Fourteen hour flight Singapore to Paris. What a fun time this will be - NOT. Even though we have done this trip many times before, we never get used to this aspect of traveling. Especially after spending 9 hours at Singapore airport. 

We did manage to avail ourselves of the transit lounge at Changi which did provide a comfortable place to spend the time - WIFI access, coffee and food available (coffee was rubbish tho), comfortable chairs and shower facilities. Although, the way the transit system works, you get a voucher from the transit desk, present it to the lounge, they log you in for a specified time. Once in, you cannot leave and re-enter later, so not possible to go for a walk through the airport to stretch your legs. Still, it was more comfortable than spending the time in the departure area.

So, on to Paris. By the time we arrived we had been traveling almost 30 hours. Heads were aching, eyes were burning from tiredness, backs were aching from sitting for so long. and to top it all off, it looked like there were about a thousand people trying to get through immigration all at once. The groans were audible. Patience was called for.

Surprisingly we made it through reasonable quickly - about 40 minutes. Sometimes the travel gods smile. The airport shuttle we had booked even turned up at the right place and on time.

Arrived at the hotel about 10am. Room not ready (check-in time is officially 2pm). We sort of knew that before we arrived. The reception clerk (Julian was his name, and most obliging he was) informed us that our room should be ready by 11am. So, we stowed our luggage at the hotel until check-in, then went for a wander around the neighbourhood.

Fairly typical of most Parisienne areas - a Metro station, food markets, cafes, brasseries. Aaaaah Paris, it's good to be back.

Sunday was a bit of a write off. Had some coffee and croissants at a nearby brasserie (yes, French coffee is still rubbish) then made our way back to the hotel to see if our room was ready, and it was (who said French people were rude to tourists). By the time we checked in and got to our room it was a bit after noon, both of us were totally exhausted. So we spent the rest of the day just relaxing and snoozing.

Made a discovery during unpacking which was a bit of a worry. Somehow we had lost/misplaced the international SIM card we use. Not willing to risk bill shock a quick Google search was required to find out where to purchase one in Paris. As it happened we found one not too far from a place we wanted to visit - Passage du Grand Cerf  a glass covered arcade dating back to the 1800's. Looks like our one day in Paris is taken care of.

Tuesday, start the day with breakfast at the brasserie (croissant, juice, coffee, bread). Find out where the metro is (next door), plot our course to the SIM Options shop (Line 12 to Saint-Lazare, Line 3 to Bourse, 5 minute walk to shop, piece of cake). Purchasing the SIM proved to be a painless exercise, so it was off to the Passage du Grand Cerf, a 15min walk.

Grand Cerf is an interesting place. A piece of history embedded within a modern city. Old artisan shops are still present, tradesmen plying their trade. Shops full of old curios. You could easily spend an hour or two poking around.

After the Grand Cerf we headed down to have a quick look at Les Halles. Supposed to be one of Paris' iconic centres. We found it to be rather "modern" and anaemic. Any sense of history has been replaced by modern commercial entities. Still, we did find a bakery which served up delicious chicken and salad baguettes.

Back to the hotel to freshen up before heading out for supper. Tomorrow we head off to Madrid.