Paris - The First 7 Nights

As far as Dave & Kate could see, they were in Paris for 7 nights and then who knows after that... if something kept them there longer they would remain, otherwise they were certain they'd move on - or back to Edinburgh if money ran out - as they had no desire to be there any longer than necessary.

Each morning they'd be up and out of their hotel around 10 or 11am and breakfast would be a baguette to share and a pain au chocolat each, which they'd buy from a local patisserie and eat as they made the long walk into the centre of Paris.  They never knew where they were going, they would just walk and see where they ended up.  It was usually different ways of arriving somewhere along the River Seine.

These walks would last up to 10 hours a day with very few breaks.  First of all, their hotel was so far from the centre that they couldn't go back throughout the day.  Secondly, they were running out of cash and forgot how expensive Paris can be and how difficult to get cheap food. 

So during these walks, they'd stop off for a seat at various spots around the city, try the different pastries for lunch when they could afford them and then usually without fail find themselves sitting in a Subway for their main meal (it was better than McDonalds!).  They would also use Brioche Doree.  In between all of this they would try to locate internet cafes to arrange their next move after the Ibis stay was over. 

Paris seemed to be having them walking all over the city, draining them of money and wearing them out and yet the aliveness remained throughout.  They never felt hard done by and enjoyed all of it with no regrets.  They visited Montmartre, the artistic area near Sacre Coeur and were unimpressed by it.  They went by all the main tourist attractions without feeling like tourists.  At the Eiffel Tower, they sat on a bench and while all the tourists were doing what tourists do, Dave & Kate found themselves watching a rat scuttling about in the bushes behind them. 

They had been to these places before and so this time they also found themselves discovering parts of Paris the tourists don't usually see.  This all happened by default of them having to wander around to find basic essentials, not through their own will.  They were literally like leaves being blown around this city and it certainly was grinding them down.

Winter was also approaching and they still had their summer clothes with them.  Even there, life took care of it's own as it never produced really bad weather during the days while they were forced to be out all day.

Every night they would get the metro back to the hotel, usually about 10 or 11pm, or sometimes if they had a fresh burst of energy come upon them, they'd walk all the way back.