The Eurostar was quite comfortable (very smooth) and you really didn’t notice the difference when we were under the English Channel (helped by the fact that it was still dark in England when we entered the tunnel). Had a coffee and juice when we got to the station – Gare du Nord. Taxi to the hotel cost 15€ (There was quite a bit of traffic).
We dropped our bags at the hotel – L’Hotel de Méricourt and went looking for something other than the banana for breakfast. Was about 11 am because we had gained an hour in the crossing. We both had ham and eggs (that was safe and we could work out what the menu said). I made mistake number one when I ordered at Latte. I should have ordered a caffè latte. You guessed it – I got a cup of hot milk with some vanilla in it. With some things, you learn quickly. A little later in the day when I decided I needed a coffee, I ordered a cappuccino. They got that right.
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| Canal St Martin near our hotel |
Found an Orange shop (as in telephone company) and purchased a sim card. Can’t use it for data for a couple of days though. Apparently, they have to check to see that I’m not a known terrorist or something. I will get a text message.
We had had enough wandering so came back to the hotel (check-in time was 3pm). When we got back it was 1:30 and fortunately, our room was ready.
Jill had a bit of a nap and we set off again about 3:30. We went to a Pharmacy to see if we could get something for Jill’s bronchitis. She had a packet from her last script but they wouldn’t give her antibiotics (not that we expected they would) but did give her some ‘nasty’ cough mixture. We then went looking for the Hop On Hop Off bus. We had read that if you caught the bus after 4pm then you could still have the full day the next day. We wanted a two-day ticket but didn’t want one of the days to be today (ie only a few hours). Anyhow when we asked the driver said 'no we couldn’t do that', so we decided to leave the HoHo until tomorrow.
We had had enough wandering so came back to the hotel (check-in time was 3pm). When we got back it was 1:30 and fortunately, our room was ready.
Jill had a bit of a nap and we set off again about 3:30. We went to a Pharmacy to see if we could get something for Jill’s bronchitis. She had a packet from her last script but they wouldn’t give her antibiotics (not that we expected they would) but did give her some ‘nasty’ cough mixture. We then went looking for the Hop On Hop Off bus. We had read that if you caught the bus after 4pm then you could still have the full day the next day. We wanted a two-day ticket but didn’t want one of the days to be today (ie only a few hours). Anyhow when we asked the driver said 'no we couldn’t do that', so we decided to leave the HoHo until tomorrow.
We walked down to the River Seine. Lots of boats travelling up and down including barges which are obviously carrying cargo. Then walked on to Notre Dame Cathedral. The building is very impressive from the outside and will no doubt be impressive on the inside if we have the time to come back. Notre Dame, a Catholic cathedral, is widely considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture in France and in Europe. Constructed from 1163 into 1240s, the cathedral suffered desecration during the radical phase of the French Revolution in the 1790s, when much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. It was brought back to its original glory in 1845-1850, many suggest as a response to renewed interest in the building following the release of Victor Hugo’s novel ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’.
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| Tour St Jacques |
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| Notre Dame |
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| Notre Dame |
There were lots of people feeding birds in the square. Pigeons and sparrows. They were holding crumbs on their outstretched hands and the sparrows were swarming a bit like the lorikeets at Currumbin.
After a sorbet/ice cream, we walked back and had sushi for dinner (another safe choice). We’ve been practising our French with the lady at the front desk. It’s given her a bit of entertainment.
