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Published: January 15th 2007
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The Eiffel Tower
On our way to checking it out at night.. Hello Again! Hope everyone has had a great christmas back home. Well we are back to work now after a week or so off for christmas!
Well christmas day was different! It was a wierd feeling waking up so far away from the family - Definately not the best way, but we had a good time nevertheless. We ended up going to the small village of Banks to play and sing carols with the town Brass Band, as they walked around the streets.
As we walked people came out in their pyjamas to wish the band a merry christmas, and to give a small donation to the band. The guys were saying that it is the most beneficial time of year for the band with plenty of funds coming in from carol services.
Well we walked around for an hour or so, then packed into cars and headed off to some local farms to play a few carols for some of the local families. The people at the farms we played at had a long association with the band, and had seen quite a few years out in the area farming all sorts of veggies.
After carols,
Snails!!
I know it seems like a tourist thing to do, but at least we now know what they taste like! Like Snails! we joined a few of the band people for an enormous christmas lunch - melon starters, turkey and of course the chrissy pudding. We were very thankful for the great meal they put on - it was a blessing to have given we were so far from home.
For the week in between christmas and new years work was closed, so we had a good week or so to do whatever! At the last minute we booked tickets to Paris, to spend four days in the french capital.
We found it to be an energetic city, full of helpful and friendly people. It certainly had the 'charm' that people talk about, and had more than its fair share of attractions like the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. And being good little tourists we checked them out.
The Eiffel Tower was impressive for it's sheer size and proportion to the area around it. We decided to check it out at night to avoid the crowds and for the ambience, only to discover a view of fog at the top. But the view from the second floor was clear, giving a great overview of Paris.
We also visited
the Louvre, and while we arn't that keen on art it was a great day out - we wandered the halls for about 5 hours! We checked out the Mona Lisa, which while being a nice painting turned out to be a bit of an aniti-climax - I guess we don't know enough about the history of it to really appreciate it. But there was plenty of other stuff to see, with a massive Egyptian collection and paintings from every era.
We tried a few different restuarants over our time there, starting off with Lebanese, Greek and then finally a french restaurant on the last night. We couldn't help but choose the snails and Frogs Legs to try! It might sound a bit disgusting but the snails were really nice (if not a bit garlicy) and the frogs legs were pretty good too. Not something to include in every meal though...
After the snails we headed off in search of a famous jazz club, the Caveau de la Huchette. We found it to be in a stone basement under a small bar - complete with a a swingin' band and rock and roll dancers.
People were packed
The Lebanese Restaurant..
With a very friendly waiter! in and the atmosphere was electric!! To top the night off, two guys had a dance-off over a girl on the dance floor - great fun to watch. Even the guy who owned the bar(a proud owner of a handlebar moustache) was dancing, until he spilt the drinks tray he was holding sending glass everywhere causing wide spread aplause.
Well we had a great couple of the days around the city, which was best enjoyed just walking around the streets in the different areas. Ben had a little trouble with the food (namely a dodgy hot dog bought underneath the eiffel tower) which caused a day or two's troubles, but apart from that it was a good time.
We are now in the stages of planning an easter trip to somewhere, but i'm sure there will be plenty happening in the next couple of months in Manchester, so until the next entry we wish you all well!!
Cheerio
Stace & Ben
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Allison
non-member comment
bonjour
Hello hello! Wow. Basically thats all I can say. I am absolutely green with envy. Glad to see that you enjoyed your Christmas despite being so far from home. Big hugs for you both, love al