Gay Paris

France Part three

Off we set fearlessly to Paris, Leanne, Maisie, Leanne's Parents and me in our car. Leanne had booked us in to a bargain hotel (potential flea pit) in what turns out to be the red light area of Paris. What could go wrong?

We drive into town without incident - once we'd worked out where the buses go, and where the cars were supposed to drive, we were fine. A little detour to find the hotel and a mad dash to the toilet when we got there and we were all set. It was a lovely afternoon, reported to be 30 degrees an easy bus ride to our destination of choice was on the cards.

Our destination, the cafe Leanne's parents have a connection with. We were greeted by a large sweaty French man shouting Nouvelle Zealande! He instantly got out the champagne and we drank a toast. The parents were very happy, and also by this time a little tipsy. We ate too much cheese, and marvelled at the size of Maisie's sandwich compared to the available plate.

Pont de l'Archeveche

Next destination, a boat trip on the Seine. Very touristy, but we needed a sit down after our lunch. Beautiful weather, the bridge of love (Pont de l'Archevêché) had caught Maisie's imagination. the idea is, couples put a padlock on the railings, and throw the key into the river as a symbol of everlasting love. We were delighted to see a 'just married' couple, with padlock in hand, make their way to the middle of the bridge, whilst we were passing underneath.

Of course, our next thing had to be the Eifel Tower. We had pre-booked tickets, phew - the queue for the lift was massive for the people just turning up. We wait in the special prebooked short line, next to some Kiwis of course - they don't half get around. In the lift going sideways, we are propelled to level two. Breathtaking views of Paris, a perfect evening to be up high. Maisie speechless. We all loved it. Back to the bottom, and we sat and sat and people watched. Such a variety of people of all nationalities, and such a great atmosphere. To be recommended. 

Back to red light district. The vibe was…actually fine, such a lovely day, there were families, tourists and youth wandering around all quite happy. We bought a pizza off Mr Happy Pizza Selling Guy (not), who wouldn't succumb to my lovely people winning over banter, which admittedly may not have translated very well into French, and was the grumpiest food sales person I had ever encountered. 

Back to a night in the hotel serenaded by sirens and party related whooping.