The meeting place is at the top of the Avenue de Grande Armee facing the Arch. Nobody is here and after a couple of phone calls it transpires that Patricia is waiting in a different place! Not a good start.
Patricia turns out to be charming and we all enjoy a lovely tour with stops at various places where the passengers can stretch their legs and take pictures.
I think she must have had a late night as she is always yawning, or maybe it is me! I can have that effect on people!
Due to no traffic at all we complete the tour by 11:45 allowing the rest of the afternoon free to explore at leisure.
We finish the tour at Concorde Square where half the coach leave me while the other half I take to the Eiffel Tower, a very busy Eiffel Tower!
I can park here and safely leave the bus to go for a walk.
I love wandering the streets of Paris and my first port of call is a coffee. Paying €5.50 for a coffee suddenly makes the beer seem cheap!
I walk to a lovely road full of restaurants, small shops and cafes, the Rue Cler. I came across this little gem last year and a year on it is still lovely with a great atmosphere and no traffic. I have lunch here before continuing my stroll.
Strolling the streets of Paris on a nice day really is one of life’s pleasures and something I will never tire of doing.
Back at the coach I check on the Chelsea Arsenal score and am pleased to see Chelsea are winning
2-1 at half time. The next time I look it is 3-2 to Arsenal and then parity is restored at 3-3. When I look at the final score Arsenal have won 5-3! No that can’t be right! Bum!
I leave the Eiffel Tower at 16:40 with four people and drive to Concorde Square where I pick up all but two of the party and return to the hotel. I manage to park in the bus lay-by close to the hotel and am back in my room before six. The clocks go back tonight so we get an extra hours sleep.
Close by the hotel are quite a few restaurants and a couple of pubs as well as a restaurant in the hotel.
I wander out and have a pint in the Big Ben pub before deciding on dinner at a restaurant called Zinc.
It is not the cheapest place I have ever been in but after my sandwiches yesterday I don’t feel too guilty treating myself to a decent dinner!
I enjoyed a lovely meal before taking a stroll back in the rain. Yes it is actually raining! Not what we are used to!
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