Culture and all that crap

What I love about this part of my holiday is that nothing is rushed. We are both valuing the opportunity to catch our breath, see some of the more touristy things at our own pace, and enjoy the prelude to a rushed next few weeks.

Last night we went to dinner at Nick and Celine's place (two of Kate's friends) and met some other expats with whom Kate now spends a fair bit of her time. It was a real melting pot of cultures and backgrounds at dinner last night - French people, Aussies, Americans, Scotts - the list went on.

We caught a cab to the James Bond ball, and got there about 11pm. As we left Nick and Celine's it started to snow, and I tried my best to look like this sort of thing happened to me all the time. Quietly of course I was so excited that the snow had started to fall and that I was actually dressed for it.

It's hard not knowing people and so there was a lot of casual chit-chat as we got acquainted with Kate's expat crew, but I came away from the party confident that Kate has found some really nice people here. Lovers of drink, dancing, and generally having a great time.

Of course the 12-hour flight from Hong Kong caught up with us quickly and we had to come home. Kate gave us her keys and we rugged up to face a wait for a taxi ride back to the flat. We realised that we were in the Pigalle section of Paris (like this was meant to mean something to us). As it turns out, the Pigalle is the area containing the Moulin Rouge, obviously a tourist drawcard, and therefore a strong likelihood of taxi presence.

Unfortunately our exit also coincided with a heavy snowfall so, to coin a phrase from "The Sound of Music", the snowflakes stayed on our nose and eyelashes, but it was not one of my favourite things at all. In fact it was rather annoying because it made it tricky to see where we were going. But after seeking some directions to a taxi rank from strip club bouncers, we walked to the Place de Clichy to get a cab. I couldn't find a taxi rank, because I realised I didn't actually know what they look like. So I stood in the middle of an intersection (pretty much) and nearly threw myself at full force in front of an available taxi.

Fortunately one stopped for us and got us back to the flat safely. We threw ourselves into bed and slept until nearly 1pm this afternoon. When we finally got moving we went to a Monet gallery by the Bois de Boulogne on the outskirts of the City - very nice way to spend the afternoon. The snow came down heavily again as we sat at a coffee shop (Salon du The), and so the refills on the hot coffee were restorative in a big way.

I think we will spend the next few days doing the tourist thing - Eiffel Tower, Louvre, and all that "culture and crap" which should be a nice 'au revoir' to Paris before we head off on the train tour.

Thanks to all those who have emailed their well wishes - I will write back soon.