Day 28 - Paris

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Was really happy that we stayed so close to the airport last night as it gave us a chance to have a better sleep than we would have in the city. We wouldn't have arrived into the city until at least 1am and would've been playing catch up all week. Lauren woke up feeling better and so we packed up and headed downstairs to catch the hotel shuttle back to the airport.

The shuttle would take us to the airport where we would catch the train to our new hotel where we would spend the next four days. The shuttle experience was an interesting one, not only was the driver 10 minutes late because he was sitting there talking on the phone, he then had a dig at me as we got onto the bus. He got out to put our bags in the back so we hopped into the bus, he didn't realise that Lauren spoke French and he said to me "you could've helped me if you wanted to". Every other place we've been to if you try to help they say no thanks. Anyway, this guy and a few others over the next hour showed me that the French in their own country make New Yorkers seem pretty polite.

Got on the train and headed towards our stop which was about 45 minutes away. It was a pretty comfortable ride with the only problem being getting off at your stop with all your luggage which was the same in London, I've since learned to just push and push.

The hotel is nice, Lauren said that Paris hotels are generally quite small and this is no different but the bed is comfortable which is the main thing. The hotels speak English which is good but it's a very good thing that Lauren can speak French otherwise things would be much more difficult.

We left the hotel just after midday and had decided to spend the day going to the Louvre and a few other places in the area. The concierge told us that walking would be easier than train so we were happy to walk and have a look around as we went. The walk was about 30 minutes and the map was very helpful.

We got to the Louvre and from the outside the buildings are amazing, I'm not sure how old they are but they must have been around for hundreds of years. The first thing you notice about Paris is how good the city looks, beautiful buildings, wide roads and lots of gardens. Up close it's a little disappointing to see that it can be a little dirty with hundreds of cigarette butts on the ground. That is one thing you notice about Central Park or Hyde Park, they are so clean that you would be embarrassed if you dropped something there, not so much on Paris.

The Louvre was very interesting, it was broken up into artwork such as statues and paintings from different countries and periods in history. We probably spent two hours walking around and as we started to get tired we decided that was enough. Probably the highlight was the Mona Lisa as it was the most recognised piece of art, but we also liked the Egyptian Mummy section and I liked the Venus de Milo because I remember it from a Simpsons episode.

After the Louvre we walked down and saw the Paris Eye which is similar to the London one. We had a good view of the Eiffel Tower which we are seeing tomorrow. We continued to walk down the Champs Élysées which is a great very nice, the first half has some nice buildings and the second half is like a shopping strip with all the main shops there. All of these shops were open as there were so many people around however we were surprised that on a Sunday, all shops and restaurants away from the Champs Élysées are closed.

We finally reached the Arc de Triomphe and it is huge, I think it's made to look much bigger because there is nothing else around however it's a powerful structure. We stood there and watched the roundabout that surrounds the Arc and it was amazing as there are no lanes and to our eyes, no rules either. Some people got stuck in the middle and just came to a complete stop, sitting stationary as cars zoomed past on either side.

We then decided to go to the middle of the Arc, that was until we couldn't figure out how to get there unless you ran across the road and that wasn't happening. We've since googled it and will do it tomorrow, see Dad that's how our generation work things out!

We called it a day and walked back to the hotel, Lauren was tired and had a nap which turned more into a sleep. I woke her at 8 to see if she wanted dinner and she said no, I was starving and so I decided to brave it and hit the streets to test my French. Maybe it was my lucky day but right around the corner was a Pizza Hut takeaway, it was great to see such a familiar face.

Early night tonight and plenty to do tomorrow. We walked for five hours straight today so we both like the idea of the bus tomorrow, we're going to take another hop on hop off which is the best way to see as much as possible.

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