On arrival at the Charles de Gaulle airport in France last night, I was impressed with the speed on which we came through customs, and the baggage claim sections. It must be the only large airport where these are so close together and don’t require a lot of navigation through the airport. Impressive too, was the pick up organised back in NZ for us to the hotel. As often happens, whether you are staying at a hotel, or buying a house, the reception area, and the room don’t always match the photos. However small the hotel room is, the shower pressure certainly impressed. So grateful after being 48hrs on the road, both in air and in transit.
So today, after many croissants, coffee and other goodies at the hotel breakfast, we collecting a map, got our bearings and went walking along the streets of Paris.
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On arrival at the Arc de Triumph we spotted the “hop on-hop off” double decker bus, and decided it would be a good way to really see the sights of the city – and get some good pics. I just love the cobble streets and the architecture. Its so noticeable how ‘young’ New Zealand really is. Many of the buildings are hundreds of years old.
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We hopped off the bus for the first time at the Louvre. I had been told it is easy to spend a whole day there – and that advice wasn’t wrong. One of the first things I learned is that a queue is only a queue if you are not a muslim. They have the right to walk past everyone in line – even in the toilets! Actually that was the place with the longest queue! A thoroughly enjoyable visit, and even though there were crowds there – I found it actually quite relaxing as well. Probably the most crowded room was the one housing the Mona Lisa.
We had spotted a Lindt cafe and shop … woooooo! Spotted while on the bus, and at one of the bus stops, we decided it would be worth a visit. Oh, yes. An iced chocolate using real Lindt choc is not to be passed by … however, the people beside us were having the most decadent sundae – and I remembered that I must not covet. Haha. It did look good.
As I write this, we are resting for a few minutes before we get on the Seine dinner cruise – also organised from back home in NZ. It is classed as a ‘formal affair’ with no casual clothes or people allowed. Oh dear … they are in for a treat. And I suspect, so are we. More after. Time I got myself ready!
The dinner was AMAZING. The cruise was for two and a half hours in all, and the choice of menu was also great. The salmon entree I chose, was delicious, the duck main was also melt in the mouth, and the chocolate mousse with raspberry log was a decadent delight.
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Fine dining at its best. Beautiful company with those on the tables around us, beautiful music, and we loved the dancing waiter. He obviously enjoyed his job immensely. The Eiffel Tower (above) was stunning in the night lights. We were blessed that the night we had booked was the only night that had clear skies and was warm. I was greeted with a bunch of red roses as I disembarked from the boat … of course, for a fee. It seemed like everyone was out and about hawking their wares, mini Eiffel towers laid out nicely on picnic rugs … souvenirs and the like. Paris certainly came alive at night – remembering this was now 11pm, and we were walking back to the hotel along the city boulevards and roads.
