Day 1 & 2 - Paris

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Activities

* Flight from Melbourne to Paris
* Orientation day to discover the neighbourhood
* Sleep, sleep, sleep...

Highlight(s)

• Getting off the plane
  
• Friendliness and helpfulness of the locals - ticket man at the airport rail station went out of his way to get us the best ticket combination for our stay in Paris
  
• Random stranger asking if we needed assistance as we opened our map to find hotel - very friendly. Why do Parisians get a bad rap?
  
• Apartment is in a great location, is very warm and inviting
  
  Temperature Variance (celsius) = 15 ( Melbourne 24 / Paris 9 )
  

Odd Spot(s)

• Joc's quote when discovering all the designer stores in the streets around apartment - "wow, we must be in the Collins St end of Paris"
  
• Being mistaken as locals and asked for directions. The lady was speaking so fast we couldn't even understand her let alone where she was trying to get to.
  

Weather

Sunny with icy wind, min 3 / max 9 degrees

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Photos

The neighbourhood
Typical street scene in St-Germain. Seems like mostly locals.

St.Germain Boulevard
Taken at 10am. It doesn't become light until 9am this time of year and is dark by 4.30pm.

Christmas stalls
Some market gift stalls have been set up near the Metro station.

Retail Therapy
Example of how elaborate some of the window displays are

Apartment lounge room
We are here for 10 nights - it's fantastic to have a little bit of space. And with all our crap everywhere - it already feels like home away from home.

Comments

[j]

c'est bon.... and yes the french are fantastic all over!

[Emma]

Love that you're in the Collins Street end of Paris!!! Also love the look of your apartment - if you get a chance, send me a link to their website! Need to swot up on what we're doing for my 40th!!

[Melissa Shortal]

Places to Eat!
Hi Joc and Mick, Sorry I didnt do this earlier, but i promised to tell you some great places to eat in Paris. For tea and cake you should visit Laduree (the macaroons are amazing!!)- 16 Rue Royale and also Mariage Freres, which is a really famous tea salon- nice just to go in and look at all the amazing tea- 30 rue du Bourg-Tibourg, Paris 4e For brunch, you have to visit this place 'le loir dans la theiere' in la marais. It was recommended to me by people i know who have lived in paris and it is incredible!!! brunch and amazing cakes- really good value too! just make sure you get there at a decent hour as its really popular with locals and tourists- 3 rue de rosiers. If you like steak i would definitely recommend this place- Relais de l'Entrecôte (15 Rue Marbeuf), very parisian and the steak is incredible. you can only order one thing- steak. but its definitely worth a visit, i love it there. Also make sure you visit le orangarie in the tuileries. its my favourite museum in paris, it has the huge monet waterlily canvases and is definitely worth a visit. Enjoy! xxxxxxxxx