Day 31 - Paris

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Clearly our earliest start this morning as we decided at the last minute that we would get on a train to go and have a look at a horse training complex at Chantilly. It was probably about a 30 minute train ride towards the south and this is the best training facility in the country with the trainers of the last two Melbourne cup winners Dunaden and Americain both being based here.

We were on a bit of a tight schedule so we could only spend an hour however we were shown around by a friend of Jeff's who also trains there, he is a lovely British guy who has been here for 18 years. It was amazing to see how they train here and the facilities that they have, it was very different compared to the guy I used to work for in that they actually knew what they were doing!

The downside to this was it was bloody freezing and got as low as minus 6 when we were outside watching the horses work and the sand that they were working on was half ice. It wasn't in our plans to do this but we normally wouldn't have been given the opportunity, so thanks to Jeff and Rupert for that.

Back on the train and back towards the city and then out in another direction where we ended up at Roland Garros where the French Open tennis is held every year. I wasn't expecting it to be quite as good as Wimbledon mainly because nothing is as good, didn't get to see Flushing Meadows in New York to collect the set so that will give me an excuse to go back.

Roland Garros was good and like Wimbledon the courts weren't set up until about a month before the tournament begins. We got some good photos including one of Lauren sitting in the umpires chair (she is making a habit of that after doing the same at the Australian Open a few years ago. Although that time she was a little drunk and snuck onto one of the outside courts during the tournament while there was no match on before security yelled at her). We also got to tour the player locker rooms which were good and the media room which would be the best in the world, they even have their own full time masseuse who gives free massages for any media person during the tournament.

We had lunch in the area but the food and the service was pretty poor, maybe it was because we were out of town a bit but we didn't worry too much. Back on the train and this time we headed to a place called the Catacombs which is a place that is an underground dungeon where there are thousands of bodies buried.

I think the story goes something like in the 18th century a cemetery had to be dug up to make room for something and so these ground workers were given the task of finding somewhere to place these bodies that were dug up out of the cemetery. So they had to take the bodies out of the coffins, remove the clothes that they were dressed in and then dismantle the bodies bone by bone to maximise the space in this underground dungeon that they made. If it sounds freaky, it is because you just have these skulls staring at you but it was definitely worth seeing.

Across the road to the Catacombs was the first Aussie pub that we'd come across on the trip. Firstly I've never seen as many didgeridoos in my life compared to what was inside and secondly they did make you feel right at home when the barman said $14 thanks after I ordered a Crown Lager and a coke, they really give you the Aussie feel of being ripped off at a pub.

Back on the train towards the hotel and after a bit more shopping and some macaroons in the sweet shop, we had a rest for an hour or two. Lauren wanted to take me to see the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe at night as they are lit up. The Eiffel Tower was really good and I never knew that every hour they do a light show which is great to watch. We went up to the second level which was pretty high up for me however the views were great and well worth it.

We then saw the Arc however it is not lit up anymore as Lauren said it used to be. Although it was still a good time to go as it was 11pm and there was nobody around so we had a look at the grave of the unknown soldier and then went home. It was a massive day that lasted about 18 hours but a good way to spend our last full day in Paris. Tomorrow is going to be a big one, we leave Paris at 2.45pm and stopover at London for seven long hours. We then have an 11 hour flight from London to Hong Kong so we won't arrive until about 7pm Friday Night HK time. Probably no blog tomorrow as there won't be much to report and no real opportunity to write it either. Not long now until we're home and that's a little scary!

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