Parlez Vous Anglais?

Yes, we are in Paris - and what a wonderful place it is.

We had a rather restless night for our last night in London. Joanne was on the phone, very worried about Jasper - and with good reason as it turned out. She took him to the Vet and he has an ulcer in one eye. By morning, London time, the news was better. Jasper has had an operation to temporarily close over his eye to give it a chance to heal. He has come through that OK and we will know how things are going in a couple of weeks. In the meantime Joanne will be giving Jasper lots of TLC (and drops in the eye with lots of help...)

Feeling better about the situation at home, we checked out of our hotel and headed for St Pancras International station and the Eurostar. Talk about big business - there was an 18 carriage train leaving every 20 minutes or so for Paris or some other destination in Europe. There were people everywhere, worse than an airport. Even so, out of what seemed like chaos, they ran a very slick business. We were all boarded in plenty of time and the train slipped out of the station 7 seconds late (assuming the digital clock I could see was accurate). 

We slipped through the English countryside at a rapid pace, slowed to go through the tunnel under the English Channel and then sped up again through France. We arrived in Paris at Gard du Nord station a few minutes early, taking only 2 hours 15 minutes from station to station. Lulled into complacency but the surplus of taxis in London and Dublin, we didn't bother hurrying off the train and out of the station - BIG mistake! We were one hour in the queue for a taxi. Eventually our turn came and it was out into the traffic chaos that is Paris. I suppose they are used to it but I don't know how they put up with it.

The Eurostar at Paris Gare du Nord

We eventually arrived at the New Orient Hotel, in Rue de Constantinople in the 8th District of Paris. It is a beautiful Haussmann style building and we have a room on the second floor. After a little rest, we went out for a late lunch and found ourselves wandering around a market area in Villiers. While walking around we could see Sacre Coeur, a basilica high on a hill, in the distance. We have marked that down as one of the sights we might get to - there are just so many things to see.

Our hotel in the 8th District - Anita is hiding on the balcony among the geraniums

The view down Rue de Constantinople towards the centre of Paris

 Looking along Rue de Constantinople towards Villiers

Off in the distance is Sacre Coeur

After a late afternoon nap, we ventured out further afield for dinner. This time we wandered generally in the direction of Gare St Lazare station where there are lots of places to eat. We settled on the Brasserie Triadou Haussmann where we had a wonderful dinner. Afterwards, we strolled back to our hotel via the St Augustin chapel - another place that has gone on the list for a daylight visit.