Belinda's Travel and Photography Blog: April 2009

On the train into Paris from the Airport we were graced with the music of a busking accordian player, he made his way through the train, he gestured for and accepted money without missing a note. We made a small donation to his cause, whatever that may have been.
Hotel Academie was central but very small, right near the oldest (and in my opinion, most gorgeous) Church in Paris, that I witnessed, St Germain De Peres. We were allowed to photograph it but decided to do so on the return journey.
Restaurant food is very expensive in Paris, but if you are smart (shop at markets etc) you can eat quite cheaply and with decadence. We found some really exquisite pastries in Paris, the most popular with us was this pastacio escargot - mmmmmm
Our hotel was close to Notre Dam, so we decided to take an after dark stroll. We marked Notre Dam as a definite must see on the return journey. As we attempted to make our way back to the Hotel, we found ourselves lost. We spend three hours walking the streets of Paris, tired, feet sore we walked into a cafe - what a wraught!. We ordered a cup of tea for me and a coffee for hubby, both of which tasted like they were made on powdered Goat Milk. Hubby said his coffee was 'piss weak'.The concierge was rude, he strolled around with his nose in the air giving us, and all the other tourists the distinct impression that he wanted us to leave, even though it was not close to closing time and there weren't people waiting for a table. To top it all off he charged us 10.8 Eruo - just tea and coffee, that's it. We would have ordered more if the beverages and service were any better.
We took a train back to the Airport to depart for Venice. On the train we were approached by a young girl, asking for food for her baby, she smelled BAD and I couldn't tell if her baby was even real, it could have been a doll for all I could tell, so I gave her nothing, later I felt guilty for a while, until I thought through the facts logically - a ticket for the train cost about 4 Euro, close to the train station was a pharmacy that had formula advertised for 3 Euro. Later on our journey I discovered statistics which confirmed (at least in my mind) the lack of necessity for my contribution.

Before I end this post, please know this: I'm in no way bagging the French or Paris or anything like that. I'm only telling you my initial experience and feelings of Paris.
Don't worry, we came back - And Loved It!