Wed 09/09: Paris Day 1

Early start this morning - woke at 5:45am!
We all met up at the reception area of the Umi Hotel.
Didn't really sleep well - kept waking periodically - is it time to leave yet???

We took a transfer coach to Dover where we caught the ferry over to Calais. While on the bus I slowly woke up (wan't the only one...) and got to know my fellow travellers - at least those I was sitting around - 2 couples, a couple of single girls and guy. In total there were ~35 of us, 6 more joining in Paris, 12 of us leaving in Rome but being "replaced" with 12 newbies in Rome...

the bus journey was ~3 hours to Dover. Dover cliffs are impressive (and famous for the movies they have featured in...) The Ferry was fun, kinda like a cruise ship in size and feel. Unfortunately we couldn't get access to the really fun areas with the best views... Sighting the European coastline was a great moment - we all turned to look out the window, a few of us attempting to capture the moment in photos...

From Calais, we were introduced to our coach driver who took us thru the rules... ~ boring ~
Travelling on coach essentially is in 2~2:30 hour legs, with a short 15min service stop each time. 15min service stops for a group of ~40 is actually quite a challenge... but as a whole we worked within the apportioned time...

We entered Paris in the mid to late arvo, the weather quite hazy - not sure if it's 'cos of the pollution... Arrived and checked into the hotel and then set-off on our TopDeck guided tours of Paris: walking and bus. The walking tour was a block of 1hr for us to explore and get dinner. A few of us had dinner together in a typical Parisian restaurant - sampling the crepes and red rose wine.

The bus tour was really crazy - we were driven round in the coach past all the key sights - Lourve, Arc de Triumphe, gardens, palaces, shops, and of course the Eiffel Tower. My camera ran out of juice from all the photos I kept taking - left, right and centre... at one point it was like - every angle had a great shot. I managed to get a single night shot of the Eiffel Tower - a pretty good shot of it with the night lights with my iPhone - and this is my new wallpaper!

A long day that set the pace of our tour...