It is a beautiful day in Paris, warm and sunny. Just the kind of day I would love to stroll around leisurely taking photos.
David and I did have a nice lie-in until 9.30 and enjoyed one last romantic cuddle before meeting John.
The three of us sat on a bench in the middle of the Boulevard des Batignolles with the coffees and pastries we bought at a corner patisserie before legging it to the Gare du Nord.
No photos? Well, as nice as it was sitting on the bench in the sun it was a bench by a main road in Paris. The Metro and the Gare du Nord didn't inspire my inner photographer either!
I did, however, snap a picture of the strangely formed balloon animal the restraunteur in St Denis gave me as we were leaving for the Stade de France. I carried it all through the rugby match and all the way back to the hotel, just to annoy David!
4.00pm - Almost home. We're back in England on the train home to Birmingham from London. An uneventful "Channel crossing" (well, under the Channel anyway) with overpriced microwaved food and less than desirable coffee.
Travel tips: When going to Paris by Eurostar, take a picnic. We did going over on Friday and had what we wanted at reasonable prices. We should have done the same coming back.
If you need to get to London from Birmingham, and probably from anywhere else in the UK, by train explore your options. The faster Virgin Train was three times more expensive than the slower but no more uncomfortable London Midlands service.
If you visit the Eiffel Tower, go early and pre-book. You'll go straight to the front of the queue like a group of Welsh schoolchildren. It wasn't just the kids, a lot of other people pre-booked and avoided waiting in the first queue to buy tickets.
Don't be afraid to try a restaurant off the beaten path. The guidebooks are just that: guides. You never know when you'll end up in a pizzeria being served champagne and treated like royalty.
Make your own judgments about your trip. I know people who love Paris and people who hate Paris. Each tries to put their case forward but, at the end of the day, every experience is what you make of it. David once had sausages in Paris that were so horrific he will never eat sausage in France again. But yesterday John and I had the sausage served with the couscous and they were delicious.
Free wifi is hard to find in Paris, for those of you who are fellow techno-geeks. If you need to check email, Facebook, Twitter, etc you might check that your hotel provides it so you can at least get your fix while you're away. Saved me a fortune in data charges this trip because I just changed mobile providers and didn't set up my international roaming before I left England.
C'est la vie.
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