December 22, 2015
By Michael & Marita
Our stay on this occasion couldn’t be more different to last time when we did the obligatory whirlwind of Paris sights and museums. This time we enjoyed leisurely coffees in small local cafés and queued up with the locals every morning at the neighbourhood bakery to buy baguettes for breakfast. Yum, bread heaven.
At our favourite little breakfast spot in Malakoff the owner would greet us every morning with a huge ‘Bonjour Aussie’, much more welcoming than Paris is usually given credit for. People stopped to help us find our way, assisted when we struggled with our French, helped Marita carry luggage up and down stairs at the metro station; a stark contrast to our last visit.
Before we flew out our family were concerned about safety given the recent bombing events, but we actually felt very safe. Sure there are solders walking the streets with AK47s or what ever they carry, but in a strange way it gives you a level of confidence that everything will be all right – just don’t get them in your photo, as Marita found out whilst cruising in the Eiffel Tower region one day.
Enough of all that, what we really came here for was to check out our new cruising home at the Paris Boat Show and wow, we are stoked. Invited by Multihull Solutions we were guests at the world launch of the brand new design now known as the Lucia 40. You might recall we made our purchase ‘off the plan’ and a little model, so this was our first opportunity to see the boat for real.