It is about time I wrote about our 10th anniversary weekend in Paris. After all it has been a few weeks since we got back and Nenna is due to have her baby tomorrow or the next day so things will get in the way of getting to the computer.

We planned having our 10th anniversary in Paris years ago. Even before we moved to England we thought it would be the most beautiful place to go. And thanks to a late payment from Calvary hospital back in March, we could afford to pay for the room and the Eurostar well in advance and get a good deal.

We caught the Eurostar from St Pancras station at 9am. We were there early to go through customs and got our seat one carriage from the dining car. This was good for getting a breakfast of tea, coffee and croissants, but we had the seat between the windows so the view was not so good. I thought we would miss the train because my Oyster card ran out the night before and I did not know and was fined £20 for travelling on the trains without a valid card.

The English side of the line used to be really slow as the government did not upgrade it for the speed of the train. But as it is fixed now we were in England (London to Channel Tunnel) for about 30 mins of the trip then in the tunnel for about 20 mins then a bit over an hour speeding across the northern French countryside (which is flat and boring - ed!).

All the announcements are in English first then French until you get ½ way through the tunnel then everything changes to French first. It is quite funny and there is an old episode of Yes Prime Minister that makes fun of this language first argument on the train. I think the argument is somehow settled by giving the Queen a dog that has not been quarantined, but I digress.

We arrived at Gare du Nord and walked out into a beautiful Paris day. A wealth of cafes and motor scooters to greet us. We found our way to the Terminal Cafe across the road and had a bite of lunch while we planned how to get to the hotel in St Germaine des Pres where we were staying. (Ahem! I would like to add that we threw ourselves into the language pretty well! Even though the busy waiter started to look a tad exasperated at our attempts, he did continue to speak to us in French! - ed) The metro #4 goes to the station nearest the hotel (Saint-Germaine-des-Pres) so we went there and dumped our bags at the Academie Hotel Saint Germain.

The room was classically French. Small and pokey with a Juliet balcony looking over the side street and a French bakery. The staff were friendly and though Pippa and I were determined to use as much French as possible, they were happy to fill in the gaps in our conversation with English. To get our bearings on the surface we decided to walk to the river and see how far we were form the Ile de Cite and central Paris. As it turned out we were 1 block from the river and across the river from the Louvre; 15 mins gentle walk to Notre Dame on the Ile de Cite. Simply, we were right in the heart of Paris. Staying in the Latin Quarter was such a good idea I am glad Pippa suggested it.

We crossed the bridge to the Louvre side and strolled along the edge of the river past a multitude of stalls selling 'hand painted' post cards and paintings to the tourists. As we bought pictures last time we were here (8 years ago) we were able to look and not touch for most of the time. However those of you that got post cards may have had them bought here.

The road comes up to another of the many Paris bridges and we crossed to Ile de Cite and walked around Notre Dame trying to avoid being chased down the street by beggars and people trying to get tourist to donate to invented (!possibly!) charities. It seems Paris has the same homeless problems as London, but the 'Big Issue' sellers in London don't chase you down the street shoving the magazine in your face. But again we were caught out by this last time and fore-warned is fore-armed.

Notre Dame did not have the usual queue at the front so we thought our luck was in, but the queue was down the side so we decided, as it was a little chilly, that another cafe and hot chocolate was a better idea. The waiter was using all the classic up sell techniques and as I did not know how to order 'tap water' we paid for Evian water (we paid 5 bloody euro for Evian water!!). But we also did not return to that cafe again and I reinforced my waitering style of NOT tricking people into buying something they don't really want.

After this we strolled around the front of Notre Dame and noticed it was still open and no queuing. It was about 30 mins until Evensong so we slipped in and found it was worth it. It is magnificent just how beautiful Notre Dame is inside. It is dark, but the vaulted ceiling rises up forever and all the fresco painted columns and side chapels with marble sculptures could easily convert someone to religion. It is inspiring and staying for Evensong and listening to the choir singing in French was worth it. I do prefer Orleans cathedral and Chartres cathedral which we saw 8 years ago, but I can see why Notre Dame is the centre of religion in France.

By the time we came out it was almost dark and as we had been travelling since early morning we wanted nothing more than dinner and bed. We walked back to the hotel in St Germain, strolled down the street and found a pizza cafe with purple decor and very comfy looking chairs and a few vegetarian choices. The waiter was brilliant and allowed us to struggle with French and helped with English. He also told us how to ask for tap water and so we felt we would not be ripped off as tourist here. Interestingly we had more for dinner and ate here again the following night. *That's how to get regulars Giraffe, don't push and be honest*, sorry, little side note about the waiter techniques we are expected to follow in Giraffe.

After dinner it was back to the hotel and the very comfy bed.

10th November 2011: our 10th anniversary. We began the day dipping croissants and pain au chocolat into bowls of hot chocolate for breakfast in the Egyptian themed breakfast room of the hotel.

Pippa had been told about the ceiling in Galleries Lafayette, (had seen it herself eons ago! - ed) so we headed there. It was worth the changing metro lines. It is one of the original department stores in Paris and built I think in the 30's (sorry to interject but it was originally opened in 1893 and the art nouveau ceiling and staircases were built in 1912 :) thank you Wikipedia! - ed). The ceiling is a huge coloured glass dome and the interior balconies all look up into the 8 floors. As a place to shop it was well out of our budget but we picked up some post cards and took some great photos of the Paris Opera House and the Eiffel Tower from the restaurant at the top. After this we went back to the ground floor and outside to look for a cafe for lunch.

From there we did do some shopping in the surrounding shops but as this is the heart of Paris shopping Gucci, Channel and Dior were out of the question. We looked in Celio* etc. As the evening approached we were deciding where to eat for our anniversary. The Eiffel Tower restaurant was too much at over 100 Euros per dish, and it was a bit cold for a river cruise. We did make our way to the Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero Metro and took in the best view in Paris. Complemented with Nutella and Banana crepes (always makes it better!).

In the end we decided on the same pizza cafe down from the hotel. After all the service was great and the food was also good.

The next day we checked out of the hotel and made our way to Sainte Chapelle. It is a small church Katharine told us about which was designed by a pastry chef. Apparently one of the French Kings held a competition and a chef won it. It shows too. The Gothic exterior is stunning but the real masterpiece is inside. For the period, it is an architectural feat as well. Massive stain glass windows very close together with thin stone columns that are holding the vaulted ceiling up. You enter through the crypt and see the low ceiling and beautiful fresco columns first. Very dramatic when you walk up the narrow spiral stairs into the main church and see over 100 tall windows. On a sunny day this room must be a rainbow of colour.

After Saint Chapelle the cold weather was getting the better of us and a hot chocolate and croissant was required. Now refuelled, we headed back to Galleries Lafayette for some special shopping for each other. I think we did well. Pippa found me my first Lego set of the Brandenburg Gate. She was not so happy but I love it. I found a snake ring made from silver with sparkly eyes. I guess by this time we were exhausted and just wanted to relax a bit before heading back to London tonight.

We made our way back to the hotel for our bag and we treated ourselves to a taxi to the station for the trip back to London. Again we scored a seat with no window but given the time everything was dark by the time we left Paris.