While I remember I wanted to add a word about the food and people in Paris.

Firstly, the food! Everything tastes so, so good here. Often we would exclaim “that’s the best baguettes/croissant/omelette/cheese/butter ” I have EVER tasted. The baguettes (of which we had many) have a delicious crusty exterior and the inside melts in your mouth like candy floss. Often when I’d pick them up in the morning they’d still be warm. We’d slather them in butter which tasted like cream. The croissants were out of this world – melt in your mouth and no need for an accompaniment. Just amazing. Don’t even get me started on the cheese! So plentiful and so cheap. Chris and I bought a big slice of creamy Gorgonzola for 5 euros and it oozed all over the plate. It disappeared in 10 minutes. I have never tasted anything so wonderful! Even the fruit taste different – sweeter and more flavoursome. I don’t know why perhaps one reason is that the Parisian consumer demands freshness. All the fruit and vegetables (even the meat) on display was wonderfully fresh even in the local corner stores.

My second pleasant surprise was the people. I remember Parisians being very rude 25 years ago. What we found this time is that they are lovely – very polite, friendly and warm. A French/Australian national on the plane advised us to remember to always say Bonjour when we entered a store and Au revoir when we left ( as well as the obligatory pleases and thank yous). I think this made all the difference – we found the French really love their pleases and thank yous much in the same way that I love “the wave” when I let someone in in traffic. We always started talking French and to be honest we found it surprisingly easy to convey what we wanted in French – but almost without fail, we found they spoke English – really well – and quickly addressed us in this way to assist us.

Paris is such a civilised city. The people are really well mannered and we noticed all sorts of telling things, such as the gardens are full of beautiful art which no one defaces, the Jardin Des Tuileries is full of chairs for people to use and no one steals them, cyclists are everywhere and no one is required to use a helmet, there are tons of people in the city but the traffic works really well, if you catch someone’s eye they hold it, no one on the train is looking through their smart phone ( they read books, or look out the window), the women are slim and stylish but don’t appear to wear much makeup, there is a cafe within 20 seconds walk, no Parisian seems to live more than 10 seconds walk from a boulangerie or Boucher, they are very, very proud of their city. We absolutely loved it.