The City of Light

I don't want to like Paris as much as I do, seeing as it never quite lives up to the hype that the arts have created around it over the years, and yet I keep coming back regardless. Today we took a day trip to the French capital because Sarah has never visited, and we wanted to show her what all the fuss was about before our little group is scattered to the winds for Christmas.

It was a fairly touristy day, with a great deal of queueing in bitterly cold winds to get to the top of the Eiffel Tower (an experience which, despite the long wait, never loses its majesty - see above) followed by vin chaud on a riverboat to Notre Dame. We ended with a stroll around the Place de la Concorde, where the city's Christmas tree stands. It isn't as big as Clermont's, and it's much more brash to boot - massive glowing red baubles and a rotating disco ball in place of the traditional star. The tree has an air of shameless superiority about it, only just concealing the fact that it comes off looking more than a little ridiculous - much like Parisians themselves.

That said, Paris is still one of the most beautiful and exciting cities I have visited, so I had a good day. Also, it would be remiss of me not to give a special geeky shout-out to the Paris métro, which in its newly-restored belle époque glory sits aesthetically between the golden age of rail travel and steampunk. It also has a wonderful timelessness about it, even during the horrendous rush hour.

I still prefer Liège.