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Published: October 7th 2018
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Some things never change, and thank goodness Paris is one of them. Gorgeous, dirty, monumental, noisy, charming, crowded, intimate, bustling, smelly, lovely, aggravating, dreamy Paris is a kaleidoscope of sights, sounds and tastes, and I’m getting to see it through the lens of a first-timer, Fae.
We are on a quick-and-cheap tour with Riviera Travel, and there have been some hiccups.... Because I’ve been traveling, they were unable to mail me our Eurostar tickets - but neglected to even tell us our ticket numbers, so when we arrived at the London rail station, no one could find us in the system. Two-and-a-half hours of phone calls and repeated queuing netted us two return tickets - WHEW!
It’s remarkable to go from central London to Gare du Nord in two+ hours, in quiet, comfortable seats, countryside streaming by. There are 48 travelers on our trip, mostly English, some Aussies and Kiwis, and a grandmother/granddaughter pair from South Africa. We are the only Americans, and are treated as exotics - too funny!
We welcome the warm weather here, but I’d forgotten about the French resistance to air conditioning (and deodorant). We had rain and a cool down Sunday, but the
temps will climb back to the 70s.
Once again, food is shockingly expensive and not particularly good. Contrary to conventional “wisdom,” I find the food better and more reasonable by far in England. Yes, I’m serious.
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Diane
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You sure covered a lot of ground! Some of my favorite places. I just realized it's been 18 years since I've been to France and looking at your shots makes me feel like I was there yesterday. It looks a little chilly hopefully not wet. Sorry about your ticket trials. Hopefully smooth sailing the rest of the way.