Ian arrives

Unlike our experience travelling from CDG Airport Ian’s ride was about 45 minutes. After he freshened up we headed out for a promenade to check out our arrondissement. We walked up to the Seine and had stared walking towards the Tour Eiffel when the rain started. We took shelter under a tree but the rain got heavier and didn’t look like it would let up, so we decided to head back in the direction of our hotel and find a nice place to have dinner.

We stumbled across Cafe Ribe; they had a table inside and so we stopped for dinner. The staff here were very friendly and welcoming. I finally satisfied my need for a Steak Tartare which was very good, Ian chose a pork sausage from the Auvergne, and Katie had an omelette with potatoes, bacon and onion. All the meals looked and tasted delicious.

In Parisian restaurants all the tables are often very close together and so inevitably we start up a conversation with our neighbours. First of all we spoke with a lovely couple from California. It was her first time in France and he had been a student at the Sorbonne but had not been back for forty years. We chatted with them for a while, but they had to leave as they had an early flight home in the morning.

Then another couple was seated near us and they were excited to hear Aussie accents. They were a lovely couple from Brisbane and this was their first trip to Europe. Interestingly, like Danielle and Katie, they had just spent two weeks in Scotland and had visited many of the same places. They were off to the Moulin Rouge for the late show. We recommended what we had eaten for dinner and they went with the sausage and the omelette. After France, they were heading up to Norway to ride the Flåm railway and see the Northern lights.

We were too full for dessert as we still had pastries from our tour to be consumed. Ian did have a digestive (Armagnac) which pleased the waiter (and Ian) and meant he fell asleep as soon as he hit the pillow.

Our walk home was rain free and we had a lovely view of the Tour Eiffel all aglow.Baca selengkapnya