Friday, an early start to catch Eurostar. The journey was good to St Pancras where we met Elaine and Jane. The weather was clement though chilly. We arrived at Gare du Nord and walked the 25 minutes to our hotel in Montmartre
The staff were wonderful, very friendly and we settled ourselves in our rooms. Armed with a map we walked up to Sacre Coeur taking in some sights a long the way and back.
I’d booked restaurants in advance and first up was Chez Pitou. We had a fabulous meal there, onion soup, steaks ( I had Royan pasta) and delightful desserts, washed down with a bottle of red. We were all stuffed.
Saturday was an early alarm call to walk to Place de Clichy to catch the metro to Invalides. Carnet tickets bought we navigated the tunnels and met Kenneth. From Invalides we made the journey to Versailles and met Humberto our tour guide. It didn’t disappoint at any level. The opulence, the sheer size and the gardens were all a delight to behold. The history of the palace, its occupants and their demise, interesting told from a French perspective.
We walked back to Versailles train station, but I couldn’t resist a picture of a taxidermist shop, looks like the rats were suspended in time. Once back at Place de Clichy we spent an hour or so watching Ireland v Italy, surrounded by convivial company and alcohol. We stopped at a boulangerie to buy some goodies ( they didn’t last long)
Dinner was at La Boite Aux Lettres along Rue Lepic and we had another fantastic meal.
Sunday, and the ‘raison’ for our trip – France v Scotland. A breakfast at Le Pain, and a purchase of sweet treats to take home was a good start. The journey was relatively easy and not too uncomfortable! The sun was shining and we were in the middle tier, with mainly French fans. The match didn’t get off to the best start, but improved, although it wasn’t Scotland’s day. We returned to the hotel for a bath to warm up and to prepare for the short walk to dinner. It was in a quaint pub, but neither food or service matched our two previous evenings.
My little life 