Robbed in Paris

Paul and I had always planned to finish our trip with a few days in London, followed by a few days in Paris. What better way to relax after the riding we had both done over the previous few weeks ?

Although our time in London all went according to plan, things did not start so smoothly in Paris. After our 3 hour trip on the Eurostar Train from London, we emerged at the Gare du Nord, and looked for a metro link to get us to our hotel. It would have been simple if we had not both been dragging all our luggage with us and were not both tired. We were ripe victims to be robbed. And that is exactly what happened.

When a metro appeared before our eyes, it seemed like too good an opportunity to miss. We dragged our cases and jumped in the open door. Our entry had not gone unnoticed by a group of young gypsies who were loitering in the train doorway. We pushed through the crowd and staggered to the first two available seats. I suppose I should have been worried when the young gypsies all jumped out the door, just before the train left the platform.

It was only when I took the time to check the contents of my pockets, that I realised that my mobile phone was no longer there. In my haste to get on the train, I had stupidly left the phone vulnerable in my jacket pocket - a fatal mistake. My phone was obviously now in the hands of an opportunistic thief.

I should have been angry, and I was - but mostly with myself for making such a rookie mistake. If only I had taken a couple of minutes to secure my personal items, it would not have happened. There was nothing I could do about in now, and I certainly was not going to let the incident spoil my time in Paris.

Our four days in Paris coincided with the famous July 14th Bastille Day Celebrations and it was wonderful to see the residents of Paris in such a party mood. I would love to have some images of our time there, but unfortunately they were all lost in a hard drive failure. C'est la Vie, I guess.Read more