Paris

We have made it to Paris, the city of love... I mean Louvre.

It took 6 hours and 4 trains to get here from Switzerland. It wasn't too bad though: a train down off the mountain, two 1 hour trains thru Switzerland and a high speed TGV all the way to Paris from the border.

The place we stayed the first night was great. It was an old mansion converted into a hostel by a youth association. The only problem was that it was expensive (almost twice our budget) and it was full of groups of school kids that did nothing except run down the hall and slam doors.

We spent the next day sight seeing: Notre Dame, the Latin Quarter, Jarden du Luxembourg and Champ de Mars. We also met Simon during the day. That night we changed to Simon's hostel. Even though it is much further out of the city, it is under budget and has a kitchen. We had dinner with Tom and Jane that night and caught up on stories and experiences. It turns out they stayed in the same place in Rome as we did, the B&B with Monica.

Today was fairly quiet. We walked up the steep hill at Montmartre and saw the cathedral at the top, the view (it was hazy and cloudy) and all the portrait painters in the square. We had chocolate eclaires for lunch and wandered round the city for a bit before jumping on the internet to sort out itineraries, flights and accommodation. After finally sorting everything out we cooked steak for dinner.

What I haven't mentioned yet is the city and the people. Jeni and I had preconceived expectations that the French would be horrible, the city expensive and the place dirty (like Italy). In reality, it couldn't be further from the truth! Everyone thus far without exception has been friendly and helpful. Paris itself is extremely beautiful and there is public art everywhere. It is also pretty average prices (except accommodation in general).

Anyway, big day ahead and it is getting late.