We went for a lovely walk into the centre of Paris this morning taking in all the sights as we went. Firstly we wandered through Luxembourg gardens which are very close to the hotel and Fran had suggested we take a look. Then we just kept walking and Andrew directed us via google maps on his phone. We hadn't had any breakfast so we were keeping our eyes peeled for somewhere inviting to have a bite to eat. We settled on a nice looking corner restaurant that looked busy and we were able to sit outside but in the shade so it wasn't too hot. It was called 'Le Bistrot de Maëlle et Augustin'. By now it was actually lunch time so we decided to call it brunch and to celebrate Andrew's birthday, we shared a bottle of Rosé with our meal. Just perfect!

We kept walking until we arrived at The Eiffel Tower and we made sure we got a shot of each of us in front of it. There were so many people around and it was just beautiful. We then went down by the river and after a while we found the closest metro station to hop on a train to George V where we walked up the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. With its cinemas, cafés, luxury specialty shops and clipped horse-chestnut trees, the Champs-Élysées is arguably the most famous street - and one of the most expensive strips of real estate - in the world. Several French monuments are also on the street, including the Arc de Triomphe and the Place de la Concorde. The name is French for Elysian Fields, the place of the blessed dead in Greek mythology. According to a much used description, the Champs-Élysées is la plus belle avenue du monde ("the most beautiful avenue in the world").

By now it was late afternoon so after having a quick look in some of the shops we made our way back to the hotel. We thought it would be a good idea to book somewhere for dinner so we went back to a gorgeous little bustling street that we had seen yesterday but we ended up settling on a cheap and cheerful chinese/vietnamese restaurant only five minutes from our hotel. We reserved a table outside because it was still warm enough to sit outside and we popped back to the hotel to freshen up. The meal was just ideal! What a superb day we have had in the romantic city and like me it was an unforgettable birthday for Andrew. Disneyland tomorrow! Woohoo!