Rise and shine at 3am. Two hour car journey to Ashford Eurostar Station and then 2 hours on the Eurostar to Paris. The four hours passed very quickly.

We arrived to the chaos that is Paris. It took us 30 mins to buy tickets for the Metro. There are people everywhere. Then it took time to work out which metro took us to our hotel. We had to change twice and each time there were lots of stairs and the trains were very busy. Our final station was Blanche which was right outside the Moulin Rouge. There was a 15 minute walk from there to the Hotel des Arts. It was good to finally arrive. Our room wasn't ready till 3pm so we left our luggage and decided to visit the Sacré-Cœur Basilica.

It wasn't far to the basilica but it was all uphill as it is the highest point of Paris and the streets were cobblestone and hard to walk on. Once we reached the top there were people everywhere. The view over Paris was breathtaking. Paris looked like it was made of rubble because all the buildings are grey and blended into each other. When you look more closely you can see different landmarks. It wouldn't be hard to just sit here and take in the view and that is exactly what people were doing. There was a man playing the harp on the steps and it added to the atmosphere.

The interior of the basilica was beautiful. There was a mass going on and everyone was very reverent. The architecture was outstanding but unfortunately photos were not allowed so we unable to show you what it looked like.

Outside there was a tourist train. After our experience in Colmar we took the train. It was an experience. Paris is a very dirty city but when you look past that it is a beautiful city. The train took us on the perimeter of the city where the streets are narrow and busy with traffic and people. There was even a vineyard, Clos Montmartre, with very expensive wines amongst the buildings. It is amazing that the vines survive in this environment.

Although the train went through areas that are not tourist attractions it gave an overview of what Paris offered and the architecture of the buildings. Just seeing all these buildings that were more than 100 years old was inspiring. Restaurants lined the streets and there were niche shops everywhere. We would have no trouble finding somewhere to have lunch.

We used the funiculaire (train that took us down to the bottom of the hill) to descend to the level of our hotel even though we still had to walk another 20 mins. On the way back we found a restaurant to have lunch. We finally made it back to the hotel at about 3pm. The hotel is petite and a spiral staircase takes you to your room and down to the dining room. There are five levels with six rooms After 2 hours rest we decided to meet at 5pm and to go to the Eiffel Tower. Taking the metro seemed an easy thing to do till we found out that line that would take us close to the tower was closed for maintenance. As a result we had to walk which was quite far. It took about 45 mins with a drink stop in the middle. It was amazing to see how Parisians park their cars and where. It was doing as you want. There was barely half a metre between cars which meant it was common to just push your way out. Most vehicles have some sort of damage.

By the time we reached the Eiffel Tower it was 7pm. The lines were still long and there was an estimated wait of 45 mins on the first level but you needed to get there first. We decided not to climb the tower but instead admired it from the ground. It certainly is a majestic structure. They are currently building covered areas for visitors to wait before ascending the tower.

From the tower we had a 40 minute walk to another metro station. The weather has been very warm today and my ankles are really swelling and I am certainly getting tanned. We all are. Whilst we were at the tower we noticed many open top buses touring so have decided to check out where they go. Maybe it will be an option to seeing Paris rather than walking.

By the time we returned to the hotel we were exhausted from the walking, steps and the early start. We did however find a close metro to our hotel which has a lift. Our bed was very inviting tonight. We are really looking forward to tomorrow.

on each. Dee and Trevor were on level 3 and we were on level 5 in the Pablo Picasso room. It is a beautiful hotel and we would recommend it to anyone.