We arrived in Paris tired from our early flight from Berlin, happy that we had a hotel room all of our own so we could have a little Nanna nap. The renovation work upstairs put a bit of a dampener on those plans, but we pushed through and had a couple of hours sleep. After 5 months travelling our energy levels are getting a bit low, so we just chilled out for the rest of the day ready for some busy days.

We did another free walking tour here, taking us from the Latin quarter along the Seine river to the Louvre, past some old royal buildings and churches, through the Tivoli gardens and Place de Concorde and finished at the petit and grand palaces. We had glimpses of the Eiffel tower and the Arc de triumph, but only from afar. Of the tours we've done so far, this one ranks as the least interesting and informative, but was still good. Our tour guide told us that the crown of thorns was on display at the Notre Dame church for one day only, so we headed back there to have a look. Not sure where it was, but we couldn't find it anywhere. We did find a tasty cheese and mushroom crepe at a nearby stall though.

While I'm on the topic of food, I have to mention the great bakery on the corner near our hotel. They make the best croissants I have ever tasted. So buttery that they make the paper bag go transparent, and really crispy on the outside. I'm going to miss them.

The following day we visited the Palace of Versailles. We'd read that the fountains in the gardens here 'perform' on Saturdays, so we came on a Saturday. We expected to see the fountains squirting rhythmically in patterns. When we got there none of the fountains were even running, and looked pretty dry. Hmmm, appears that the performance is just a heap of blokes turning the taps on so the fountains run for a couple of hours. Oh well. The gardens are huge, and really pretty - especially with the fountains running. Wandering around here you can imagine bumping into a few royals strolling through the gardens. We didn't bother going inside the palace itself, there was a huge queue and it was pretty expensive.

After the gardens we headed to the Eiffel tower, planning to go to the top. Once again there were huge queues, and after walking around the gardens in the sun all day we were pretty stuffed. Plan B was to eat a ham, cheese, and egg crepe and find a cold beer. Works for me. We also walked up the Champs Elysees and had a look at the Arc de Triumph. Very nice. I like.

After a bit of a breather at the hotel we headed out to see Paris at night. The Arc de Triumph, the Louvre, and the Eiffel tower. We sat on the grass near the tower and drank some wine while the tower sparkled for 10 minutes at midnight. Very romantic.

We went to the top of the tower the next day. After queuing at the bottom for a ticket, we walked the stairs to the first, then second level, and joined the queue for a ticket to the top, then the queue for the elevator. The view from the top was great. Then we joined the queue for the lift down. Scattered around the tower were information boards about the history of the tower. It's had some interesting visitors and events. There was an ice rink on one of the levels one year; the first skater was a bear! Apparently they had an elephant up there once too! Crazy Frenchies.

One of the highlights of our time in Paris was a visit to the Moulin Rouge to see their world famous cabaret show. We had to queue outside for the first show to finish, and while we were in line one of the restaurants gave us, and only us, a small glass of champagne. Woohoo. When we got in we were shown to a table right at the front. I had my back to the stage, but could turn around and rest my elbow on the stage! We probably missed a little of the spectacle being so close, but being able to reach out and touch the dancers if I'd wanted to made up for that. The costumes were really amazing, loads of feathers and sequins. For one act of the show, the front of the stage slid back, and a huge pool of water rose up. The water had 4 huge pythons in it, and one of the girls jumped in and kind of danced with the snakes. Very cool. In-between the acts of the show, they had some other entertainment like a ventriloquist, a juggling comedian guy, and some acrobats. Of course all the songs were in French, so we had no idea what the story was but we weren't there for the story.

After this the only big sight left for us was the louvre, and of course the Mona Lisa. We left this for the last day, and luckily it was raining. Unfortunately this seemed to mean that every tourist in Paris wanted to dodge the rain here. The place was choccas with annoying tourists and Japanese tour groups. We did a quick walk through some French and Italian sculptures, including the Venus de Milo, then through the Egyptian exhibits. As we got closer to the room housing the Mona Lisa the crowds got thicker, and the rooms hotter. We finally found Da Vinci's masterpiece behind it's bullet-proof glass, pushed through the crowd and had a look. Nice painting. Her eyes really do seem to follow you around.

That evening we headed up Montmartre which was just up the road from our hotel and had a look at the Sacre Coeur church. It's made of a stone that apparently gets whiter with age. It was very white. We sat on the steps up there drinking some wine listening to a busker murder a few songs as the sun set over the city. Pretty good way to finish our visit to Paris.

Bye, Paul.