Place du Marché Sainte-Catherine

The flight from Dubai to Paris was fortunately uneventful, although the plane was very full - so much so that we were seated 14 rows apart (the intervening space was filled by a young French sports team on their way back from a trip to Africa and they provided both a somewhat noisy and rather fragrant backdrop). About 7 hours on the plane, 2 meals (including wine - very nice, but I was a touch surprised that Emirates offered alcohol - glad they did though), and 2 movies later we had a bit or a bouncy landing at CDG Airport. Passport control was rather quick but bag collection took ages (maybe the French baggage handlers were on a go slow). Final customs clearance seemed to just consist of walking out of the door under the board eye of a large group of police types - no forms or bag checks!! We quickly located the train and - bonus - discovered that because the ticket system was "broken" we could travel into Paris for "free". the route in was through largely industrial areas but there were some lovely old brick and stone buildings along the way too... at one station a small cat even got into our carriage and had a wander up and down - no one seemed to think it was in anyway odd. Once at Gare du Nord it was only a 20 minute walk to the Hostel. The area around that station doesn't seem very salubrious with large groups of African men hanging around in the bars and on the street corners, but the area around the hostel seems nicer. The hostel itself is a little tired looking but does have a cafe, a bar and a pleasant deck overlooking the large rear courtyard. First order a shower and change of clothes - then perhaps it will be time to make some plans....?Lue lisää