9.00am saw us meeting up with Rae at the Eiffel for an early jump on the crowd. The queues through the heat of the day seem endless, and let me tell you, it's freakin hot on the bitumen under the tower.

Emi Lou managed some aeronautical acrobatics to stretch her wings before taking the ride to the top of the West Pier about 10.00am.

The view from the top is truly spectacular, even after multiple visits.

From here we headed out for breakfast of crepes at a little vendor caravan just near the base of the tower. It came highly recommended by Katrina (my Sister) as a must try ! The super tasty and healthy, Banana and Nutella didn't disappoint…

Rae headed back to her studio to grab her bags and we met back at ours before heading off to Montparnasse for some clothes shopping. Never having travelled through Europe in Summer, my 3 pairs of jeans, 2 pull overs etc seem to be a little superfluous in this weather.

We managed to find a H&S style store with a sale on casual T's and some shorts to keep me going. Grabbing a late lunch at a local brasserie before heading back to our apartment.

Before we knew it, the afternoon had passed. I left Lauren at the apartment and accompanied Rae back to Gare Du Nord for the Eurostar back to London. She is heading off on a Jacobite tour from Edinburgh and surrounds.

Back home to put the feet up before an evening stroll down the Champs-Élysées. Completely unaware of the happenings there earlier in the day, we were a little puzzled by the high police presence… I mean 15 - 20 personnel vehicles plus support vehicles and dozens of highly armed Gendarme.

About now the tummy is starting to make some strange gurgling sounds, followed by uncomfortable cramps and I'm suspecting a touch of gastro.

We grabbed a light meal on the Champs-Élysées and started to wander home. It was well past 10.00pm, and the light was only just starting to fade. I had to make a hurried pit stop at a bar on the way to Eiffel. Darting down the stairs, only to find you need a token to enter the loo. Awkwardly making my way back up the stairs, a rather curt waiter gave me the prized token. Oh, if he only knew how close he came…

Finally getting home, I realised I had left my super cool (Lauren hated it) hat at the bar… Damn, now I'll have to find another one…