Update from the road #2

(a.k.a. technical difficulties won't stop us!)

I realized en route yesterday that I've forgotten the cable to connect my camera to the laptop and because it's a Sony it uses a Memory Stick rather than an SD card and of course my laptop doesn't have the requisite slot for that particular storage medium. Fortunately, M and Matthew both have Canon cameras and we will be able to get photos off their cameras - but that doesn't help when all three of my travelling companions are asleep and I am busy taking photos of Justin maintaining the same position throughout our Eurostar journey as the English countryside, the tunnel and the French countryside pass us by on the way to Paris. Oh well, you'll just have to wait for that - we'll be looking for an adaptor somewhere on our travels.

Anyway, we arrived safe and sound and without incident - other than the stewardess dropping the meal and smashing my glass (which didn't wake Justin up, btw) on the train - at Gare du Nord and checked into our hotel. After a few minutes of respite we all agreed to go for a walk in the Paris evening and being that the Sacre Coeur was just round the corner that seemed like the perfect target for us.

Also, the boys didn't quite believe us that it would still be light outside until at least 10:30pm.

And so it was that we headed out for our first stroll in Paris at around 9pm and found our way to the Sacred Heart (see how I performed from French to English translation on the fly for you there?) Basilica for a quick photo shoot before finding a little restaurant for a late supper and the traditional French glace (Haagen-Dazs) before heading back to the hotel for a well-earned sleep. In spite of the warmth - air-conditioning is not common in northern Europe - and the noise through the open windows we all managed to get to sleep. In fact, the other 3 are all still asleep as I write this entry - I had to get up for some press calls for work (we announced one of my team's initiatives this morning) otherwise I would be too. However, I will be heading up stairs in a few minutes to rouse them so we can start to do some sight-seeing. I'm sure they'll be excited to hear my plan for us to rent bicycles from Velib so that we can cover as much ground as possible while still taking in the atmosphere of this beautiful city. 

And tonight is the Jason Mraz gig...