Day -2 - Gai (but cloudy) Paris

After an enjoyable first class  flight courtesy of the Qantas - Emirates alliance and a complimentary limo ride from the airport, we arrived at our hotel in Paris. Thank god for frequent flyer miles!!

It was a long day with too much wine and too many movies but too little sleep. 

The only thing we could therefore consider doing on arrival in Paris was to....go for a training walk, to fully break in the new walking shoes. Vicki seemed to miss the memo as she dressed in a mini skirt and high heeled sandals (because it was Paris), and we set out on a 20 km walk to visit/photograph all the Paris monuments.

The mini skirt and sandals, though fashionable, were not a good idea. We only walked 10km and took the Metro back to the hotel.

Although I have been to Paris many many times for work, I have never taken the opportunity to look at the monuments (other than through the window of a speeding taxi).

It was a great day which we finished with a nice meal and a Belgium beer and a glass of Bordeaux at a small bistro close to our hotel. It was still light outside when we went to sleep but we slept through - perfect!

Today it is raining in Paris but maybe we should do another walk and trial our wet weather gear. We have checked the long range forecast for northern Spain and it appears we will have thunderstorms during the period July 8 to July 12, therefore the wet weather gear may get some use.

Tomorrow we take the  train to St Jean Pied de Port via Bordeaux but alas no field excursions are planned in Bordeaux (as yet).