Postcards From Andy

We didn't need to rise early today, checkout was at 10am so we decided to snooze a little longer, having already packed last night. Our flight isn't until 10:40 tonight, so writing in Charles de Gaulle is my last Parisian activity before the long haul home to see our boys in about a day's time (or two if you count the day we lose crossing the international date line). We had hoped to see the Catacombs today, but left it too late to book tickets, but we plan to come back to Paris, so it's a "next time activity". Our friend Suze recommended checking out Galeries Lafeyette, and we're glad we took on her suggestion, because the shopping experience, the centre alone, is astonishing. I successfully acquired a day tripper ticket and a ticket each to the airport without any unusual faces from the ticket attendant and we hopped on the RER service, line E to Haussman (for anyone who's curious, RER stands for Réseau Express Régional) Magenta station is beautiful,

We started today with a pretty relaxed vibe this morning. Nothing was pre-booked, so there was no rush and we decided to meander towards the main street in Bastille to have some breakfast before a spot of shopping. We needed to shop for another bag because although we're OK with weight, we're short on space. Problem solved with a new duffel bag so we can pack it in on future trips (for which we pack even lighter) and not have to worry about space. It was about 11am before we set off for today's destination: Sacre Coeur. I sil vous plait'd my way quite nicely through a request for two return tickets to Sacre Couer, until I realised I didn't because I only ended up with two tickets, but the good natured station attendant explained Paris has an odd system where they issue one ticket to and one back, so a return trip means you get handed two tickets. Glad we sorted that one out! We hopped on the metro and swapped trains fours stops on to go fours stops again to Chateau

Another beautiful day in Paris, with the temperature sitting around twenty degrees, but our day started as a hangover from yesterday, figuratively speaking. Last night we visited the Moulin Rouge and the entire experience was remarkable, at times bordering on surreal. They don't allow photography in the auditorium, although we did notice a few Insta types just couldn't resist one more duck face before the show started, but our duck face days are behind us, so all you have is my pretty words (mostly). Entering the auditorium is like going through a little time warp, the decor suggesting a vaudeville influence, with a higher tone set with the little lamps illuminated on every table to create the cabaret atmosphere. The red curtains in front of the stage glittered as everyone took their seats, ordered their drinks and settled in for a couple of hours of song and dance.  There are lots of things that spring to mind when people talk about the Moulin Rouge, mainly restricted to the C