Paris

My trip started off from London St Pancras on Sunday, departure time of 10 AM. The ticket purchased by the company for me was Business Class, which put a big smile on my face. Two things stood out for me. The first was I was going to Paris for the first time and the second was it was my first time traveling by Eurostar, hence my main aim was to make the best of my three days in Paris. The train left on time. There were not that many people in the Business Class coach I was traveling in, so I took the opportunity to "upgrade" my sitting position from a single seat to that which had four seats and a bigger table.

Once the train was on its way, I quickly took out my Apple Mac-book Pro and settled down to watch a movie. In roughly two hours and fifteen minutes, we were in Paris. I was picked up outside the station by my chauffeur and driven to the Four Seasons Hotel St George V Paris.  On the way to the hotel, the chauffeur go me a quick guide to the city. My first question was to ask why the buildings were built with the same chalk stone like material, and also why there were no tall buildings. He quickly filled me in with the reason why. On arriving at the hotel, the outside of the Hotel doesn't tell you much. However once you step inside, you are immediately swept away with the decor. I had arrived earlier than anticipated, so my room wasn't quite ready. I left my stuff at the front desk and took a short stroll up the road to the junction of where Luis Vuitton has their store. For some strange reason, there were a whole load of people queued outside the store. Using the little french that i know (yes, I do speak a little french) I asked a lady in the queue he reason for the queue. her response was that there was a sale going on and that anyone who wanted to buy a sale item(s) had to wait their turn. Amazing, considering Luis Vuitton's stuff don't come cheap.

On the whole, I was very impressed with Paris. Even though I didn't have the time to do a full tour of the city, what I was able to see gave me the impression that the City is very vibrant. There are a lot of places to eat outside. My walk along the streets revealed that. It appears most of the restaurants are designed to enable people enjoy themselves eating outside. A visit to a few perfume shops jolted me. The cost of their perfumes are very expensive. I was hoping the prices to be cheaper than those in the UK...sadly I was wrong.

To crown my trip to Paris, I had the golden opportunity to met Jermaine Jackson of the Jackson Five...priceless. I was sitting in an area designated to myself and a couple of staff from BAT UK, when Vivian suddenly said "oh I think that's Jermaine Jackson who has just walked passed". I quickly jumped out from behind my desk and dashed towards the direction he took. Just before I caught up with him, I called out his name..."Jermaine" I said. He was standing outside the lift. He turned round and as I approached him, I stuck out my hand and gave him a handshake. In the process of giving him a handshake, he said..."and you are"...immediately I said to him "Jermaine, its me, Joe". He looked at me as if he was supposed to know me. At that point I didn't really care. I had just shaken hands with the famous Jermaine Jackson.

Final thoughts?....I completely fell in love with Paris. All you need to do is take a 20 minute stroll on the streets and you will be absolutely taken in to the beauty it has to offer.  As usual, with trips like these, I always try to make it a point to take as many pictures as I can. It would certainly would have been a huge mistake if I did not take any in Paris.

A famous landmark in Paris....need I say more !

I do not know what the going rate is for a room in the Four Seasons, but being ranked as the best hotel in Europe, the rooms do not come cheap. My room was absolutely fabulous. I stayed in a lot of posh hotels, but I must say, the room I had was amazing, and when you stepped out onto the balcony (yes it had a balcony) you had a perfect view all around you and a beautiful view of the court yard below.

My afternoon relaxation chair; so comfy

My welcome pastry....chocolate covered and so tasty...yummy

A room to die for...no expenses spared in kitting up this room

This photo was taken from my balcony. The view was absolutely breath-taking, especially in the morning

Court yard view below from my balcony....very nice

Being an expensive hotel meant that there were guest there who drove expensive cars. The hotel had a constant stream of luxury cars parked outside everyday.  Check out the rides I managed to capture below. The pictures are not too brilliant because i took them with my Blackberry 9700.