Trois nuits a Paris

Some good things about Paris:

1. The vistas. The city seems to have been planned and stuck to. Standing outside the Louvre Pyramid you can line up the monument at the Place de la Concorde with the Arc de Triomphe perfectly.

2. Food. Of course. The delight, care and attention which everyone takes over their food is fantastic. A street market just by our hotel was selling the most wondeful array of delightful fresh or prepared things. Seventeen different types of green salad leaves, fresh paella with seafood, pastries sweet and savoury, fruit, fresh or prepared meat. Move it to a street in Britain and someone would have said 'I ain't eating that crap.'

3. The fact that all the sites we wanted to see (Liz had not been to Paris before) were so close together. We did most of the tourist things and walked between them all.

4. Eurostar. Fast and smooth right up to the very edge of Gar du Nor because of the designated line. Punctual.

Some disappointing things.

1. Eurostar. Slower in Kent. Very slow though London.

2. As ever so frustrating that our attempts to speak French are countered by French people bursting into English at the first hint of our accents.

3. Salt. Hadn't really noticed before but even restaurants in England have cut down on salt. We use very little in our home-cooking these days, sacrificing a little of bringing out the flavour on the altar of a healthier life-style. Our restaurant meals had to be accompanied by a litre of water each.

4. Dog-pooh. Everywhere. They wash the streets over-night and it's back by dawn.

5. The price of coffee in cafes. Boy did we get through some Euros.

6. English tourists. So rude.

But Liz had a great birthday weekend away and said it was '...everything she'd hoped it would be.' Hooray. And she didn't catch my cold.

By the way, for those who care, my second cold of the season is on day 12.