Waking up to my first full day in Paris is an exciting prospect. So many sights to see and people to encounter. My plan today was to get out and walk around and take a cycling tour to some of the main sights around the city. Dad has opted out of joining me knowing he’s probably not up to keeping up with my pace. I love to walk so there’s lots of it today. So after a sleep in we decide to enjoy breakfast together. I still love how all the cafes and restaurants have road facing seating. We find a place not far from our hotel and have the waiter give us a translation of the menu.

We order lattes which here means you’re served hot milk with the coffee separately. It does the trick but not really the kind of coffee I’m used to. Message me if you have a good coffee stop in Paris.

I actually wonder why there aren’t all the shops open. Perhaps they have different trading hours. It’s about 9.30am and would have thought the place would be a buzz at this time. It’s then I remember my Columbian friends advice from last night that today is a public holiday. The streets are very quiet indeed.
After breakfast we farewell each other and I head off. I’m not entirely sure where I’m going but I thought I’d head towards the Eiffel Tower. It’s a little ways to walk so on my way I book my bike tour for this afternoon. Love technology and how I can just do that on the fly.
I pass beautiful buildings and a myriad of people going about their day. Some look lost, some are in a hurry, some are just looking for a good coffee.
I stop momentarily in a Starbucks, and while this isn’t the best coffee ever it’s a lot closer to what I’m used to. I watch a couple of Americans have a bit of a challenge ordering in English. I decide to have a chat with them once our orders are placed. They’ve done a whirlwind tour of parts of Europe, courtesy of her being a flight attendant and the discounted flights she has access to. I share some of my VERY limited knowledge and they seem grateful enough. Now off I go with Latte on skim milk in hand to see what the day has in store.
It’s a gorgeous day again! I don’t want to jinx it, because it’s just been simply stunning weather the whole time I’ve been away.

And so it happens! I lay eyes on the Eiffel Tower. There is nothing more to say. The smile says it all!

I sit in the park and take in the view. I literally just watch the world go by as I see couples take countless photos, kiss and soak in the romance. As a single lady here I am so content. Not concerned one bit that I’m flying solo. I’m feeling the love.
Not sure how long I sat there for but once again my stomach is rumbling so I find a restaurant in the next block to enjoy a bite to eat. It’s here I video chat to my girls back home. They’re doing good. They want to see the Eiffel Tower so I finish up what I’m eating and head babe to the iconic view to show them how close I am.

Its cool to see their reaction to seeing it with me. They would love Europe. I hope they see the world. It’s such an incredible experience.
It’s nice to have champagne while being right near such an iconic view. I send messages to my best friend back home and call my full time fly girl while I enjoy my bubbly and a calzone at an Italian restaurant on the corner of a busy intersection near the tower. Tour buses galore pass through and I hear so many languages and accents around me.

But the time has come to get on my bike (literally). I make my way to the meeting point, but not before checking in with my mum. It’s so nice to chat and share what I’ve been up to with her. She’s been following my travels through the blog and social media. She just wants to jump on a plane and join me.
I find my meeting spot and the group consists of heaps of Americans and a couple of Australians. Our guide introduces himself as Nate and he is from Chicago.

Fat Tire Tours is certainly a great company to get on your bike with. We go through a brief orientation and are allocated our bikes. It’s weird to be on a bike again, I’ve not ridden one since I was in my teens (other than those at the gym of course). We hear some very cool facts about the various rulers of France. I love the live guide experience as we manouver our way through the city. Neapolian seemed to basically leave his head of mistress’s in charge (there were over 300) and she single handledly built and opened the military school amongst other things. She was a go-getter who got stuff done. I woman after my own heart – apart from the whole mistress thing of course.
I hear about why the buildings are all uniform in size and style. Now I am not at all a history buff but this has been the most interesting history lesson I’ve ever had.
We make stops at a variety of iconic places, snap pictures and dodge traffic. We have been instructed that there are 3 forms of riding – single file, two by two & dominating. Dominating is where we huddle and basically take up the whole lane for our group. It’s so much fun. I chat to a variety of people from the group who seem to find what I’m doing ‘brave’. Please, being on my own isn’t brave – it’s just fun.

The tour takes 3 hours so it’s time to touch base with dad to see what he’s up to and make dinner plans. How is it 6pm already. We reconvene at the hotel so he can no and I can shower and plan the next part of my trip. I sit at a restaurant while I enjoy a wine and watch the world go by, dad has been to Notre-Dame and is tired from his walk home.

At about 9pm I pop upstairs to wake dad and head out for dinner. I remembered the location of a beautiful spot by the water where there are a lot of restaurants and bars. It had rained for a short while but seems to have cleared enough for us to venture out.
Our taxi driver speaks to us in French even though it’s very clear we have no way of understanding him. But wth the magic of maps and technology I can show him where to take us.
On our way there I notice the Eiffel Tower is lit up and stop to admire it in the background. The sky is now clear and it’s a stunning night.

It certainly is much quieter than earlier in the day but still plenty of people out. We check out if there is somewhere still serving food, and we find a place to have a drink overlooking the Seine before we decide to eat.

We have a drink and then move on to another restaurant where we order some dinner. We share a pizza but honestly not sure what’s going to be on it. The menu is in French and we thought we’d just wing it!
Good choice as it arrives it’s a delicious ham and prosciutto with rocket. Before we head home for the night dad asked if I’d like to go to the Marais district. It’s the LGBT area of Paris. We grab an Uber over there and quickly find a bar that’s still open. I get to chatting with a young guy who’s there on his own while dad has started a conversation with a couple not far from me. He’s an American visiting Europe and has also just been in London too. After a little bit of chatter he says to me “you know where to go next right!?”. I didn’t obviously, but he seemed to know and be pretty excited about it. So I grab dad and the couple he was chatting to and all 5 of us head to RAIDD.
I soon worked out what all the excitement was about. The place was pumping and there was a topless bartender with muscles for days and a dancer in a shower. Now it’s obvious that they’re not interested in me but it’s fun to look at. Glad I didn’t bother putting on any makeup cause all the boys look prettier than me, which is often the case when I go out to gay venues or events.
It’s not long before I meet some more new friends. Alex and Fabricio are traveling colleagues and it’s with them I spend the rest of the night. They are wonderful dancing companions who also enjoyed a shot of tequila so off to the bar we go.

Dad opts out as I decide to continue dancing with my new friends. The shower show happens a second time and they stream it to screens around the venue, including above the bar so you don’t have to turn your head away to keep being entertained.

I bid farewell to my friends after exchanging Instagram contacts and now it’s just before 4am. Time to order an Uber. It’s a short ride home with little traffic on the road. What a big day of experiences and fun.