Day 10 - 10-12-06.

Had a very slow wake from last night's feast. The unfortunate thing about garlic is that it tends to stay with you long after the meal is finished. Oh well - the mass of garlic potatoes was well worth it.

First stop today was one of the national monuments - the Arc de Triomphe. It is quite a massive collection of stone - with a heck of a lot of steps. We ended up climbing to the top - and the view was something special. You got a lovely panoramas of most of Paris - looking towards items such as the Eiffel Tower in one directions and the Basilique du Sacré Coeur in the other. One bonus is that you gets a birds eye view of the most insane roundabout in history (I think it's called Place Charles de Gaulle?). You know how on most roundabouts you give way to traffic on the roundabout. Not here baby - it's crazy French drivers everywhere - no lane markings - the cars just drift wherever they want - lots of fun.

We then took a wander down the Champs Élysées. Once again a heck of a lot of shops. Most of which were too expensive to shop in. But you can always look. A draw-back to it being one of the most well-known streets in France is that it also attracts the most beggars as well. Having strangers wander up to you, ask "Do you speak english?" and then thrust some card under your nose asking for money gets real tiring real quick.

Dad & Margaret saw Kate off back to London. The plane was an hour late boarding & taking off. Typical French efficiency.

Met up for a few beers with Andrew Busch, who is also travelling on the continent at the same time. Swapped a few stories about our travels. After that I took him down to what in the U.K. would be known as the high street to have a gander at the Moulin Rouge. Being lateish at night, every single den of ill repute was open. Walking along there during the day you don't realise just how bloody many there are. Answer = lots. Two unattached men walking down that street attracted all kinds of offers - in someways quite eye-opening. I ended up catching the Metro back to the closest station because I just couldn't be bothered running the gauntlet again.