Dates: 10 – 13 September 2015
Modes of Travel: Eurostar
Cast of Characters: Dan, Bruce, Brian & Andrew
Hotel: ibis Paris Canal Saint Martin

My brother Brian decided visit Paris and London for his 30th Birthday and his friend Andrew joined him for the big birthday trip. Bruce and I joined them a few days after they arrived and we all saw the city together. As many of you know, Paris is one of our favorite cities and always looking forward to a visit.

Bruce had to work the first day we were there, so Brian, Andrew and I walked around the city and visited Musée du Louvre. I have been before but we spent about 2 hours walking around and getting lost and I think we all really enjoyed it. Bruce joined us about 5 and we walked up the Champs-Élysées before heading to dinner.

Dinner on the first night was at a place in the 18th called Le Refuge des Fondus. It’s a fondue place that has some decent fondue, but the unique bit is all of the wine is served in baby bottles and to get to the other side of your table you have to climb over. We enjoyed many bottles of wine and when it was all over we walked around some more.

We headed up the funicular (first time for us) to Sacré-Cœur Basilica which is at the top of Montmartre. What an amazing view how have we not been up there before? This was like our 12th trip to Paris.

Day two saw the weather change and some torrential downpours so we took it easy. We had breakfast at a little café by our hotel and it allowed a quick break from the rain. Today was the day we did the sewer tour. For years we have heard about this place and finally able to go for a visit. It was not as good as we thought it would be, but definitely worth a visit if you are in the area. After the tour we walked around a bit and ended up at Notre-Dame. Now I have been many times before, but it always amazes me every time I walk in and this was no different. After our visit we walked around some more and then Brian and Andrew headed off to change and freshen up as it was still a bit wet. Bruce and I champed it out and headed to a wine bar we like in the 1st  called O Chateau and enjoyed some wine. We timed our departure horribly and got soaked on the way back to the metro. We went back to our hotel and changed and headed over to their area for dinner. They were in the china town area and we thought we would find some decent restaurants but nothing really called to us so we ended up at a place called Pho168. It was decent food and we enjoyed our meal. We crossed the street and had a crepe from the little stand. We called it a night and headed back to our hotel.

The next day saw our final day in Paris for this trip and we visited the Musée national Gustave Moreau. It was located in 9th in his beautifully restored home and even thought I knew nothing about him, it was really nice to visit and see his works. After our visit we popped into a little café called the Royal trinite. We had some drinks and just walked around the city. Once it got dark we headed over the Arc De Triomphe and went up. Again my first time up and it was so amazing and in my opinion a better view than le Tour Eiffel. We called it a night after our visit.

The next day we met the boys at Gare Du Nord and then said good bye to Bruce as the three of us headed back to London and Bruce went to Scotland.