Notre Dame Hotel Paris

... break up the day. The following day, Stopher and I headed out with Aimee and Ed to Notre Dame. They were going to mass, and we were going to the catacombs. Go figure! The catacombs are in Southern Paris and it takes nearly an hour to walk under ground from one end to the next. You're surrounded by the bones of about 6 million people, in what is essentially a converted stone quarry. The area suffered from disease so the catacombs were used ...

... I will be the first to say that I am not a huge art fan and know very little of what makes art great. I do know from both school and my parents that these are some of the best artists in the world and it was amazing to see first-hand their art. I remembered always seeing pictures in books or reprints in places, but it something special from a historical perspective to have all these great pieces in one place. I ...

... business man. He's very tall, and loud, and you can just Tell he is a business man. His English is very good, he also speaks Dutch, German, French and I don't even know what else. He does mix up some English words, for example, one of the first things that he said to us, Maybe I learn you something (meaning that he will teach us something). He is really interested in emerging economies (such as Russia, China, Brazil and India) as well as Ecology and the environment ...

... balcony boutiques. A stunning range of fashions in elegant boutiques within the stores - and if you wave your passport, you get a 10% discount on the spot. Christmas shopping has started early this year. Tonight, we returned to the Trocodero above the Eiffel Tower to grump at a few more gypsy men selling tacky Eiffel Tower souvenirs and see ...

... to a very worried Megan. We then found our departure gate, which was just a piece of paper with our flight number scribbled on it. They checked our boarding pass, and sent us outside onto the tarmac with a whole row of planes on it. We had to then work out which plane was ours, and just walk over to it. It was all a bit surreal. All this time we have been looking forward to our first flight since the start of the holiday! Taking off over Marrakech was amazing, as it ...

... to choose from so we ended up staying in the projects of Paris. Not only was I worried about my possessions, but also being mugged. We ended up being forced to stay up until about 3 in the morning because they overbooked our room and made us all pay the price for it. In the morning Eric and I quickly got out of there and left for the hostel that we are presently at which is quite beautiful. Our hostel now has an ...

... Not having tools, we were encouraged to go to the cellar of the BHV--bar none, the best hardware store I've ever seen. I've been told that there's even a New Yorker article about the place--how young Frenchwomen sign up there for how-to classes to meet 'handy' Frenchmen. Not exactly like the local Home Depot of Lowe's how-to classes. The cellar has everything--from all the materials for shoemaking, to anything one would need for wine-making. It's where ...