A weekend in Paris

It’s amazing. One comfortable train journey from St. Pancras station and you’re in the centre of Paris. So simple and stress-free. No airport hassles, no intrusive safety lectures and no long walks across an airport to a distant gate.

I love the Eurostar.

I hopped on one such train with @FrankDJS yesterday morning and spent a wonderful afternoon exploring the capital, somewhere I hadn’t been as a tourist in well over a decade.

Yes, it was shockingly cold, but walking over 14km will warm you up a little. Rusty French came back to me surprisingly quickly and I even got to use the selfie-stick (don’t laugh) I impulse bought online months ago.

Perfect for when you don’t want to hand over your iPhone 6 plus to a complete stranger to take a photo of you in front of a landmark.

We walked from our hotel in Montmartre, down to L’Arc de Triomphe and most of the way along the Champs Elysses before I felt the need for some coffee.

Last night we had the most delicious Lebanese meal, before chilling out with drinks next to the fire. Only then did I feel like we’d walked such a distance. But it was worth every footstep to experience Paris up close.

Even the Metro. It’s amazing how regular use of the Tube in London can prepare you for rush hour crushes on trains elsewhere.

I’m not ashamed to say that today will be about more landmarks: Eiffel Tower and Pompidou Centre. With more breaks as and when the feet require it.

And even then we’ll have just scratched the surface. More trips to Paris in my future, I’m sure. I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to come here as a tourist. And slightly bemused that I know Tokyo better than I do London’s closest capital neighbour.