Bonne Année

Photos can be found at http://www.globalregulators.com/gallery/parisNYE


Al and I set off on Thursday night straight from work on a train to Dover to be picked up by our coach the next day and be taken to France by ferry.

Over the Christmas period the south of England had had a lot of snow. The worst hit was Kent. Unfortunately Dover is in Kent and the coach was coming from Southampton, which is also in the south of England so we weren’t sure what was going to happen.

We arrived in Dover just fine even though there was snow almost all the way out. Dover itself had at least 3 inches of snow from the previous day. It was very beautiful but very cold being so close to the water.

The next morning we woke up to find the white stuff falling from the sky. The wind had also picked up and some taxi companies had closed for the day because they said it was too dangerous. We finally got a taxi which had to drive very cautiously to the docks which were 10 minutes away.

When we arrived at the docks, our coach was already there waiting for us and just as we had feared we had booked ourselves onto a granny bus. We were the youngest by about 25 years (aside from the Asian mail order bride).

Because of the weather the sea was extremely choppy and Sea France had decided that it would be a good idea for them to give us their worst boat and try to fit double the amount of people there were to seats on the ferry. It was like a scene from one of the ships on the first fleet. There were people lying on the ground everywhere. A lot of them were either very green looking or trying to sleep it off. You could also hear the faint noises of people being sick in all the bathrooms. Thank goodness I had remembered by seasickness tablets otherwise it would have been much much worse.

We arrived in Paris at the hotel about 8:30pm and had a quick dinner. Al and I headed out to find a bar near by while the Granny’s and Grampa’s got their rest. We found a bar, I think it was called Le Auto Passion. A bar evidently owned by some racing nut. Inside there were TV’s everywhere showing footage of car racing and the seats were made from (what else?) racing car seats. The toilets were exceptional, the toilet paper dispenser was a Momo mag wheel, there was a small screen with the race car footage up in the corner of the lavatory, there were racing seat belts behind the toilet and 30 sec after you stood up the toilet seat spun 180 degrees (I’m still not completely sure why).

The next day we had a leisure day to ourselves (no old people til dinner, YAY!). The weather was perfect, still cold but very clear. Firstly we went to the Eiffel Tower. I didn’t think I would be that fussed about it but from the moment I caught a glimpse of it I fell in love. We lined up to catch the lift up and waited for about an hour. We got tickets to go up to the 2^nd level. Al wanted me to go up to the top but there was no way in hell that was going to happen. With the tower being packed on a sat morning, they stopped selling tickets to the 3rd level, so our decision was made for us. Needless to say, the view was amazing and very surreal. Paris really is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. Every building, temple, museum, cathedral and structure have been placed perfectly in relation to the other and they are all just magnificent.

From the Eiffel Tower we walked to the Arc de Triomphe. It sits in the middle of Europe’s most dangerous roundabout. No car that has an accident on this roundabout is insured. There are 12 roads off the Arc de Triomphe. Cars are to give way to all cars coming onto the round a bout and there are no designated lanes.

Last stop for the day was the Louvre. The museum is so big you could spend days wondering around and not see everything. We didn’t have much time so we made a beeline for Da Vinci’s most famous work - The Mona Lisa.

That night we went with the granny coach to dinner at a restaurant in the centre of town. We were put on a table with the two least popular of the group. For those of you who know Little Britain these two ladies were the female versions of Andy and Lou. After a couple of wines Al and I didn’t care and had a good time with the female Lou (pictured right).

After dinner we all got back on the coach and Phil, our driver (best Dad jokes I have heard since I lived with my Pop) drove us around Paris until it was time to drop us off to watch the “spectacular” in Concorde Square. Al and I chose our vantage point and waited for the countdown. The Eiffel Tower was gorgeous, it was all lit up and it sparkled on the hour. There was no Richard Wilkens or Dick Clarke to help us countdown but we managed just fine. To tell you the truth there were a disappointing amount of fireworks but the fact that we were is Paris to bring in the New Year was more than enough for us.

At 10:30 the next day we got back on the coach with our hangovers and Phil once again drove us around town telling really bad Dad jokes so Al and I took the opportunity to sleep. By the time we woke, we were let off the bus for a couple of hours to do our own thing. After a quick pizza, we were both feeling much better so we took the Metro to Notre-Dame Cathedral … and I am so glad we did. I have not been to Italy yet so I am sure this will change but Notre-Dame is the most beautiful cathedral I have seen. Sadly we didn’t get to go in because we ran out of time but it is on top of my list to do if we go back to Paris.

Al was very happy because we had a couple of minutes to check out the outside of the Sacre, something he had missed out on when he was here last. We also saw Moulin Rouge and Napoleon's tomb.

That night we were taken to a boat for a dinner cruise along the river Siene. We weren’t expecting very much after the dodgy experience we had in Thailand but we were very pleasantly surprised. We stepped onto a very swish restaurant on the water and shown to our section. This time we chose the seats and made sure we picked three groovy grandmas and a groovy gramps to sit with. Everything about this night was fabulous. As you go down the river all the monuments and buildings are lit up beautifully. Clasical music plays in the background while you sip champagne, then a singer comes on when the food starts to arrive. Before we knew it, the 3 hours was over.

We drove back to London on Monday and I am happy to say we had calm weather and a lovely ferry for the trip back. Now back to work but I am still floating from my wonderful weekend in Paris. My highlights were the Eiffel Tower and the dinner cruise, I have ranked it fourth on my best dining out experiences ever (three being Fins in Byron Bay, two being Mecca in Melbourne and one being Tetsuya’s in Sydney).

Bonne Année everyone!
(Happy New Year in french)