6th November Paris

This morning I woke up early so I could say goodbye to the group who were going back to London...all my best new buddies. My room buddy was also leaving to go back to London today. I have to say that after the first two nights of the tour I was not sure how this room share thing was going to work out, or if it would work out...but it did and by the end we were great room buddies and I have made a good new friend. We pretty quickly worked out our routine, who showered when, which bed each of us would take etc. Some nights we would get into our pyjamas and talk for hours!!! The two others who chose the twin share option didn't work out and one of them payed the single supplement to get her own room, which meant the other woman got her own room without paying the single supplement. At first we thought we were going to rotate room buddies but that never happened, and although Neva and I offered to do that with the others, the other lady had decided she wanted her own room. We could have then rotated the single room, but we were happy to share with each other, and preferred to stay together...so we did.

It was really sad to say goodbye and some even shed a few tears. I can't believe how quickly the time went. It was also interesting to watch the group dynamics change over the course of the trip, and the people we spent our time with at the beginning of the trip weren't necessarily the same we hung out with at the end. Regardless, they were a great group and I was really happy to have spent the last 21 days with them. We also said goodbye to Gian Carlos our driver and Mr Trafalgar... the 'perfect' Patrick...our wonderful tour guide. I have been lucky enough to have some great tour guides, but none of them rate as highly as him. He went above and beyond to make our holiday a memorable one, and I can't wait to get home to have a look at the DVD he put together for us about our trip. If any of you reading this are looking for a tour...I would highly recommend Trafalgar.

Now that the group was gone, I went back to my room and packed my bags. Quick Skype call to Mum and Dad and then Andrew and Trish arrived so I got to see Miss Mia which made my day! I then checked out and was able to leave my suitcase at the hotel until the afternoon because I wasn't due to go to my apartment until 2pm. I decided to head off into Paris and pick up my Paris pass which I had to pick up at the Hard Rock Cafe. I managed to find my way on the metro and picked up my pass with no problem. It was in the same area in Paris that we had stayed in 2001 and I was even able to find the hotel we stayed at. I also found the Chatier restaurant where we had also had lunch one day in 2001. I remembered this restaurant because the kids had ordered a hamburger which at the time we didn't realise literally is a hamburger pattie and nothing else, they had been so shocked that it didn't even come with bread. I then walked (crazy I know) down to the Louvre to take a few pictures before going back to the hotel. I decided to get a taxi from the hotel to my apartment rather than negotiate the stairs with my bag. The cab driver didn't speak English but he was trying to explain to me that he had a new GPS, which he didn't seem to quite know how to use yet, but he did manage to get me reasonably close to my apartment and I walked the rest of the way.

The apartment owner Rebecca was there to meet me and she showed me around the apartment and how to get into the building. You enter two big green doors via a cobbled street. Through the green doors is another gate which opens onto a courtyard. The 'first floor' in Paris is what we would call the 'second floor' so I had to negotiate some narrowstairs up to the apartment but Rebecca was eager to help. The building itself is about 300 years old, but newly renovated inside. The apartment was just like the pictures. I was supposed to pay a 300 Euro bond but she only wanted 100 which was nice. Once she left i headed out for a walk to see what was in my neighbourhood. Just up the laneway is the Centre Pompidou, the modern art museum. There were also lots of shops and places to eat nearby. I then went to the grocery store to buy a few supplies and then headed back to the apartment for the night and got all my washing done...it's great to have a washing machine. It is so nice knowing that I don't have to unpack my suitcase for the next six nights!