5 years ago today I met a guy randomly in a pub in Newcastle. Today we celebrate 5 years together by exploring Paris. Our first destination for sightseeing today was the Champs Élysées & nearby Palaces as well as the gold statue topped Pont Alexandre (Bridge). We wandered up the Champs-élysées past designer stores & restaurants stopping for a Baguette for lunch before watching the madness around the Arc de Triomphe. Buses cut across 4 lanes to make their exit and scooters weaved haphazardly through chaotic 'lanes' of traffic. Once again there was a long queue to go to the top of the Arc so we had a quick look & then headed back under the roundabout towards the Trocadero. Sitting on the grass in front of the dual winged behemoth of a building we looked up at the icon of Paris- The Eiffel Tower! Today's queuing experience was to take the elevator to the 2nd level of the tower as we shuffled along for an hour before boarding the double decker elevator on the east pillar. The pulleys & counterweights wound the elevator up & up with the windows offering glimpses of Paris between the lattice work of metal. Having not been up the tower before I was impressed by the views over Paris. There was a famous attraction to spot in all directions but we decided that it wasn't worth the extra queue or cost to go all the way to the top. Descending via the elevator we had planned to take a cruise on the Seine but instead enjoyed a French Abbey beer 'Grimbergen' overlooking the river before strolling along to find a 'Velib' share bike to experience Paris on 2 wheels. We really didn't get off to a great start with the bikes as it took a lot of fiddling to finally rent a bike, then as we were about to set off Sean's bike couldn't pedal so we had to go through the process to change it over. Finally we were off, French style with no helmet, on the bike paths along The Seine towards the Pont Neuf in front of the Louvre. When the separated bike path joined with the road I had my fingers & toes crossed- not only are the drivers crazy but the other bike riders as well. It was certainly an experience riding through Paris but we were happy to deposit the bikes & walk across the bridge filled with padlocks of love. I had given Sean an engraved padlock that morning so he now had to find a place to put it amongst all of the other crowds of padlocks covering every piece of wire fence. Once we had secured a spot we headed for the Latin Quarter is search of frogs legs & snails!! We soon found the narrow streets of cafes & restaurants which the area is known for and secured a cute little table in the front window of a restaurant which had a exactly what we were looking for. For €16.80 we had a choice of entree, main & dessert which we accompanied with a 1/2 jug of house red for €9.80. I had Snails in garlic butter sauce, steak with cheese sauce fries & salad and a delicious rich chocolate pudding with icecream. Sean and I shared entrees as he ordered frogs legs in butter sauce and we agreed that the snails were the pick as they tasted like mussels with a slight aftertaste of dirt whereas the frogs legs were very fiddly trying to get the meat off the little bones & tasted like quiet chewy chicken. After such a busy day by the time we finished dinner we were ready to find the metro & head back to the flat. It is still strange adjusting to it being light until about 10pm but great for travelling! We will say 'au revoir' to Paris tomorrow & it will be sad to move on as it has been an enjoyable & relaxing city to explore.