We had to meet up with the group on the 1st day in Paris.

Being our first time in Europe, it was a challenge to find our way to the hotel. The lack of English signs and also to try to understand the Metro system wasn't that simple made us scratch our heads for quite a while. But alas, we managed to uncomplicate things and embark on out journey towards Paris city from the airport.

We reached Sovereign Hotel with a map some directions from helpful Parisians. We were early and so had to wait for the group to arrive from London. They came soon after and we were greeted by the ever sunshiny and helpful trip leader, Daniel.

After some identity verification, we were allocated to our room which we shared with a couple of Mexicans, which were extremely interesting and friendly.

After dinner, we went on a night bus tour around the city. We visited the Sacré Coeur first of all. It is a magnificent church perched on top of the highest point in Paris. The view from the area outside the church was a clear overview of the city. And luckily for us there was the bus to bring us around as it was raining soon after. A quick ride around the "City of Lights" was a really good introduction to the city.

The next day was a free day. Using the helpful tips that Daniel gave us, we managed to find our way around the city to the various attractions the city offered. We were dropped off at the Eiffel Tower and started our day from there.

The Lourve was one of our must-go destination and it did not disappoint. The glass pyramids was simply something to be admired. The inside was pretty much just as interesting. Daniel told us that if we took one minute for every article in there, we would need 9 months to finish the whole place. And indeed, the place was huge and we were lost most of the time but it didn't matter, we just ventured around and looked at whatever came our way. And finally we got to the famed Mona Lisa painting. It was actually just a little painting which was placed far away from the reach of anyone. We wondered a little while more before we decided that things got a little boring, we aren't really art buffs you know, so we left.

And shopping was next on the list! We visited Galeries Lafayette and the 2nd most expensive street in the world, Champs Elysees. Though everything was expensive and we didn't get anything much but the places were really classy and worth visiting. The streets in Paris were also nice to walk along. Its not hard to understand why people dub it to be one of the most romantic city once you've walked along its streets and experience the atmosphere there yourself.

Finally it was time to meet up with the group again at the Eiffel Tower for our Champagne picnic by the Tower. There was another TopDeck group that joined us. Everyone was really having fun. Both Trip leaders were really funny and the part where they showed us how to eat the escargot was really interesting. We finished the picnic with a champagne toast.

Then its off to the Seine River Cruise. It was a relaxing ride along the river which offered sights of the city from a different perspective and angle. Cheers from people from the bridges and sidewalks were greeted with an equally enthusiastic reply from the boat. It was fun! We took a lot of photos and had really nice cool wind blowing at us. The Statue of Liberty replica and the Eiffel Tower fully lit up were the highlights.

We then went back to the hotel after the cruise for a well deserved rest after a day of non stop walking. We can't wait for the next day where we'll the heading for the Swiss Alps!