Day 35 Nice to Paris

We set our alarms to ensure we woke  after yesterday's festivities. Then followed Nick's lead back to Nice Ville train station, stopping along the way at a nice pattiserrie for a breakfast pastry each. We also bought a filled baguette each to have for lunch on the train. We made good time (as always, the return walk seems shorter), so we sat outside the station at a cafe & had coffee.

Lots of interesting people to watch including yet another trio of soldiers with their guns. They seem to pop up everywhere in France trying to look menacing, but not sure they achieve much.

We found our platform easily & then our seats upstairs. We are getting good at this now - looking like locals as we saunter on to the train & stow our bags in what used to seem hidden gaps between seats.

We weren't particularly looking forward to this 6 1/2 hour train journey, but it wasn't too bad. We were surrounded by French people, including some kids, (but they weren't too noisy) & I enjoy listening to the sounds of the sexy french accents....whatever they are talking about.

There were plenty of scenic views to admire as we passed through places like Cannes, Antibes, Provence, Saint-Raphael, Toulon, Marseille & Avignon....

Quaint little villages & vineyards everywhere that seemed to bring delight only to me.  Everyone else on the train slept or read books.

The train made a few stops early on to pick up more passengers, but after the first hour it was direct to Paris, travelling at 200km/ hour most of the way. It was so smooth you don't notice the speed, until you pass a train going in the opposite direction in a flash, or try to take photos & the railway poles seem to blurr in every photo.

We enjoyed our filled baguettes at lunchtime...

Our arrival in Paris was on time, but getting off the train was chaotic. Everyone seems to want to be first off & then you are in a sea of bodies all going in different directions & seemingly blocking each other's path. Lucky the boys are nice & tall so I don't lose them in the crowd.

From Paris Gare de Nord station we caught the metro back to Porte Maillot & checked into yet another hotel in the area. This was also only 5 minutes from Nick's apartment but in a different direction.

The hotel was very nice & modern so we felt happy for our last night in Paris. We were on the 8th floor with great views...looking out on a sport ground that is over a motorway.

 We walked back to Nick's apartment & collected our suitcases.....took some pics of his apartment....front door

Inner courtyard 

Apartment door on 4th floor

Kitchen

Bathroom

His bedroom

Tiny elevator

View of inner courtyard from kitchen

& then dropped our suitcases at the hotel. Think the hotel staff were a bit confused what we were up to, but it all made sense if you knew.

We headed out straight away determined to make the most of our last evening in Paris.

We walked to the Arc de Triomph, which was just a tiny stroll away....

& this time we paid to go up, hopeful that the view as it got dark would be good.  The arc was just being lit up as we made our way up the spiral staircase....

overtaking many others who lacked our fitness & were puffing breathlessly & needing a break. I must admit I was aware my heart was beating when we got to the top, but we did it without stopping. It was really chilly & quite breezy at the top but was neat seeing Paris lit up.....very colourful with all the streets that merge at this point.

 We also got a good view of the effiel tower ( much to Cam's delight...haha).

We enjoyed the view from all angles & then retreated back down the stairs away from the wind.....how are we going to cope with Wellington's winds?

I bought myself a small street sign from an overpriced tourist targeted street vendor & we made our way back towards Nick's apartment in search of somewhere to eat along the way. For our last dinner together we wanted somewhere that looked typically French, but of course that meant so many places.

We settled on Le Franc-Tireur which I had admired twice as we walked by.

It seemed busy & cosy, though was far bigger than it looked once we got inside. There were no restrictions for our last dinner, other than the capacity of our stomachs. We started with Nick & I sharing a carafe of Bordeaux wine & Cam a large 1664 beer.

I was very excited to see onion soup on the menu so Cam & I chose that.

Nick hadn't yet tried foie gras so was keen to give it a go while I was paying (it was the most expensive entree but it is apparently a great delicacy & always relatively pricey). We loved our soup & are determined to become experts at making it when we get home. Nick was pleased to try his foie gras but admitted while it tasted very rich, it was a bit fatty for his liking.

He cleaned it all up regardless. 

For main I ordered confit lamb shank with mash,

Cam chose confit duck salad with pear, walnuts & potatoes

& Nick confit duck with potatoes.

We were all a bit horrified at the size of the plates when they came out, but between us we managed. All were very good & along with 2 baskets of french bread, we were filled to our limits. The waiter was unsurprised when we said we couldn't fit dessert.  It was a lovely meal & we felt very happy with our last dinner together.

We said goodnight to Nick at the corner near his apartment & went back to our hotel.  I then had the dreaded task of re-packing all our bags....trying to make sure we had easy access to what we will want in Singapore & also making sure our shopping was sensibly packed.  It actually was a lot easier than I expected, since we have travelled so light, but I must admit to being disappointed I hadn't managed to shop more as there was plenty of spare space & the bags seemed much lighter than I expected.

It was a late night when my head finally hit the pillow....