how it should be done

Let me paint you a picture. Tis a warm day late in spring, you wake up mid morning, throw on yesterdays shirt and find a fresh pair of shorts then amble your way down to the bakery for some fresh croissants and a bottle of orange juice. You retire to a nearby park and lie in the grass as you lick the last buttery crumbs from your fingers and enjoy the dappled sun on your face. What should you do with this day after such a perfect start? The Louvre you say? Perhaps the catacombs or Notre Dame? How could you overlook the Eiffel Tower, they have an exhibition of its design and construction at the national museum you know.

This is the plethora of choices that Dave and I were confronted with daily. On this particular magical day I just described (it is no mere fiction by the way) Dave and I chose to do... nothing. We lay in that park for forty minutes trying to summon the will to endure more high culture but we just couldn't. In the end I believe we may have had a look at Notre Dame from a safe distance or possibly did a lap of the Pompidou Centre, but really I think this attitude was the reason we had such a good time in Paris.

Some of you may be baffled or even outraged by this seeming waste of opportunity, but let me assure you, this is the best way to see Paris. The line for Notre Dame is long and it is gorgeous from the outside, the Eiffel Tower is best viewed at night in the park below, with friends and ice cream and the Louvre... well I have no idea, didn't even go near it. The one and only “high culture” attraction that we submitted ourselves to was Paris Disneyland. We shamelessly indulge our respective inner-children, yet temper this with the efficient resolve of the young men that we are. The result is a terrifying blend of exuberance and economy, hitting every ride as swiftly as possible, as often as possible, with minimum time squandered in line. Our mission was to wring every last drop of glee from this park, and we carried this out with military precision at a running skip.

I know you are sitting there thinking. How can we live with ourselves knowing that we have experienced the Disneyland Castle in more depth than some of culture's brightest stars? Simple my friends. Three magical words: We'll be back.