Paris...the City of Love

For the second week of our holiday, there was no other option than Paris! What better place to be for New Years than the city of love? We weren't going to Paris for the French experience - we had been living that for two months. We were going to visit one of the most beautiful and famous cities in the world.

We had scheduled a week in Paris, and decided to pace ourselves a little more than we did in London. With our list of must-see attractions and experiences, off we went...

Now that is a Palace! The Palace of Versailles - home to French royal families (most famously home to Marie-Antoinette) prior to the revolution - was, quite simply, amazing. The gardens went as far as we could see and beyond.

I will remember forever the first moment I saw the Eiffel Tower. It became a familiar sight every day, and was worth the hour-and-a-half wait in line to go half way up; at least I thought so.

The Louvre was on my must-see list, and not only for housing the world's most famous painting (of which I took the world's worst photo); it is an amazing collection of art and artefacts. We both found items of interest, from Roman and Egyptian sculptures, to Napoleon's apartments. 

The Arc de Triomphe was so impressive in size and detail, it seemed a fitting monument to success. The round-about that it centred proved to be just as breathtaking - albeit for different reasons - as we watched the traffic chaos of French drivers! The Arc stands at the top end of the famous Champs-Elysees Avenue.

A stroll through Luxembourg Gardens on a sunny day in Paris is a must. This is where everyone goes to soak up some sunshine or jog while taking in the beautiful surroundings of the Gardens and former Palace.

A day trip outside of Paris took us to the small town of Provins, which has the remains of a medieval fortified city. We were able to walk along the wall and lookout from the towers that once guarded this city. 

Amazing and historic buildings in Paris are all just a stroll through the little streets away. We wondered past the Grecian Pantheon, over the River Seine and saw the famous Notre Dame Cathedral.

It wouldn't be a holiday in a major city without some shopping. Le Bon Marche - Paris' most famous department store - was just down the road from our accommodation in the area of Saint Germain. What a coincidence.

Paris was amazing and beautiful, and we could see why people fall in love with it. We, however, were both happy to be going home to our quiet little town of Limoux after quite an adventure in two of the biggest cities in the world.

Just the two of us

We decided to spend Christmas in London. Being on the other side of the world meant that we would be spending our first Christmas as a married couple on our own, and would be without any family for Christmas for the first time in our lives. It was literally just the two of us in the big city.

We had been in London for four days already, and in those four days we had been run off our feet getting around the city to see the sights. Research told us that London was a very quiet place on Christmas Day, with no shops or attractions open and minimal options for dining.

We thought then that this would be a good opportunity to relax in our hotel and catch up on some much needed rest before we moved on to Paris. This proved to be a good move, as it stormed on Christmas Day.

Our morning saw us fill up on breakfast provided by the hotel, and open the Christmas gifts that we had received via post from our families in Australia. We had set up times to Skype with our families in Queensland, and were happy to hear that Christmas had been just as it should have been back home:

The Hatfield's had enjoyed a hot day in Rockhampton, had lunched with family and had more family over for dinner. They were in high spirits, with plenty of activity happening in the background, and every member of the extended family present dropped by the computer to say hello.

The Wilkings' had swam in the pool, had a surf or a walk on the beach, and enjoyed a relaxing day. They were still in relaxation mode in the air conditioning in the unit they were holidaying in on the Sunshine Coast, and were all smiles to be talking to us.

It was while talking to our families via Skype from the other side of the world that I felt the most homesick I had been for two months. All of sudden it didn't matter that we were in London; all I wanted was to be with our families, complaining about the heat, eating all the fresh and delicious food, going for a swim and just chilling out and enjoying good company.

Instead, we had a nap, followed by some very bad British television, a walk through the quiet streets to find some lunch and dinner, and more bad television. 

It was not the adventurous London Christmas that I was hoping for, but in a strange way it was still a special one, as I was with my husband, and it was just the two of us.

We hope you all had a special Christmas of your own, wherever you were and whoever you were with. Joyeux Noël!