A Brief Stay in Paris

Tired and in desperate need for a long overdue shower, we finally arrived at the magnificent Westin Hotel Paris! This hotel is simply gorgeous and, oh so Parisian. Unfortunately our room was not available on arrival, but this gave us time to look around. The hotel is built around a delightful central restaurant, Le Jardin d’Hiver (The Winter Garden), which is just so pretty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the day was largely over and very wet, there are only a few pics of close local attractions...we were disappointed we didn’t plan our arrival a few days earlier, but it was more far important to stay in Sydney to celebrate Dad’s birthday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our room, when we finally got to it was just what we needed, with a lovely window overlooking one of the stunning historic buildings in the centre of Paris. 

 After a lovely warm shower, we attended the ‘meet & greet’ first night. We meeting a wonderful group of fellow travelled over a few glasses of wine. The mix of travellers is is approximately half Australian & half Canadians, with a sprinkle of New Zealanders.

 

 

After the ‘meet and greet’ we tried to book a table at Le Jardin d’Hiver, but the earliest booking was 9pm, and as our beds were calling we decided that room service would need to do. Surpisingly it was the cheapest option and tasted divine with stunning presentation. I’d have to say it was the best mushroom omelette I’ve ever tasted and the breads on offer were superb. A perfect end to a long day of waiting!

 It was a rushed morning, after receiving an early morning call that our bags were not yet on the truck for transport to Lyon - thankfully due to the early night, we were already up and had it well in hand despite a quick panic.

Breakfast was served this morning in the very classy hotel restaurant, and the service was exceptional. Jules loved having her omelette made fresh for her, and my freshly made tea - lemongrass and ginger was also delightful.

The coach trip to the train station also ended up being a guided tour as our guide did a fabulous job of explaining the history of the city as our driver negotiated the Parisian traffic. I was surprised to learn that for such a tiny city (only 105 square kilometres) their population is over 2.2 million!

Due to the many months of rain experienced here in France, our embarkment has been altered from Chalon-sur-Saone to Lyon. When we board there tonight we will find out how this affects the planned tours each day, as we have been promised they are trying to ensure we don’t miss out on anything.

We will also discover tonight when we meet the rest of our fellow cruisers if there is anybody else on board younger than 50. Presently we stand out a bit like a sore thumb, and have been told multiple times that we are lowering the average age of the tour - a bit of a novelty perhaps!