To celebrate our 10th anniversary we decided to head off to Paris.

Friday 6th July We travelled to Paris via Eurostar - first class. This is an excellent way to go as you end up right in the city centre. The journey was very relaxing helped along with plenty of champagne - well we are now in France it just seems the right thing to do. we stayed in a hotel which was just off the Chance Eleyse. The room was small but had everything that you could need. In the afternoon we took a coach tour of the city (2 hours) to get our bearing. Maybe the champagne was now taking effect as we both kept nodding off throughout the trip, but it was informative and quite relaxing. After this we strolled around and had a beer outside a cafe and watched the world go by. In the evening we strolled along the Chance Eleyse and had dinner in Planet Hollywood followed by cocktails. As we left the restaurant it started to rain, by the time we got back to our hotel the heavens had opened, thunder, lightning and torrential rain. We eventually fell asleep at around 02:00.

Saturday 7th July Breakfast in the hotel was not worth getting up for - 1 bread roll, 1 yoghurt, 1 croissant and tea. Head for the metro to get a 5 day Paris Visite ticket for all zones. This proves a bit more difficult that first thought as our French is awful and they don't speak English, but we eventually manage with sign language. After a bit of shopping we go for some culture and head off to the Louvre. The queue was very long but eventually get inside. The building was much bigger than we first thought and we didn't find the map very helpful. Many of the areas that we wanted to see were shut off. But we did get to see the Mona Lisa (another queue), although you never seem to get very close as there are too many people around. Tried to find the collection of Gainsborough (being a local artist to us) but couldn't find it anywhere.

Sunday 8th July After another skimpy breakfast we head off the Dinseyland. We are meeting some friends here who have come over to Paris for 3 days, and staying in the park. Many years ago we went to Florida so were most impressed with Disney in Paris. The rides being newer were much more exciting. The park was well laid out, and being in Paris beer was sold - the only Disney park which does. The only down side was Space Mountain was constantly breaking down and we only managed to ride on it twice. Star Tours was good fun - the best seats being on the back row, as the seat were so high your feet were off the floor, and you were flung around a lot. Some of the rides were in French and you had headphones to hear your own language (but the main speakers were so loud you could hear the french aswell). Monday 9th July Up early again and back to Disney. The journey from the centre of Paris is about an hour. Meet our friends and back on the rides. One excellent show is Honey I Shrunk the Audience. I'ts a 3D show which is both funny and will make you jump out of our seat at one point. Checked out the Disney village, but found this a bit disappointing. There are not many shops and they all sell exactly the same thing in each. Had dinner in the hotel where our friends were staying followed by loads of cocktails. The resort hotels are perfect access to the park, coaches run constantly all day. There are even characters that go around the hotels. As you can see Keith never grew up.

Tuesday 10th July 3 of our friends came up to Paris for the day, Linda, Jon and Paul. We thought it time to do some sights and what better than the Eifel Tower. We were surprised that there was not much queuing here, after only 30 minutes we had reached the second floor. It seems high already but this in only a third of the way up. Next is a glass lift to the top. Not being very good with heights it was an unpleasant ride. The views at the top were impressive though and you can see for miles. We took lunch in a wonderful restaurant - costing much more than we had anticipated, and headed off to the Sacre Cure. This is quite a climb. Best viewed early evening, as it is lit up beautifully and you look down over Paris. Wednesday 11th July Decided to go back to Disney as we enjoyed it so much before. Our friends would have already left for home but we did manage to do all the rides again and even visit a few of the hotels in the resort, so we could see where to stay next time. Comparing cocktails at each one. In the evening as our last night we did an evening dinner cruise along the Seine. This was wonderful. Excellent food, plenty of drink and Paris at night is something to see when all lit up. Definitely a special way to end the holiday.

Thursday 12th July Before going home we had a morning free so we went to Notre Dame for a brief visit.

Paris is a great city with loads to see and do. It can be really expensive, but we found the people very helpful and friendly. Must try and learn some more French if we go again.

Booked through our friend Paul at www.4real.co.uk