Weekend in Paris

First of all, I want to say thank you to all of you who wished me happy birthday either by email or through comments on this journal.

My weekend in Paris was great. We caught the Eurostar from London Waterloo to Paris Gare du Nord. It takes less than three hours which is great. We arrived, and then had some llunch at a chinese restaurant outside the station. We bought tickets to Orry La Ville, where Scott's cousins live. We were picked up from the station by Adrienne and Ewan, her four year old. We had a bit of a car tour of the area on the way back to their house. There we met Stuart, who is two and Cam, Adrienne's husband. They are such a lovely family. And the kids are so cute! I am happy Scott got to spend a little time with his family.

On the Saturday, my actual birthday, we were accompanied into Paris by Adrienne. It was great to be able to have a guide with us, to show us the sights. We drove to the Gare du Nord, and parked there. From there we took a metro train to near the artists quarter, to take the Ferniculaire trian up the hill to Sacre Coeur. The views were excellent, as it was a clear day. We took photos, and went inside the basilica itself. There is a huge painting of Jesus on the underside of the dome. It is quite confronting I thought as you walk in. But the rest of the church was pretty, as churches go. We wandered into the artists quarter from there, Montmartre. There are still artists there, but it is a little touristy. Some of the paintings were lovely though, if a little pricey! From there we took the metro to Chatelet, and walked to the Pont Neuf. We took a river cruise on the Seine from there. It lasted an hour, and was very informative. I learnt quite a bit about Paris. The commentary was in French, then in English.

After the cruise, we went into the Latin Quarter, to have lunch. By this time it was 3pm though! We found a little restaurant, and had some yummy french food. I had French Onion soup, a steak with a cheese sauce and then mixed froamges for dessert. Scott had escargot, which were quite nice. They just taste of garlic though. Adrienne told us you can buy snails in a can, and the shells in the French supermarkets. You can also get frozen frogs legs too.

After lunch we headed back to Chantilly. And to my great surprise, they had organised a birthday cake for me. Cam had bought a tart with strawberries on the top, and it came out with candles! Such a nice surprise, and a really sweet gesture too.

Sunday, Scott and I braved Paris on our own. We were both tired, so we did a lot of wandering. We found the Jewish Quarter, and had a good look around. From there we wandered along the Seine to the Musee d'Orsay. Saw some lovely artworks in there. The building itself is great too. It was a railway station, converted to a museum. A real 19th century building with lots of iron, and large clocks too.

Monday we were dropped at the train station early, as Scott's family were heading to Scotland. We went to the Gare du Nord, and put our bag in a locker, so we didn't have to lug it around all day. Then we headed into the Louvre on the Metro. We had to figure out what we wanted to see while were there. We started with the history of the Lourve, and moved on to paintings. We decided that we would see the Mona Lisa, just because everybody raves about it. There were so many people, it was quite a strange experience really. It is small, and dark, and the woman really is unattractive. But I guess the appeal of the painting is in the stories behind it.

As thank you presents, we gave the two kids soft toys. A kangaroo for Stuart and a koala for Ewan. The first thing we heard on Monday morning was "Where's my kangaroo?". So our presents were a great success!!

So, all in all, the trip to Paris was a great one. While we were there, we checked our emails. We got some very good news from two friends. Mickaela, a friend from Melbourne, told us of her engagement. And Maree, my friend from uni, told us she is having her third baby in October. So I want to congratualte them here, and wish them all the best!!