Day 1-3: Paris
A 13 hour flight had us arriving at 7am and the rest of the day was a brutal battle between jetlag and excitement. Our first questie host Claire picked us up from the airport and introduced us to a typical french breakfast of cheese and bread.
Of course we had to try the snails and frogs legs, which were
actually great.
We met together again later to climb the Arc de Triomphe for some views of Paris over sunset.
Next Stop- New Years in
BERLIN!
A 13 hour flight had us arriving at 7am and the rest of the day was a brutal battle between jetlag and excitement. Our first questie host Claire picked us up from the airport and introduced us to a typical french breakfast of cheese and bread.
Claire took us up to the Sacre Couer to try to get a good view
overlooking the city but were somewhat thwarted by some heavy clouds and fog.
Still, it beats Mt Coottha.
A short trip through the strictly controlled church brought us
some more opportunities for minor law breaking, testing out the new camera’s
silent mode which performed admirably-
We followed with trips to H&M and Cirque camera store to buy
scarfs, coats and a new camera bag, meandering through old Paris en route. We
stopped in a local park to eat a typical French lunch of baguettes and cakes,
admiring the fat pigeons and exposed bin bags that would be immediately
destroyed by possums and bush turkeys if they were in Australia.
Jetlag was setting in but we made it through to dinner, meeting up
with Claire’s friend Coco who had also been on exchange to Australia. He must
now think we’re a pair of stoners after we only said about 3 words each over
dinner, so eager to get to bed.
Of course we had to try the snails and frogs legs, which were
actually great. 
The next morning brought some surprisingly good weather, blue
skies and sun shining. We made the most of it, heading straight to the Louvre
and surrounds.
We didn’t have the time or patience to battle through the 20
million tourists and actually go inside, but we still enjoyed the scenery and
being asked by every couple in sight to take a photo of them on their camera. A
lucky privilege us guys with ‘big cameras’ get to experience. We make sure to
set their camera to the most complicated mode to show off our skills and ruin
the rest of their holiday album.
Tal peeled off to catch a Tottenham soccer match at an Irish pub
while Claire and Coppo visited the Notre Dame.
We met together again later to climb the Arc de Triomphe for some views of Paris over sunset.
We travelled onwards to the Eiffel Tower afterwards, catching it under lights.
Later we met up with another questie Diane (pronounced DOY-anne in
Australian, dee-an in French) for drinks in the university district. It was a
great catch up, and quite enjoyable watching the two Parisian girls in their
element, jabbering away in rapid French and sipping on cocktails.
The next morning brought a late and hazy wake up, as we rushed to
make it out to the brunch stop “le fumoir”, recommended by the ultimate French
gourmand himself, Tanguy De Le Beau Chien Nasarvararvavrve. We sat amongst the
rich mahogany and many leather bound books and imagined him in his natural
habitat, snorting and pulling disgusted faces at the peasants milling about
outside.
It was actually a great brunch, with glorious bread, eggs
benedict, pancakes and chocolate cake on offer.
We didn’t have time for anything else, making sure we made it
to the airport with about 15 hours to spare, lest we end up on some European
reality TV show about hopeless tourists yelling at check in attendants after
missing their low-cost flights.
It wasn’t a main part of our itinerary, but cheap flights booked 6
months in advance had sent us here, and we couldn't be happier. With
steady weather and plenty of tourist fare and food to munch into, we had
ourselves a perfect introduction to the continent.
