My Italian Journey. Monday 25 May. Day fourteen. Paris to London

Our only aim now is to get home, and it seems that we have a Eurostar ticket that allows us to change it up to an hour before the train departs. Consequently around 7am I walk to Gare du Nord to try and change our tickets. The station is already crowded. I discover that it will cost 50 Euros each to change our tickets, and, although tempted, I decline. I walk back and find a place for tea. I ask for “un tasse du the, s’il vous plait.” The woman behind the counter looks blank. “Tea,” I say, and she understands. From the hotel we simply go to the café underneath the hotel and drink café au lait and croissants. After packing we head to the station. Chicken wants to shop, so I take both suitcases and wait for her in a garden. As in Verona, all the shade is taken. Each day of the last five days has been hotter than the day before. At the station it’s impossible find anywhere to sit. We leave the station and find an unprepossessing but hospitable bar where we drink beer and eat chips.…