N - Paris

Day 27  July 11th
Paris

The train chugged along through the night.  Raina sat up a number of times to look at the places like the Alps and Djion. Didn't see any mustard.

Paris taxis are not fun. There was a giant queue of people at the trai station. But taxis were few and far between. As we reached the top of the line, taxis started to refuse to take us. They didn't like our luggage. They then looked at the next people in line and refused to take them as they had kids. We did notice a car pull over and watch, then two detectives jumped out and booked the taxi driver. Haha. We eventually got a taxi to the hotel.

Our hotel was right near La Louver, so we headed off there first, via a cafe.

There was a great exhibition about habitats even before we got inside. Amazing photos.

We spent a long time outside looking at the buildings, the fountain and of course the glass pyramid, before we went in.

It was extremely hot and extremely crowded when we did get inside but we did wait in the mob until it was our turn near Mona Lisa.

It really was very cool to be so near such an icon. There was also lots of other amazing stuff, not surprisingly.

We jumped onto a HOHO bus to do a lap of Paris. Unbelievable! So many icons. Tour Eiffel, Pont Neuf, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysees and so much more.

We strolled up and down the Champs- Elysees and had a 'snack' at Laduree - THE home of le macaron, in Paris.

We looked at many marvellous shops and people. It was then back to the hotel to prepare for Le Moulin Rouge.

Can Can Can

What to say about la Moulin Rouge?  Think of all of the superlatives you can then add ten more. Mind blowing was probably the best description. We had booked the dinner and show which included wine. A half bottle each. French wine of course. When they took our orders - Red for Sarah, Bubbles for Raina - they apologised and said they didn't have any half bottles of bubbles (sad face from Raina), "would we mind having a full bottle?" Plus Sarah's red. We said that we would cope. The food was great too.

The show started and was brilliant from start to finish. Dancers, a lady swimming with giant pythons, six miniature stallions, a ventriloquist with a talking Bichon Frise, the best tumblers you have ever seen, more dancers with fans and feathers, sparkles and Oh, did we mention the boobs? Sarah commented that there must have been 'acid' in the wine. No-one could do what these people were doing. It really was the most exciting stage show EVER.

Day 28  July 12th
Paris

We started the day with a sleep in (by Raina standards) then set off to walk the city. Breakfast was very tricky in Paris. Not really before 10.30am. Our best french meal was at a nearby cafe at lunch time. Lovely.

We rode the HOHO bus again and saw more things. They were setting up grandstands and the fire works for the end of the Tour de France. Cadel Evans was still looking like wining so it was very exciting ((EDIT - Cadel did win)).

Le Tour Eiffel was great. Massive and so interesting. Light coming through on many different angles. The place was surrounded by African guys selling models. charmes and scarves. They had their wares spread out on sheets. We thought that this was a funny way to display their things. That was until a shout went up, and hundreds of of guys slung their sheets and all their gear over their shoulders and started running from the police. Funny!

While walking around le Tour Eiffel we used the most bizarre public toilets. After EVERY person the door would lock and the room would be sprayed, washed and dried. It took eight minutes between each person. It was a long wait. During this wait Sarah looked up and saw two friends from Uni. What are the chances?

We walked around and ate the famous crepes (which were horrid) and looked at everything and everyone. Sarah walked along next to some police - nothing special, armed with machine guns - very special. Don't mess with la Tour Eiffel.

Dinner was at the lovely Cafe du Trocadero with views straight to the tower. It was then photos by the light show and home to bed.