Perth to Paris

It's been a very long day - with Tuesday lasting for a total of 30 hours!  We were collected by our Emirates chauffeur at 3:30am, waved off by Oliver in his bath robe, and joined the check-in queue just ahead of Julie & Danny (they were on the same flight to Dubai).  We all resisted the temptation to partake in the free-flowing champagne at the Emirates lounge and opted instead for some pre-breakfast snacks (they turned out to be superior to the breakfast served on the flight) with non-alcoholic drinks!

The 11 hour flight from Perth to Dubai was mostly very rough, but the flat beds were a blessing and Brian and I both loved watching the movie "Quartet" at different times.  There was a short stop-over at Dubai with just enough time for a quick farewell drink with Julie & Danny before we boarded the A380 for the 7 hour flight to Paris.  By contrast, this flight was almost completely devoid of bumps and our top-deck cabin was amazingly quiet and very comfortable. We spent the first hour at the bar and had great fun with the gorgeous crew (they gave us Dom Perignon champagne meant for 1st class passengers) and another passenger before we were called for our second lunch of the day - followed by yet another afternoon nap on flat beds.

Charles De Gaulle airport was chaotic but we finally managed to find our luggage and then our delightful Emirates chauffeur and were delivered to our apartment on the Isle St Louis.  We've unpacked, got a few euros from a nearby teller machine and now it's 11:45pm in Paris and we can hardly keep our eyes open. It's such a thrill to be back in this beautiful city - and fantastic to be staying in this perfect apartment on the most exquisite Rue St Louis.