London to Paris

23^rd April – Tuesday

First, we must finish what we did on Monday. We had arranged to have dinner with an English couple we met last year in Cairns – Cat did become very good friends with their bear! When we contacted Rae and Phil with our travel arrangements, she managed to obtain a reservation at The Ivy Restaurant. This didn’t mean a lot to us at the time, but The Ivy is evidently very popular with celebrities such as the Beckhams, Madonna, etc. Unfortunately, we were probably the most important people eating at the restaurant last night. However, the company was extremely good, as was the food. The food was Masterchef standard – my five scallops were very tastefully arranged on a plate with a couple of strips of bacon, but superbly cooked. No need to go into price! Cat and Bear had a lovely time catching up, but we did get into trouble for taking a photo of them (evidently photography was not permitted). The cab driver didn’t have any worries about photos, though.

This morning, it was another early rise and breakfast, ready for the transfer to Paris. The day did deteriorate very quickly during check-out when we were presented with a bill for £39 for a 9p phone call!!! Dinner for two on the first night only cost £29. Not happy.

We had no trouble getting to St Pancras via taxi for the Eurostar to Paris. Check-in went smoothly and we had a bit of a wait (being a bit on the early side) until our train departure was called. It was really amazing how quiet the train was, despite the speed – being electric there was no motor noise, nor any clickety-clack from the rails. It only took two and a half hours to complete the approximately 600 kms, with the section under the English Channel taking 20 minutes. High speed tunnel travel was rather uncomfortable on the ears, as the air pressure seemed to build up very quickly. The English sun was replaced by fog and grey, overcast skies in France.

Arrival in Paris was simple and we quickly found the long queue for a taxi. No problems as the line was moving quickly and as we arrived at the front of the queue a man grabbed my suitcases and headed for a taxi – with me in hot pursuit! We were loaded very quickly then same man demanded €10 for the privilege of escorting us! After some convincing, he realised the money would not be forthcoming and slammed the car door on us. It was with some trepidation that we headed through the chaos of Paris traffic, but did arrive safely at the Mercure Montmarte – and didn’t get ripped off by the taxi driver. Our room is very nice and contemporary, looking like a recent refurbishment. We have met our tour director and have a meet and greet later this afternoon before dinner.

We decided to visit the Gallerie Lafayette this afternoon, after settling in, and received directions from the receptionist. After following her instructions, it soon became apparent that we had either been misdirected or had misunderstood. I didn’t think it was possible to have so many sex aid shops, shops selling draughty lingerie, sexodromes, peep shows, live shows, etc within such a short distance. Cat was quite overcome with where to look – Les didn’t seem to have much trouble. Once we realised we were headed in the wrong direction, we had to retrace our steps past the same establishments to return to the hotel. We decided that the view of the Eiffel Tower from our room window would be enough tourism for one day!