Paris - Part one!

I'm back!

As some of you know I recently fulfilled a dream and visited Paris for a few days. To embark on such a trip for me was a massive thing as I didn't know how I'd cope with the travelling and getting around in what turned out to be the busiest, maddest city I've ever been to!

Thankfully my fab friend Debs was on hand to help and support me every second of the journey.  And while I am now is so much pain and am so tired I feel it was all worth it to fulfil that very dream. Over the next few posts I'd like to share with you my experience, observations and pictures.

So to start; we flew out of Bristol last Saturday 05/11/11 with Easy jet (Speedy Boarding meant we didn't queue at all) arriving at Paris Charles De Gaulle airport around lunch.  Straight away I was hit by how busy it was, people every where & no one showing the same manners as us British do! But we coped and navigated the airport to find the Roissybus to take us into the heart of Paris. For €10 it was the cheapest and most direct way of getting from airport to City centre.  Thankfully our hotel was only minutes from the Paris Opera house where the bus stopped.

We stayed at the pleasant Pavillon Saint-Augustin Hotel 3 stars so it was comfortable, central and suited us perfectly.

Our room was spacious & comfortable, though I soon realised that the French don't seem to acknowledge small people (I'm 4ft 10"). Everything seemed a good few inches higher than over here!

We went out for food on that first day but other than that we rested, as the travelling meant I was in pain & tired. We found we were in the heart of the retail area and had everything we could want on our doorstep. My French is reasonable so we felt comfortable using the local shops and supermarkets to buy food etc for our room. We only booked the hotel as room only so that we weren't restricted by meal times, especially with not knowing how I was going to be each day so we didn't want to have to rush to get up if I wasn't up to it. In the end that suited us perfectly as we could come and go as we pleased and never felt pressured. It was lovely to take our time and also the thrill of having croissants and coffee/tea while out felt a 'very French' thing to do!

When we went out on Sunday the views of architecture that met us as we found our bearings were stunning. Here's some of the pics we took round and about.

 Yes they still have C & A in Paris!

 This is of the Paris Opera house.

Couple of the grand looking hotels!

On the whole we were thrilled with our location, so near to everything, however we did find that the French weren't that good at allowing space for wheelchairs or someone using sticks.  And crossing the road was an art form. Pedestrian crossings were everywhere but even if the man was green you had to be careful because cars frequently went through red lights, would drive around you as you crossed on a green man, and basically pedestrians and cars alike were every man/woman for themselves!  We took our time and got where we wanted to go eventually.

Right that's it for me, I'm off to bed now but next time I'll be sharing my experience of The Louvre and the Tulleries Gardens with you all.

Take care Zo x