30 July

Feeling pretty knackered from yesterday's marathon walking effort, we lazed around a bit, not getting up til around 8:00(ish), before heading downstairs for some breakfast.  Today it was Omelettes!!  Beautiful, made with emental cheese, ham and mushrooms (for me).  Of course there were the obligatory pastries as well - who can turn down freshly made croissants or par aux chocolat??   And in the middle of Paris as well!!

I think I forgot to mention that when arrived in our first day, we were starving so bought a Croque Monsieur and a Croque Madame - I've eaten Croque Monsieurs before, but never a Croque Madame, which is the same as the Monsieur, but with a fried egg on top - OMG, they were amazing!!!!!!  We need these in NZ!!

After stuffing ourselves it was out on to the streets of Paris again.  Not so much walking today, but we still managed to cover a fair bit of ground.

Our hotel is situated right beside the Louvre, so first port of call today was straight across the road, through the arches to the glass pyramid.  We didn't go into the Louvre, as we wanted to spend the time walking the streets and we had also toured the inside when we were last here.  Across the massive courtyard (courtyard is probably the wrong word) and out the other side and we were beside the Seine River.

The river is a hive of activity, both on and beside it.  Tourist boats, barges laden with goods and personal water craft busily cruise up and down the river.  Some of the barges are massive, stretching over 100 metres.  Alongside the river, there are runners, walkers, restaurants, cafes and streets sellers.  Paris has certainly embraced the river and made it work for them!  There's always something to see!

Across the river, we wandered around the streets of St Germain des Pres.  This is a stunning area of Paris, full of beautifully architected buildings, narrow streets and cafes and is recognised as the musical centre of Paris.  

In the evenings, groups gather on the banks of the river to listen to music and dance - on our river cruise last night we saw several groups dancing on the river bank.  It looked fantastic.  Pity there isn't time to stay longer in Paris and join in!

We made our way back down to the river and back towards the Louvre.  From there we walked up to, and then the length of the Champs Élysées.  The Tour de France had only just recently finished, so they were still removing all the temporary seating and there was a lot of rubbish lying around which meant it wasn't looking at its best.  Nonetheless it's still a beautiful avenue to wander along.  

We settled in for a drink to do a bit of people watching, which seems to be a favourite pastime of both locals and tourists.  It's great just sitting, watching people out on the wide footpaths - you certainly witness some pretty unusual and eccentric characters.  

From there it was a slow, longish walk back to our hotel.  We took the scenic route and just enjoyed the wonderful street scenes and architecture of Paris.  It is without doubt a beautiful city!

And now on to the next leg of our journey - Barcelona!

A 30 min taxi ride and we were at the airport and ready to head south. Hmmm our plane's delayed!!!  That's the second plane trouble we've had this trip.  Hope it's not a sign of more???  Didn't turn out too bad - an hour later than scheduled and we were on our way.

Arriving in Barcelona, we were greeted by a very welcome change in temperature.  Paris was surprisingly cold and we didn't really cater for that, so the warmth is most welcome.  Getting through the airport was so simple as there's no customs to clear!  From there it was straight into a taxi and into town - all done in a matter of minutes.

We had been in Barcelona in '88, but memories have certainly faded.  I remember the incredible Sagrada Familia Basilica, but it'll be interesting to see if anything else is familiar.  

The drive into town took us past the most amazing cemetery that's burrowed into a hillside that stretched for what seemed to be a couple of kilometres.  The cemetery contained what looked to be family plots built on one on top of the other, with glass fronts.  Loads of crypts adorned with all sorts of statues and figurines!

We arrived at the hotel to find our friends Paul and Christine were there waiting for us - beer and bubbles in hand!  They were a very welcome sight!

We headed out to a local eatery to catch up on what we had respectively been up to in our travels and then it was back to the hotel around midnight.