I usually fly Delta Airlines direct into Amsterdam when I am visiting Europe, this time I had the urge to start my trip off in Paris and end in Paris. I flew Air France direct into Paris early morning and took a taxi to my Hilton hotel near the Arc de Triomphe. My room wasn’t quite ready, so it gave me time to catch up on emails and have a little breakfast in the excutive lounge. After getting settled into my room, a nap was in order; I slept a couple of hours before my co-worker Martyn Crouch met up with me later at the hotel. Martyn took the Eurostar train www.eurostar.com from London to Paris, a little over two hours of stress free train ride. It’s common knowledge that the trains in Europe rock….lots of comfort and speed.

We headed out for dinner, a ten minute taxi ride to the Notre Dame Cathedral neighborhood. We had dinner at Mon Vieil Ami www.mon-vieil-ami.com, a very cozy place. In fact, it was so cozy that we were seated so close to people that we were literally touching elbows. The food and atmosphere more than made up for the tight seating. After dining, we headed for one of the most famous monuments…..the Eiffel Tower. I was surprised that Martyn living in the UK and just a couple of trains away, this was his first time visiting the Eiffel Tower in person. The last time I was here with my wife Linna, we just missed the last elevator ride to the top, but I didn’t miss it this time. This was my first time heading to the top and it was incredible. It was a clear night, but it was extremely cold; France was getting hit with an artic blast coming in from Russia.

Next day was a train ride to Grenoble, France….a city in southeastern France, known as the “Capital of the Alps”. When you are in France, you ride the TGV trains www.tgv-europe.com. French trains maintain the highest average speed, they move up to 322 kph (201 mph). With Paris as its hub, this high-speed French network interconnects throughout Europe making it an attractive alternative to the plane. Due to traffic and a slow taxi driver, we missed our train departure and had to catch the next train. We had a meeting in Grenoble that I had to move out to the afternoon. After our meeting we headed to the Park Hotel www.park-hotel-grenoble.fr, I have been staying here for the past 10 years. This is an older but eloquent hotel and they serve a great breakfast. After checking in, we heading out for dinner. Due to the extreme cold, we didn’t walk to the center city where I love to wine and dine at all the many restaurants and shops. About four blocks away from our hotel we landed at this this pizzeria that was fabulous.

Next day was another TGV train ride to Lille, France. Martyn and I met up with another co-worker at the Lille train station, Sophie Brouillet a French native that has lived in the UK for the past 14 years. I rented a car from Avis at the train station and we headed toward our hotel Au Tonnelier www.autonnelier.com located in Bergues, France…a very northern city. The next day I was in the UK visiting Ipswich and Leicester. I finished my trip off with a train ride back from London to Paris followed by an Air France flight back to Seattle the next day.