We are so excited to have arrived in Paris. Seems strange that the airport appears to be in the middle of farmland. We were transferred to our hotel at the Hilton Arc de Triomphe - very nice - but as it was only 9am our rooms would not be ready for a few hours so we decided to start our sightseeing. The Arc de Triomphe was only about 400m away so off we headed.

The Arc is located at the end of the Champs Elysees and is magnificent when viewed up close. Of course, when you are with Brad you have to view it from every possible angle so we paid the ticket and took the stairs to the top. The stairs consist of a narrow spiral staircase of almost 300 steps - quite a challenge - but this was only the start of things to come.

Next stop was to walk to the Trocadero where you get a great view of the Eiffel Tower. We sat, enjoying the moment and resting our feet as I didn't have my proper walking shoes on before heading back to our hotel. On the way back we had our first attempt at ordering food, opting for a toaste poullet moulard le francais which I think roughly translated to a chicken mustard panini.

That evening we had a welcome drink with the other guests on our tour, followed by meal at the Latin Quarter on the banks of the Seine overlooking Notre Dame Cathedral. Overall, a great start to our European holiday.