Paris: Day 1, 2 & 3

We journeyed from London to Paris via bus. Not the way I had imagined but we made it - alive! The reason I say that is that when we were sitting at the Victoria Coach Station in London I was sure we would have to sleep with both eyes open, I feared for my life (a bit melodramatic but true). Anyway, after a seven hour bus trip through the night, inhaling diesel fumes and experiencing severe motion sickness - we arrived in Paris at 6am. Bonjour!

I've heard that you either love Paris or you hate it. And let's just say it's not our cup of tea. The people are rude and unhelpful, the air is dirty with car fumes and cigarette smoke (everyone seems to smoke here), and we were ripped off on a few occasions. There a beggars with their dogs and cats at every corner and in between and sweet faced girls trying to steel your money. That was just our experience and not being able to speak French didn't help. But we took it for what it was and found we appreciated the smaller things.

The buildings are certainly a sight to see; the likes of the Notre Dame, Louvre, Champs Élysées, the Eiffel Tower and surrounding Parisian buildings. For an 850 year old building, the Notre Dame looks in pretty good shape! The intricacies in both the external and internal design are captivating as are the myriads of stained glass windows and ceilings. We also enjoyed walking over the Pont de Arts (the Love Lock bridge) and through the Jardin les Plantes. This garden containes rows of yellow and orange poppies as well as hundreds of other plant species. But most of all we enjoyed the passionate tunes belted out by street musicians which which we came across at various points along our route by foot. The music was a true highlight.

I'm glad we got to see Paris but by the third day we were both definitely grateful to be moving on.

In keeping with a more positive theme I've included the highlights of our trip below.

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