Oh, to be back in Paris! 

It is an enchanting place and even more so this time as we met up with daughter, Ebony who arrived in London a month before on her working holiday.

Our first night together was spent sitting up on the steps of the Sacre Coeur having a picnic tea and a bottle of wine. There were a lot of people and as it got dark a firework display began and we realised why the people were there. We did try to kid Ebony though, that we had organised this especially for her!

The next few days we enjoyed the sights of Paris together including some new things we had not done previously, but were high on Ebony's priority list, like visiting Jim Morrison's grave (of "The Doors" fame) and going to the Catacombs. The Catacombs were quite an eerie experience. In 1785 the problems posed by Paris's overflowing cemeteries was solved by exhuming the bones and storing them in the tunnels of three disused quarries in the heart of Paris. The section open to the public is 1.6 kms of corridors stacked with bones of millions of Parisians. We also took in the the imposing Hunch Back of Notre Dame Cathedral (the hunch back thing was a fable dreamed up to draw attention to a fund raising drive to renovate the Cathedral - great story and it stuck).

We had a real adventure on the second night by going on a night bike tour of Paris. We hadn't ridden push bikes for more than 10 years so it was a bit of a challenge just to stay on and keep up with the others on the tour. It was great seeing the sights all lit up and hearing the history at various stops. Then it was onto a boat on the Seine to see more of Paris by night.

Our last night together was very special as we had late night tickets for the Moulin Rouge. This is an amazing spectacle of dance, cabaret, singing, magic and even an act where a dancer swims with snakes. All real glitz and glamour! Ebony loved it all.

The next day we parted company. Ebony to stay on for a few more days and us to head off to the tiny countries of Luxembourg and Liechtenstein - just because they are there and we hadn't been to them!

Footnote: Paris, Banks of the Seine and the Cathedral Of Notre Dame are UNESCO World Heritage listed.