day five: london / paris

No time in London today. We were up very early and on the tube by 7am to get to Heathrow. Our breakfast of soup and sandwiches was in the terminal. The flight was a speedy 1:10 to Paris.

We landed around 1pm local time and went straight to the train that will take us from the airport to central Paris. The weather in Paris is cold and foggy. Robin is feeling the start of a fresh cold coming on, btw.

• Metro from Chatalet station to our stop, right on the Jardin de Tuileries (just west of Le Louvre).
• We check in to our fabulous hotel, and Robin needs a nap to fight the cold.
• I hit the streets and look for a market for wine, cheese, bread, chocolate covered waffles, etc.
• I return about an hour and half later with supplies after having done quite a bit of exploring. At the market i spent more on a carton of orange juice than i did on the bottle of Bordeaux. Should I be surprised? Right now, I need a nap myself.
• We have a little picnic in the room :-) with the wine, bread and cheese. The wine is really good.
  
• After the snack, we clean up and head out to the Champs Elysees to see the lights. It is around 8:30 or 9 by now.
  
• There is a brightly lit ferris wheel in the Concorde at one end of the C.E.. On ither side of the wide avenue are trees lit up looking like wine glasses. The Eiffel Tower is only half-visible as the top is lost in the clouds.
• We walk to the Arch de Triumph past all the fancy shoppes, movie theaters, restaurants, and car showrooms displaying concept cars for major makers. Arriving at the Arch, we wander ariound looking for plaqus in english and take pictures in the bad light.
  
• We return on the opposite side of the street and stop at a pizza cafe. The staff is very friendly and speaks English. The pizza is fabulous. No blandness here! Wahoo! We even get a little of the romantic French atmosphere as we are RIGHT NEXT to (very close tables) a couple who are incredibly makey-outy. We cut them a little slack since they seem to be just kids, in their mid-fourties.
  
• Now after midnight, we head to hotel. Sadly the Crepe / Hot Dog stands we had passed earlier are all closed.

Bon soir.