Sunday 11th May

Check in for the girls flight was at 8.50 so we had an early start. We checked out and had to wait 20 minutes for the next shuttle. We got talking to two texans who had spent the week in france. Eventually the bus arrived and we were heading for the airport, where we found the easy jet check in and the girls got in line. They were at the desk for ages and Grace chucked me this green gel stuff that she couldn’t take on board (I still don’t know what it is). Both Mary and Graces bags were overweight so they had to pay charges. While I was waiting, two horrible americans who looked as though they were quite rich and didn’t care about anyone but themselves, had a go at the airline man about how their flight had been closed. Well you should have gotten to the airport on time you stupid americans. I gave them an evil stare as they walked past! After the girls had finished checking in, we said good bye and they went through security. I, on the other hand, headed towards the RER and my day out in Paris. The day didn’t start too well. It turns out you can’t use the normal metro tickets for getting into Paris so I had to queue in a long line for the ticket machine. And then, when I got to the front it turned out the card machine wasn’t working and you can’t use notes and I didn’t have enough change so I had to queue again at another machine. Luckily this one accepted cards and armed with my ticket I headed through the barrier and onto the RER. My first stop was a walking tour of Montmartre which i’d found in my guidebook. It started at Blanche metro station where I saw the Moulin Rouge (a bit disappointing) and wound its way through the beautiful cobbled streets, and staircases to the Sacré Coeur and the amazing view over Paris. My God it was busy though. I practically had to push my way though the hoards of tourists to the steps and I made my was down to the bottom, avoiding all the salesmen selling tacky tourist souvenirs. Today was boiling (about 28’c) and I realised I hadn’t had anything to eat (it was now about 1pm) so I had a delicious ice-cream to cool me down before heading to Abbesses Metro station (with the famous sign above it) and to Gare St Lazare. No, I wasn’t going home yet but wanted to check that the trains were running. Yep they were, phew, so I bought a ticket for 8pm ce soir. My next stop was The Grand Boulevards, which my guide book had said had some nice shops, especially ones which contained old books which is what I need for my project. Unfortunately I forgot it was Sunday so there wasn’t a lot open. Oh well, it was nice to see a different bit of Paris. After this I caught the metro to the Arc de Triomphe and had a wander down the Champs-Élysées. By this point my feet were killing me and after a look at them I discovered I had aquired several blisters - nice. It was time for a rest. A minute later I was sitting in the first Starbucks i’d seen in France eating a Croque Monsieur and drinking a cafe frappucino. You may ask why I didn’t go to a proper french cafe. The truth is I feel a lot more comfortable in somewhere I recognise when sitting on my own, and many of the smaller cafes were packed anyway. What did get me annoyed is that after I had ordered in french, the waitress answered in english - is my french really that bad?! After the grateful fuel stop, I walked a little further down the Champs-Élysées to the next metro stop, and headed to St Paul where I had read about a Photography gallery. I nearly didn’t go because of my feet, but i’m glad I did. It was a lovely gallery set on 4 floors and had two large exhibitions by different photographers. It was also lovely and cool. Then I got back on the metro and took a trip to the Centre Pompidou. I didn’t bother going inside, the queue was ginormous, but I think the outside looked very unique and interesting. The square surrounding it was covered in sunbathing people eating ice-creams and I considered joining them but then I saw a sign to Halles and I followed that instead. At the Forum des Halles I stopped of at a cafe for a refreshing Diabolo and to rest my feet, and then it was on to Église St-Eustache where I sat in the sun for nearly an hour, watching kids play on the massive stone head outside the church and in the water feature. Not sure that is such a good idea though as the water seemed very icky. I decided I had done enough for the day and headed back to St Lazare where there was another Starbucks (I hadn’t seen it last time I went to Paris) and so I had a bagel and a cafe glacé while doing some sketching. Then it was back to Rouen. In france you have to put your ticket in a yellow machine before you board the train. Usually the machine will make a whirring noise and the date and time will get printed on the ticket. Mine didn’t make any noise, and when the conductor came round he noticed and looked at me quizzically. ‘I did it, but it didn’t work’ I said in english, so I could pretend I was new in france if need be. He then looked at me in way that said ‘I will let you off this time’ and proceeded on his way. I don’t understand why you put it in the machine to start with. They still punch a hole in the ticket on their way round. Anyway, after an eventful day I finally got home, nursed my feet, spoke to mum who rang, and headed for bed.