Paris Days 1 and 2

The day we left Lyon, we arrived in Fontainebleau where Napoleon once spoke on the steps of a castle. Had a good pizza lunch with Boyd and Kelly and we talked about what they do in Australia. He works for his family business which sells tinted windows and she works as a grocer in a supermarket.

Got to Paris around mid-Afternoon straight to the hotel. The hotel itself is quite big and relatively cheap: 59 euros a night from mid June to end of August. I imagine it's cheaper the rest of the year. Quite a good rate for Paris.

The only drawback is that the area around the hotel is quite Arab so it was difficult to get everything I wanted done in the internet cafe. There were actually hizbullah backers in the internet cafe. I know because they had a poster of Nasrallah on their computer.

The evening of the first day, we went on a city tour of Paris by bus. Helen started off by telling us a love story of two people she knew. Long story short it's about a guy who is a total perfectionist who wanted to propose to his girlfriend in Paris but he didn't get a perfect ring. He decided to put off the proposal. So he worked real hard at it to get a second crack in Paris without letting her know that they were going there for a proposal. If you want the story, drop a comment.

We started off seeing Notre Dame and surrounding points of interest before we headed to the Eiffel Tower. We climbed the tower and I got all the way to the peak of it. Really neat views up there. When we got down, there was a light show on the tower. I took a video clip of it. It was very spectacular. The bus tour concluded with a peak at the Arc de Triomphe.

The next day I started off at the Louvre where I saw Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa among others. I spent about an hour and a half there. The place is massive. You need a map to find your way out. And few people actually know that it used to be a royal palace.

After the Louvre I went to the Champs Elysees via the metro. Paris subway is incredibly efficient but the subway map will make you go dizzy. I found London's subway system easier to navigate. I saw the Arc de Triomphe and went up and down the Champs Elysees which is a fabulous street to walk on. Many pricy shops like Louis Vuitton and Giorgio Armani.

That evening we had the cabaret show. Since many people opted to go to Moulin Rouge, the cabaret I went too had only 13 people from my group. No matter. It was still fun and about 38 euros cheaper than Moulin. I didn't feel I lost anything by going to that one instead of Moulin. There was comedy, acrobatics, singing and dancing. The women sometimes were bare-chested but it was really tastefully done. The meal that came along with the show was tasty. Steak with potatoes and veggies.

After the cabaret, I said goodbye to the group at an irish pub close to the Moulin Rouge. I took a bunch of pictures of the people I referred to as friends for the 15 days prior and whom I shall continue to do so. The contiki tour has officially ended.