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The door of the apartment is very close to the door of the lift”. This classic French understatement was our introduction to our beautiful and spacious Parisian apartment, just across from the Louvre, next door to the 12th century church of St Germain  l’Auxerrois with its delightful melodic bells and a short stroll to the famous Pont Neuf over the Seine!
Having arrived for our first ever visit to Paris after a 4 week stay in Italy, the contrasts were immense.  It was as if we were suddenly transported to a different planet.  It was by comparison quiet, calm, just as charming and incredibly beautiful in a completely different way from the stunningly beautiful Italy.  The traffic was ordered and sane, at least by Rome standards, and the city seemed small and easy to negotiate.  Unlike our Italian experience, we were not attempting to drive ourselves, but we found we could get anywhere we wanted to go with a 10 Euro cab fare, and all of the drivers spoke English and were without exception friendly and talkative, happy to show off their knowledge of Australia – Rugby and tennis being the main attractions it seemed.
The apartment was also a short walk from the “Hop on Hop off’ bus stop for the Louvre and for 24 Euro each for a 2 day pass we were able to get around the whole city and access the places we wanted to see.  The Musee D’Orsay with its unbelievable array of French masterpieces by the likes of Degas, Matisse, Monet and so on in an equally unbelievable building was probably my favourite.
Our hosts in the Hotel Relais du Louvre were typical of the French people we met everywhere.  There was not one time in 6 days when we could say that we had met the stereotypically arrogant Frenchman (or woman.)  Without fail they were polite, friendly and helpful.  The city was also, again unlike the stereotypical stories of Paris, very clean and tidy (e.g no dogs fouling the streets as we had been told to expect.)
My Parisian experience was just as I had hoped – no list of things to tick off a la “been there done that” – just several days wandering around and finding out about a beautiful city by immersing ourselves in it.  Strange and wonderful discoveries, like drinking champagne in the Moet Bar right in the middle of the men’s clothing in the Galeries Lafayette (akin to finding a Moet Bar in David Jones Queen’s Plaza), the incredibly mouth watering pain du chocolate with equally delicious coffee, the cafes on the Champs Elysee where it might cost a small fortune for a drink but you could sit there for hours without anyone remotely suggesting you should move!  All of my fantasies about Paris were borne out by the reality.
A very big thank you to Joanne at Travelscene Samford for her professional support and organization, it made for a truly wonderful experience.
Travelscene Samford would like to thank Lynne for this lovely travel article (it was a shame to condense it down).