Day 11
Up for brekkie around 7 and then off to catch the bus to the airport. We got to the airport with plenty of time so (after the laptop battery died) we sat in a Cafe writing postcards and doing Suduko puzzles. The flight to Paris was fairly short. Once we had landed, collected our bags and cleared passport checks we found the Air France Bus which dropped us off at the Arc De Triomphe (after an interesting trip around the round-about). With tourist map in hand and Matt insisting on pulling both of the big suitecases we headed off to find our appartment. Once settled into our upgraded appartment we ducked down to the local laundromat to wash and dry a load of clothes. After struggling with the lanuage barrier we finally finished our washing and went to the restaurant across the road (XVI e Restaurant) for tea. It was a fantastic meal. Matt had garlic snails, Rump steak with pepper sauce and potatoes followed by a piece of fruit tart. Chris had Roast chicken with mash followed by Creme Brulee. After an accident with a glass of wine we struck up a conversation with the couple just across from us. They were from Wales on holidays before making a huge commitment of taking on a Pub together. We talked about everything and anything (enjoying the fact that we could all clearly understand each other) for an hour or so before arranging to meet again tomorrow for a drink. All-in-all not a bad start to the next leg of our journey.
Day 12
Chris got up first, Ironed some clothes for tonight, fiddled around on the computer etc. When Matt got up he went to organise Moulin Rouge for tonight, got some more cash out and got brekkie (Bacon & Egg Muffins from Macca's - can you believe it!) At around 10:30/11 we got our act together and headed for the Wilson St Market (as our friend Anna had suggested). It was fantastic! Fresh flowers, cheeses, fruit & veg, seafood, jewellery, clothing… wonderful.
We walked around the nearby streets for a bit and then stopped for café and bagettes (ham and cheese) very simple but nice. We we wanted to be back to meet Dawn and Mervin at 5pm so we decided to get a bit of fresh produce (cheeses, a baggette, olives, pate (for Matt), grapes and dried apricots with a bottle of red wine!) from the market for afternoon tea and head back to the appartment. We had our wonderful gourmet tea followed by a nap.
After or afternoon sleep we got up, dressed and headed down to meet Dawn and Mervin. Unfortunately they didn't show before 5:30pm so we headed off to our Moulin Rouge dinner and show. We took the metro over and joined the ever-growing queue. We were the first to be seated at our table of eight. An American (as we were eating our entree) french and another Aussie (Sydney) couples joined us. We chatted on and off with the frech couple (lovely), throughout the meal during which an orchestra entertained, performing various songs in various languages including japanese. After the meal (delicious) the real show started, dancers (most topless), jugglers, acrobats, mimes, snakes, music!!! A fantastic show and a wonderful night!!!
Day 13
Today we had planned a very busy day. We had a false start after leaving the camera in Matt's jacket from last night. We had a crossiant for Brekkie (nice) then checked out the Arc De Triomphe (climbed all the stairs to the top- magnificant views of Paris). We then went for a stroll down Dhape Eyless, had a coffee, window shopped while trying to call our friends Anna and Richard to meet for lunch. Eventually Anna called us and we met for lunch (Pizza, quite good).
We then walked down to the Louvre. It was wonderful. We saw the Mona Lisa and many other wonderful Italian and French artwork, along with some Egyptian and Roman artifacts before closing at 6pm. We had a lovely day with Anna and Richard. After saying goodbye we went back to the appartment to do a little admin, Matt uploaded some photos while Chris did some washing. We had more bread, wine, cheese, olives etc and then went for a walk around the Eiffle Tower and Trocedero, enjoying the stroll and the night lights. We got some more cash out for tomorrow and then went back to pack and bed.
