Barging Baileys: Paris

The boys took their first trip to Paris at the weekend and had the added joy of seeing Andy. The boys and I had an easy trip from Dijon while Andy battled with unbelievably crap transport services in the UK.
We had taken advice and pre-booked our Eiffel Tower tickets and I hate to think how long the experience would have taken without them. We bypassed the queue on the ground but spent plenty of time in the vertical queue for lifts and staircases. Thankfully the skies were clear and the boys loved seeing Paris from above. However the need for hot chocolate soon got the better of us and we tore down the staircases rather than wait for the lift.

We soon realised that Paris was packed and that anywhere and everywhere was a queue. We walked the boys up to the Arc de Triomphe and reeled when we saw the crowds. We joined the throng on the Champs Elysees and smiled at the massive queue outside the newly reopened Marks & Spencers where people were happy to wait two hours just to go into the store!

Luckily the river came to the rescue and we were able to get tickets on a Paris boat trip without too much trouble. We loved the Eiffel Tower light show which happens every night on the hour and lasts for ten minutes. 20,000 flashbulbs transform the dark steel girders into a glittering diamond encrusted sculpture. Simple but beautifully effective.

On the Sunday we had hoped to see the Modern Art galleries at the Pompidou Centre but the queues were unbelievable so we settled for Paris on foot and enjoyed as many of the sights as we could whilst fuelled by the thickest, richest and most expensive hot chocolates available.