Paris

We all love Paris, even in the winter. Our day on Saturday did not start well. We got up very early, 6.30 a.m., and were on the road by 8 a.m. This was the day after visiting Disneyland so we were very tired but we needed to drive to a railway station in Mitry-Mory to catch the train to Gare du Nord in order to meet Billie at 9.30. The instructions we had, told us it would take 10 minutes to drive there. This may be so but we took the long way, in other words we got lost as it was still dark. Typical! When we finally arrived, Billie was not at the agreed meeting place so we thought she was late but in fact she was waiting at another information booth. Then we discovered we had left the children’s passports back in the mobil-home and Billie needed them because she was taking the children back to Holland and then travelling to the UK from there. So Walter and I returned to the camping ground to get the passports (the round trip took 2 ½ hours) but we saw everything in the daylight, which made it all look much better, even the squatters camp beside the railway line.

Finally we all met up at the Eiffel Tower in time to take the lift to the second level. We booked before we left the UK so walked straight passed the queue and into the lift – fantastic! Usually we walk up in order to avoid the queues but this was so much better and I did not have time to feel scared either. We found a bench and spread our food out and ate our picnic lunch, Aussie style. Mind you we did get a few strange (or maybe it was envious) looks. We also got told off by the guards for bringing a knife up (to spread the butter) so improvised with a plastic spoon. Darren also dropped the jar of mayonnaise but other than that all went well. Jay and Jespa loved being up in the tower and altogether we were there for 1 ½ hours. The lift was not working so they could not go right up to the top of the tower.

While we were collecting the passports Darren, Billie, Jay and Jespa went to the Notre Dame and had coffee and hot chocolates in a cafe in the Rive Gauche (Left Bank). Billie had been staying in Paris on her own for five days so had lots of stories to tell about her experiences. She had had a great time.

After the Eiffel Tower, and more coffee and hot chocolate we said goodbye to Billie, Jay and Jespa who were catching the late afternoon TGV back to Holland. As we were now childless we headed for a bar in the Rive Gauche and some restorative drinks and a pizza. Of course we still had the very long trip back to the camping ground. A tremendous day though, even with the initial mishaps.