Arriving into Paris Gare du Nord at around 2315 it was nice to meet up with a few friends who were still out finishing off their meal in Paris so it made sense to join them for cocktails before turning in for the night, after all with the one hour time difference between the UK and France it was still fairly early.

On the Saturday, my 40th birthday events started with breakfast at Fauchon with Simon. Linda and Heather before we headed across to meet with Heather's brother Jon and his wife to be Carol - who was also celebrating her birthday on this day.

It was great to have friends and family make their way to Paris to help celebrate the arrival of the big 4-0, some came by train, some by car and my Mum and Dad timed a coach tour with being in Paris on the day itself. It was also interesting to here the stories of different friends 'bumping into each other' as they explored Paris during the day.

The evening celebrations were had at La Gare, in the La Muette district of Paris. La Gare is a former railway station that has been converted into a bar and restaurant - it seemed rather fitting to hold my birthday event here. It was a great night and nice to see so many people enjoying themselves and I am so pleased that my Mum and Dad were able to be there too.

Sunday morning saw us have Petit Dejuner at a street side café before it was time to join our next train and start the journey eastward.

We boarded the 1601 Thalys operated service from Paris Gare du Nord to Cologne Hauptbahnhof (or Koln Hbf depending on whether in English or German) arriving at 1915.