then at one point we had to sit in a station for I think it was 30-45 minutes due to an issue ahead. The line in the last part of France is not yet high speed meaning the train has to slow down to normal speeds. It speeds up again once you enter Spain. When that section gets a high speed line the journey should be cut down a decent amount.

We enjoyed the train ride but it got just a bit too long. A bit part of it was the delay though I think even without the delay it was about an hour too long. Everyone was ready to get off when we pulled into the Barcelona Sants station. I'd definitely ride it again though. The journey was more comfortable and pleasant than taking a plane and it fulfilled a childhood dream. We didn't have to deal with getting to the airport 2 hours early, going through security and all that fun. Given that airports in Europe tend to be a decent ways outside the city I don't think the train was that much longer than end to end versus a flight had we not been delayed. Of course planes get delayed too.

From my perspective if you are wanting to travel between Paris and Barcelona and either want a unique travel experience, can get a good deal on the fare or just don't like flying, the train is a great option. If speed is your main concern you'll have to weigh out what is best for you.

I changed the hotel we had booked in Barcelona to one right by the train station and I was really glad I did. It was super nice when arriving after 10pm, think it was like 10:15 or so, to just walk out of the train station and a block to our hotel. I'm glad we didn't have to navigate a longer distance.

We stayed at the Moxy Barcelona which is also under the Marriott brand of families. It opened fairly recently and the reviews were pretty mixed online which caused me a little bit of concern. So I'm going to take a bit to give my 2 cents since lots of people sail from Barcelona and I feel many of the online reviews don't do the hotel justice.

They have triple rooms with three separate beds and we were able to book two of them for our family of 6 at a really reasonable rate. That and the location swayed me. I have stayed at a Moxy in the states once and new the brand has a bit different vibe and I'd probably be okay with it.

All in all we really enjoyed the Moxy. The location aside from being close to the train was super convenient to explore Barcelona. It was by two different metro lines and walking distance to Montjuic. It felt outside the main tourist area and I liked that. There was a grocery store on the street level and two nearby coffee shops/bakeries that were really good. I saw several other restaurants in the area as well.

In terms of the hotel itself the staff was super helpful. We were checking in late and by this point the kids were hungry. The kitchen had technically just closed but seeing my kids the staff member went and got permission to offer us a limited menu. One of my core memories from Barcelona is eating incredible tapas on the balcony of our room with my daughter that first night. It was our first food experience in Barcelona and the food there was really good, much better than I expect from hotel food. That was just one example but we had great staff interactions all around.

They have great common areas which I should have photographed but didn't. You can find them on their website, the photos are accurate. Lots of seating areas in the lobby. They have a game area with ping pong etc. There is a Bonvoy Member lounge for Gold + status guests that had little nibbles and an area to chill. The pool deck also looked really fun though we never had a chance to use it.

The restaurant/bar area was open for food all day. It looked like they put on a really good breakfast buffet though we never tried it. It was not included in our rate and was a little expensive, I want to say around 20 euros. That's not unreasonable for a nice hotel breakfast buffet but compared to the general pricing of their al la carte food later in the day it seemed too expensive. We ate there for dinner two nights because we had such a good experience the first night. The second night we had access to the full menu and it was equally good and prices at dinner seemed quite reasonable.

The main con to the hotel is just the brand goes for really minimalist rooms which I expected. No real storage. The beds were pretty basic but the arrangement was great for a larger family with teens as everyone got their own bed. The bathroom / shower was nice. I think a lot of the reviews stemmed from the hotel not feeling like a very American hotel and the fact they aren't really set up for you to really enjoy time in your room. They have great common spaces to hang out in instead. Also seemed a few people had a negative situation that they let spoil their stay. Ours though was really great and I'd 100% stay there in a future trip to Barcelona.

After enjoying our surprisingly good meal from the hotel restaurant we were happy to head to bed. Fortunately we intentionally did not have an early start the next morning.

Up next: Exploring Barcelona through a private tapas & food tour and a quick beach visit.