Paris; au la la!!! Arrived 6.30am at CDG

We picked up our luggage and headed out the gates, Leigh's comment 'where's customs?' We've walked past them!!

Heading into Paris Garde du Nord by train, the train leaves from the Air Terminal; that's what we need at Tullamarine airport a direct train into Flinders Street Station.

The French on their way to work, boarded the train in their suits and business attire, we could have been in Melbourne!! One difference I noticed since I was in France last was the French women come in different shapes and sizes!! The croissant has caught up with them also.

We are meeting Francois to show us the apartment we are staying in whilst in Paris. We are early, so decide to do what the French do best; drink a short expresso or two and eat a croissant sitting at a pavement table facing the Parisians (and tourists) walk by. This is the life!!

We are staying in Rue Montorguiel, as we are sitting here with our expresso we read in the Lonely Planet guide that writes this street is the place to be, and I can vouch for that!! Numerous cafe, bakeries, cheese, wine merchants, delicatessen, fish and poultry, chemist, small supermarket, all visible from our cafe table. We unknowingly chose the perfect location.

Time to collect our keys, we walk through a doorway into a long corridor between the supermarket and a small hardware store and up a well worn staircase to our studio apartment. Francois meets us at the landing and shows us around. We pay him for the 5 night stay (in cash as he requested) and he introduces us to Maria, the housekeeper who will meet us on our departure to return our bond money as Francois is off to Kenya for his holidays.
We offload our gear and went for a walk to check out the rest of the street returning with a baguette, cheese and salami for our lunch. Did I say this is the life?? Well, this is the good life.