Paris - the city of light but I’m bloody sick and don’t care!

It was a 3.45 wake up call today so we could head to St Pancras International to board the Eurostar and fast train it to Paris. Took an Uber for the first time in London - they are different to the US drivers as they do not chat, so we sat in complete silence for the 20min journey.  Cleared security, cleared border control and seated ourselves in our comfy chairs ready for the 3 hour trip to Paris, complete with a channel crossing underwater.

I should mention I am unwell at the moment and am dreading this side trip somewhat as I am having hot and cold flushes, have a fever and some of the worst gut issues of my life.  Imagine eating something and within 3 minutes gut wrenching pain and the need to rush to the loo.  On top of all that I have no appetite, so am forcing myself to eat with no enjoyment in the food.  So I’m a regular delight to be around at the moment, especially when you’re in a city known for its cuisine.

But we soldier on regardless.  Some of the best ways to familiarise yourself in a new city is the jump on the hop-on, hop-off buses. Not only do you get a great view, but also a little bit of history behind the sites of the city.  We chose the Big Bus tour in Paris and they didn’t disappoint.  Jumped on at Gare Du Nord and after a quick changeover stop, alighted at the Champs Élysées to walk to our hotel.

Now I was watching Hayden closely as we came upon the first of many famous Parisian landmarks just to see his reaction.  The first one, The Louvre sparked interest but it was that moment when he recognised Notre Dame that I saw his expression change to real admiration.  Of course I thought it was for the grandeur, the architecture, the history.  Sadly, no. Hayden has “climbed the building while playing Assassin’s Creed.  He was so open about the troubles he had working out how to scale the building!  Funnily enough though, he felt like he’d already been to Paris because of the game - so I imagine NYC will hold no surprises given the time he has spent on the new Spider-Man game.

So we walked the Champs Élysées, rested in our hotel for an hour and then wandered toward what is arguably one of the most recognised structures in the world - the majestic Eiffel Tower.  This was a valuable learning experience for Hayden as we encountered any number of hucksters along the way, from the girl who wanted us to sign her petition (while she pickpocketed your wallet), to the guy who just wants to tie a piece of string to your arm as an act of friendship, to the guy who wants to sell you tickets/souvenirs.  He really wasn’t comfortable with the hands on approach of these people and was on guard on day two for similar instances.

We did stop at a little kiosk near the Tower for a bite to eat - hot dog French Style.  Who’d have thunk you could embed cheese and a dog in a crusty rol, toast it and have it taste like a little piece of heaven.  Hayden demolishes his and probably would have eaten the second half of mine if not for the fact he is trying to avoid my germs!

Jumped back on the Big Bus and due to the time of year, walked straight into Notre Dame - very unusual to enter a Cathedral where they don’t charge a mozza to get in (it’s free) and they allow photos (no flash).  I cannot even begin to describe the beauty of the building.  Breath-taking, sweeping, opulent and reverent.  I have no interest in the religious aspects of the building but can certainly appreciate the architectural wonder that is the Notre Dame Cathedral.

A bit more time on the bus and then home, where I slept for four hours (Hayden has a kip too) and in true Parisian style we took ourselves out for dinner at the Cafe Belloy at 10.30pm.  Hayden had a traditional English dinner of fish and chips (I tried to get him onto some escargot but he wouldn’t be in on it), however I went full French cuisine and had a Foie Grois with crusty French bread. It was really delicious but could only eat a bit as the stomach is still not happy about eating food!

To walk off dinner, and try to ensure we would be able to sleep when we got home, we strolled down to the Tour Eiffel (as we call it in French) and watched the beautiful light show by night.  Did I mention we are 750m from the Arc de Triomphe and about the same from the Eiffel Tower - it’s quite mind blowing to walk out of the hotel door and not know which way to look first!  So down to the Seine for the show and I had my own personal tour guide who had been doing some reading while I slept.  I had mentioned to Hayden that it was against copyright law to photograph the Tour at night.  It all links back to the installation of the lighting - the copyright on the artwork dates to 75 years after the artist’s death, which hasn’t occurred yet, which means you can’t take the pics and use them for commercial purposes.

Dodged the dodgy hucksters this time and then home to bed.  We have the whole day in Paris tomorrow, if only I can get myself out of bed!  But then with a view like the one from my hotel window, I may not want to!