Paris

We arrived in Paris this morning to a little bit of drama.

Having opted to be a little frugal and take the RER rather than a taxi, at least to the Gare du Nord, we purchased our tickets without incident and then had to ask the information person where exactly to go.

That's when the drama arrived: a suspicious package that kept us out of the train area for a while and treated us to the sight of soldiers with machine guns and police bomb specialists who were much less well armed, but much more snappily dressed. Not to say I didn't find the camouflage (or what was under it) interesting…. No bomb went off and we took the train.

On the train, a little entertainment from a guy who sang his own karaoke – portable sound system, the first part of a number of songs of different styles – and then asked for contributions. A few of us gave a few coins.

Taxi, then, to the Hotel IBIS La Villette. The hotel is nice, of a different style than the North American hotels I usually stay in for meetings. Here, for Bob, a hotel bed shot…

…and a shot of the view from the window of my room.

Not a typical Paris scene, but we are practically at the wall in the 19e arrondissement. The thing with the bubbly top is actually a covered play area and there are a bunch of kids playing soccer in it, which is a lovely and lively sound.

Another all-important view for me, given my varied experiences of showers in different hotels in France, is the bathroom. First the toilet and sink area:

…and then two views of the shower itself, base and a vertical shot:

It is not much bigger than a phone booth (certainly not bigger than a phone booth here – they are larger here), so I will probably have to get out to pick up the soap if I drop it, but at least the two doors open, so that action will not be a struggle.

I still need a bit of sleep, so will get to that now.