Today we stayed in our flat packing and preparing for our trip to France. Tim knew the subway system was going to be even more complex in Paris than in London, so he studied the maps and subway system.

After lunch we made our way through the streets of White Chapel, bags-in-tow, to the tube. Our next stop was the Eurostar. Checking in was the same procedure as going on a plane - security and customs. The train ride was comfortable and quick. 2 hours and 40 minutes from the center of London to the center of Paris. 4.5 million people a day are moved through the metro compared to 1 million a day in London's tube. Our first impression of the metro was it's dirty, smelled like urine, and had an unending amount of tunnels in every direction. Everything is in french so reading where to go is tricky. A conductor hanging out of his window saw us trying to decide which train to take and pointed us in the right direction. Near the exit we waited in a line to buy our Metro passes. It took extra long because half way through waiting, ticket sales went on a break. We waited watching the shifty people in the subway. 3 lanky young guys, pumped up on the art of scamming, helped people at the ticket machine. Sometimes they would buy tickets and stand around selling them. Everything we read warned us to avoid them, but even without reading it was obvious they were bad news. Tim was approached many times to sign a petition and donate money which is another scam we read about. Once we bought our metro pass it was "arts and crafts time", as Tim called it. We had to cut out pictures of ourselves and assemble our pass. I'm not sure why they don't do that for you at the ticket office. We made our way through the tunnels to a special line of trains that take you away from the center of Paris. These were split level trains with a large belly. Once inside you choose to stay either on the main, lower or upper floor. Dragging our bags with us we stayed on the main floor until it became less crowded and then opted for sitting upstairs. In 20 minutes we arrived at our station Maisons Laffitte. From the station we walked through quaint cobbled streets, a much nicer walk than the one to our flat in London. After a few turns, and crossing a bridge, we were on an island where our campground is situated. Belia said she felt like she was at home. She said "when I look at trees I feel like I'm at home". It really is a green space - trees, birds and the river. We were greeted by a Keycamp employee who showed us to our holiday trailer. I was happy to see how perfectly clean the trailer is. We have a small deck with table and chairs and enough beds for all of us. I call it our doll house because everything is mini. The bedroom the girls sleep in is like tucking them away in a cupboard.

We are looking forward to exploring Paris tomorrow.