We set off on Saturday morning at 4.30 in a cab...the girls had no idea where we were going, but were quite chuffed when we arrived at Luton Airport. The cab driver was in cahoots, and very sweetly played along with the joke for us. We were soon on our way to Paris, much to the shock and delight of the girls, neither of whom had flown before. I detest flying, and was relieved to find that I could disguise this by showing kindness and consideration to youngest on the flight...she of course realised that I was nervous, ad spent the rest of the flight patronising me. It was my first time with Easyjet and they seemed pretty good. We arrived at Charles de Gaulle at 8.00 am, and found ourselves on the RER to Gare du Nord, and with a bit of leaping around, ending up at Place de Clichy. We wandered down the road a bit to show the girls the Moulin Rouge as it was a film they loved. We took breakfast in a nearby cafe, and managed to successfully negotiate the language with a waitress who's English was about as good as my French. We then walked to the Hotel in Rue Legendre Monmartre area. It had been given some crappy reviews on the Internet, but we found it to be fine. It was old fashioned, but the staff were friendly and helpful, and the rooms and facilities were clean. We then took a trip back on he metro down to the Place de Concorde and wandered over to the Musee D'orsey. What a stunning place. It was full of some of the most famous paintings, and some classics by Degas and Monet to name but a few....We spotted Oscar Wilde in a Lautrec painting, and were stunned by the scale of his work...perhaps rather ignorantly, I was expecting his paintings to reflect his stature. I think the trip just added to our love of Degas. We returned, rather exhausted to the Hotel, and wandered down to the Place de Clichy again to a restaurant that I had read about and was recommended to me called Le Wepler. It was excellent, and reasonable, and we tottered back to our hotel to sleep heavily after that second bottle of Sancere. The hotel was off the beaten track, and afforded us some views of the less salubrious side of the City, and if I'm being honest, it made the weekend even better. The slightly seedier side of the city just added to the experience. We found the service in Le Wepler to be really good, and I was particularly impressed with the immaculate dress and manners of the staff. The couple on the next room to ours at the hotel were Italian, and were arguing for several hours about the correct location for the young gentleman's trainers. They eventually feel into silence for an hour, and then spent time making up for their argument in an equally noisy and passionate manner...good for them I say...it is after all Paris that we are talking about. I was also treated to the sight of the young lady opposite sitting on the balcony of her flat, talking nosily on her mobile for a while....this was enhanced with her lack of many clothes, but perhaps it is my age when I say I would have preferred a bit more sleep. Never mind...we were up for breakfast at around eight, although due to some confusion over clock timings, Mrs Plug seemed to think that I had buggered up and we had missed breakfast, I enjoyed both my croissants and the humble pie that was served up in the breakfast room. We started out for the Arc de Triomphe, which was much bigger than I had imagined, and was stunning. We chose not to go up it, but stopped for a biye and a drink on the Champs Elysee . We then headed to the Eiffel Tower as I had pre booked tickets to go up. Neither myself or youngest are particularly good with heights, but I have to say that even I was impressed with the views that it afforded. It is a dreadful tourist trap though, and we spent most of the hours we were there, politely saying "non merci" to beggars and salesmen alike. I felt that the tower was more impressive to look at than be on. We could have been anywhere high up really, but to walk over the Seine and look back on it from the Trocadero was beautiful. We headed to the Louvre next to see old Lisa. The Building was beautiful, and even the strange glass pyramid worked in it's own funny way. The architecture and surroundings were beautiful, but the art itse;f left me a little cold. Perhaps I just preferred the warmth of the impressionists at D'Orsay, but the huge glut of religious iconography left me feeling a little like we were looking at the same thing over and over....I'm not saying it's bad art, it just doesn't speak to me. We found the Mona Lisa upstairs, and it does send a bit of a shock through the system to see it. She is in a large gallery, so you see her from a distance behind what I would imagine is a permanent crowd. The first reaction is to say, "I don't get what the fuss is about", and from someone who has never particularly cared for the painting I was expecting to be left cold, but it has a certain charge to it...maybe it was the anticipation? Who knows, but I'm glad I saw her. We then dashed off to see the Venus de Milo, which was really beautiful, and I really could understand the fuss made about her. We sat outside the Louvre and people watched for a while whilst youngest dipped her toes in the fountain, and then all too soon it was time to set off back to the Airport. It was a mad 42 hours, and one which I will never forget. I adored Paris, it really is as beautiful as people say, and I know I will return there again as a happy and converted tourist.....
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