I decided that I really needed to visit France. So when the opportunity came up to be a part of a tour led by Suzette Boyd I couldn't resist! This is something that I have wanted to do and after watching so many movies set in Paris the desire was overwhelmingly great and so this is the beginning of my journey.

The Emirates Airline flight departed Melbourne on Monday 19th September at 9:15pm. So after a quick 45minute drive by the wonderful Tim Nye, my PacSLAV friend, Lynn and I arrived at the airport all packed and ready to go! We both had big cases with too many things but mine weighed in at 20.3kg and that is all I took!

We had a 14hr flight bound for Dubai and it was a hard flight to deal with but one I am proud to say that I managed and have conquered - in fact I actually slept if you can believe that! This flight had a movie called "Midnight in Paris" showing and this was terrific in whetting the appetite for my trip! Then we had to endure another flight (7hrs) to get to Paris where we flew into Charles de Gaulle airport and were met by a lovely young Frenchman!

After our arrival at Hotel Castex we were ready to explore the local Acra called Marais - which is located in tres chic 4e arrondissement. This area was an march area that was cleared in the 12th century! There are grand mansions the were built in the 16th century but then again I am neither a history or architecture buff!