Our
weekend
in Paris had been planned around sightseeing on the Saturday and relaxed
shopping on the Sunday. I suppose “planned” isn’t the most apt descriptive for
it, as it was more of a hastily agreed-upon schedule whilst en route mid-air
rather than a well thought-out itinerary. We came somewhat unstuck when we hit
the streets of Paris on the Sunday morning only to discover that nothing – nothing!
– was open. At least eateries in Munich
do business on Sundays, but in Paris not even that.
So
London,
as well as being about the food we didn’t eat in Paris, also became about the
shopping we didn’t get to do in Paris. We stayed in a hotel off Oxford Street
so were well-positioned for retail action, but not before a room service
breakfast to get us going. Some fluffy waffles, rich hot chocolate and eggs
Benedict with curiously browned Hollandaise sauce later, and we made our way to
Selfridges.
Monsieur Poisson’s cousin had
suggested a few sights and touristy things for us to see and do on our
short trip of London. In amongst places and names being bandied about there
was one I heard loud and clear – M&M’s World (M&M’s World, M&M’s World...*echo echo echo*).
Another free weekend in Europe makes
for another mini-escapade across the continent. Our trip to London felt more
“legitimate” than our weekend
to Paris – we had to pass through customs, show our passports and leave the EU – however it had less
of a tourist focus as it was also planned as an opportunity to catch up with
Monsieur Poisson’s cousin whom we’d not seen in almost two years. It would also
be the first time in two weeks where we’d once again be located in an
English-speaking city.
