Paris

After an uneventful flight to London we were able to pass through their expedited customs lane and take the Heathrow express train to Paddington, where we connected with the Underground and headed to Westminster.  Big Ben was under construction and the clock tower was covered in scaffolding, but it was still cool to see all the old parliament buildings.  Some local construction workers directed us to an off the beaten path cafe (Sapori) for Breakfast.  I had a traditional English breakfast, and we chatted with a local couple next to us who said they go there all the time.  I think about half of the downtown police force arrived there for breakfast shortly after us.

On our way back to the subway we stopped and grabbed a beer at Westminster Arms, an old pub located right near parliament and surprisingly not full of tourists.  It is owned by the Shepherd Neame Brewing Company, Britain’s oldest brewer, since 1698.

After taking the Underground and Heathrow Express back to the airport we had a slightly delayed but short flight over to Paris.  After a maybe 45min train/ metro ride we were walking across Place de la Concorde, on our way to check into the Hostel.  Grabbed some dinner near the Champs Élysées, walked to the arch and Eiffel Tower, and got to bed before midnight, which feels pretty good right now in the morning after having been up for well over 24h our our journey here.

Sitting in the hostel courtyard writing this and the weather is just about perfect for now 63f, planning on walking around Paris today and seeing all the sights.