A Paris!

Up not too early to catch a leisurely tube train to St Pancras and arrived in Paris at lunchtime. It is just so easy to get there by train, and (IMO) so much more enjoyable than flying. Lots of Scrabble on the way and a little sleep to buoy us along.

Metro to Madeleine, then a short walk to our 4 star hotel. Luxury indeed! Settled in, and then went for a random wander ending up at the Champs Elysees side of the Tuileries gardens. The sky was overcast and a bit drippy, but we had a good walk in the fresh air, stopping off for lunch on Rue de Rivoli. Then a quick look at the Louvre, where we are intending to spend a bit of time during our visit, before heading up to the Opera.

Then into Galleries Lafayette to gaze dreamy-eyed at the magnificent coloured glass dome ceiling and opulent balconies. Charlie-Fish encouraged me to come all the way to the top so we could see the dome from on high, and even above, but neither of us were expecting the open terrace roof which (as Charlie had informed me), due to the limited height of the Hausmann architecture, meant we could see the whole of Paris in the twilight. Amazing!

Then stopped off for drinks and some more light Scrabble playing at a little Brasserie before wandering back to the hotel. An obligatory flick around the tv channels entertainingly brought up the dreadful karaoke game show that we found on UK tv on new year's eve, but this time in French! And after a sample size of 1, the French can sing better than the English!