Hotel Regina Opera Paris

... facade in a variety of sizes, with a particular abundance around and above the doors. And rising high above the crowds lined up outside are the two symmetric towers, giving a hint at the loftiness of the ceilings inside. Then the location itself, sitting on the bank of the Seine amongst grand old buildings, a large square bustling with activity, and a quiet park just beyond it.

The line up to get inside was long but it moved quickly. We were inside the breathtaking nave in ...

... millions of people are stored. I’m not going to lie, I didn’t read a lot of the history behind it, but it sure was spooky. A claustrophobia inducing spiral staircase 20m below street level, followed by dark tunnels that I felt like I should be wearing a hard hat in, had to duck to get through a lot of it. Then there were the bones… Hundreds of meters of tunnels with nothing but bones ...

We woke up the following morning to check out of our swish hotel (boo) and took the metro back in to the centre of town, this time to check out the Notre Dame. We exited Cite station and stopped for a little coffee to wake us up, before mistaking not one but two gargoyle-adorned, Gothic-esque structures for Our Lady herself (clearly not enough coffee). After crossong the Seine twice in our quest, we finally stumbled on the (enormous) cathedral ...

... walked out of the train station into the street after arriving in Paris we were approached by a women. She asked if we spoke English and unknowingly we responded yes. At this point she hold up a piece of paper with your normal give me money my life sucks jumbo on it all written in English. We kind of laughed and said sorry we do not have any money on us we just got off the train (a lie but it sounded reasonable). She then walked away and ...

... as much as I thought I would. Is it my tiredness? Maybe. I am exhausted and I think the knowledge that I can truely relax when I get back to London in a week or so is making me aware of that fact. But I don't know. Paris is lovely, but Im not feeling the friendliness that I felt in Rome, or the vibe I felt in Madrid. The food definitely makes up for it though.Ive been eating fresh baguettes with olive tapenade, brie, tomato and lettuce for dinner. Heaven.

... Comme on avait décidé, on essaye un bistro nouveau chaque jour. Aujourd'hui ce fut le PalaceCafé. Micheline a donné 3 étoiles. On a un carnet avec des "ratings" : les étoiles Micheline. Moi j'ai pris des moules et des frites, et Micheline un Croque-Palace. Très bon. Mais une autre chose à Paris. À chaque fois qu'ils t'amènes des frites, il faut que tu demandes du ketchup. Je ne sais pas ce qu'ils font eux-autres, mais ...

... to come to be the theme of the trip. the sleeping bags came out about 3ish, when the ground got too cold to lie on, and barret goes and finds cardboards boxes, cos he had no sleeping bag,gav was actually very jealous. then the rats came. and ran around to the bins, and back to the bushes, and then came back with more friends, we called him roger rat. turns out the ...

... of men, all in blue uniform, who were on strike and were marching over to the left bank. We talked to one of them, who stated they were hospital workers and were protesting over their pay. We continued our walk to Place Maubert, the location of one of the roving markets in Paris. This is located on Blvd. Saint Germain right at the metro Maubert. On display were wonderful vegetables, fruits, and seafood. Also for sale were clothing, jewelry, scarfs, pâtés ...

... walked along the Quai d'Orsay to Notre Dame. Again it was crowded but I went in. There was an exhibition of the treasury- an additional $3 Euros, but I paid, not to see the gold Monstrances (I've seen plenty in my day as you can imagine) but more because the exhibition was off to the side in one of the Sacristies: rarely open. So I looked at the stained glass and vaulted ceilings, stood at the robing tables, went in to the small chapel where the ...

... in a glass box. There were crowds around the painting and no photos were allowed to be taken as light from the flash can ruin the painting. After that we went up and visited the Sacre Coeur at Montmartre. It is a huge church where they have gorgeous stain glass windows! Inside there were heaps of candles that you could light for your family/friends. We lit one for Grandpa and Nana. Then after that we decided to walk back through the markets along the ...