Bagel Belly Blog

Eurostar Leisure Select

Here, for a change, is a happy story about travel.

I've got somewhat sick of airports over the last few months and years of jetsetting, so to get to Brussels I decided to take the Eurostar instead of flying. It's not quite as quick - primarily because of the slow train from Norwich to London, and the slack that needs to be built in to cope with delays on that route and getting across London to Waterloo. But the experience once I got on the Eurostar more than compensates for it.

I'd been on Eurostar before with the budget tickets, and the experience was quite average. This time, rather than go for the absolute cheapest economy ticket, I opted for Leisure Select, which gets me at-seat dining and more importantly, a power socket for the laptop. The food was more than acceptable, and came with what appears to be an unlimited supply of wine (I felt obliged to do extensive testing to try and establish the limits, all in the name of research). The seats are comfortable and spacious, and the service is great.

The overall price is still comparable with flying - or even slightly cheaper, depending on your flight route. And there's no need to fight with 100ml bottles, as the farcical security theatre has not yet reached Eurostar. Queues at security were short, and I was able to practically sprint through passport control.

If I were to ask for one improvement, it would be wifi - but really that's just being overly fussy, as with great food and wine, it's an excellent opportunity for some much-needed relaxation.

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