The trip up to Paris from Lucern was a long and tiring journey as we had to travel via Stuttgart in Germany to pick up Monique's backpack at her aunt Dugmar's flat there. We got to Stuttgart at around midday and met up with Dugmar's friend Ruth who had already collected our bag for us and so welcomed us in to her house for lunch instead! Unfortunately we were on a tight schedule so we couldn't stay :-( so after a quick pass by the apartment to double-check we hadn't left anything, she kindly dropped us back at the local station and we headed back to the city center. There we found out that our train had been delayed so we killed some time at the nearby Starbucks which, coincedentaly, was basically where our Europe trip all began two months ago. It was almost dark by the time we boarded a train, and arrived in Paris main station late on Monday 17 December. We figured out the metro pretty quickly (it may be old but its actually quite good) and soon we were at our accomodation, where we ate a quick dinner and flopped into bed.

Tuesday we were up early to meet Monique's sister Chantell and her husband Adam for breakfast - quite exiting to meet up with some people from home! We met at their hotel and it was great to see the girls and chat a bit to them about their trip. They were off to EuroDisney that morning and were really excited :-) After a delicious breakfast and some photoes, we said our goodbyes at the nearby metro station and headed into a different part of the city to do a walking tour. We walked past most of the main sights while our guide shared some of the old history of the city and also pointed out some of the lesser know attractions. Unfortunately there wasn't time to go into any of the places, but it gave us a good idea of where we wanted to come back to when we had more time.

Our tour ended near the Obelisk at the top of the Champs-Élysées and, even though by now we were really tired and very tempted to go back to our accommodation for a sleep, we decided to press on and see some more sights. So we grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed off to climb the hill of Montmartre, the highest point in the city. There we visited the Sacré-Cœur Basilica and enjoyed wandering around the old cobbled streets admiring all of the street artists at work. The view out over the city was pretty cool and were lucky to find a good vantage point to see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. We saw the lights switch on at 5pm and then also saw the glittery lights that they put on for 5 minutes on the hour... so stunning (I think it's a Christmas thing.)

After that we headed to Restaurant Chartier for dinner, a French bouillion recommended to us and apparently also popular with the locals. This would be the last night that the three of us were all together, so we wanted to do something memorable. We struggled through the French menu but our waitress was kind enough to help us out. It was an old restaurant with paintings on the walls and shared tables and a loud, bustling and slightly chaotic atmosphere. The furnishing were modest - more what you would expect in a pub (slightly rickety chairs, plastic table cloths, etc.) We later learned that in Paris, old equals character and eating is about the mood, not how modern and flawless the finishings are :-) After dinner we headed back to our accomodation and flopped into bed exhausted.

Wednesday we were able to sleep in for a bit and then got busy packing. We picked up a few coffees and croissants which we ate as our last breakfast all together, and then bid farewll to Jason before he flew to Barcelona later that afternoon, and then back to Germany to spend Christmas with a friend in Munich. Monique & I headed off to our new accomodation (fortunately not too far away) which we had booked for our anniversary. We spent the afternoon relaxing and then took a walk into the nearby neighbourhood of Munmare(sp?) when we started to get hungry. We found some delicious savoury crepe's which we ate on a street-side table while watching all the interesting people go about their business. The rest of the afternoon was spent just wandering around the streets, occasionally popping into some interesting-looking shops. On our way back to the hotel, we picked up a bottle of champagne and some amazing macaroons for breakfast the following day :-)

Thursday was our second wedding anniversary! After a very relaxed morning in bed with champagne, macaroons and chocolate, we ventured out to explore. We first visited the Cathedral of Notre-Dame and then wandered along the river for a while. Later we caught the metro to the Arc de Triomphe, which was quite cool to see lit up at night. From there we walked up the bustling Champs-Élysées towards the large ferris wheel that they erect at Christmas time next to the Obelisk. We climbed aboard and were about to pop the champagne we had brought along when the cork flew off and smacked Kevin squarely in the jaw (which was then numb for about the next hour...) Fortunately there was no blood so we filled our glasses and toasted to 2 amazing years of being married! :-) Afterwards we enjoyed a picnic supper on a nearby wall on the edge of a park with a cool view over the city. It was only when we wanted to leave the park that we found out it had actually closed at 7pm... We found this out from a very unimpressed French policeman who cornered us as were about to hop the fence. Naturally he didn't speak a word of English, so we just nervously followed him as he beckoned us to follow him, all the while blasting us in French. We were pretty relieved when he walked up to a gate and unlocked it for us - closest we came to being arrested this year. It had been another day with lots of walking so after we got back to our hotel we flopped into bed.

Friday was the day we were leaving Paris, so after gathering up our things and grabbing a quick bite to eat, we caught the metro to Gare du Nord, one of Paris's major overland train stations. From there we boarded the EuroStar to London, where we caught a connecting train North to our next stop, Edinburgh, to visit Monique's sister Michelle and family for Christmas.