Paris

Yesterday morning I set off on the GS for its last trip, a London to Paris return to see my sister and family for New Year. The warm weather continued and, being New Year's eve, there was very little traffic and an almost deserted ferry across the Channel. A meal in Langan's Brasserie on the Pride of Kent made a pleasant new year's treat. Low, grey skies and a drizzly mist gave a seasonal atmosphere to the French motorways, then the excitement of navigating the Parisian road network got the adrenalin flowing just before arrival. Angela lives to the east of Paris, so having taken the more scenic A16 (over the A1) to get to the outskirts I cut across the Francilienne to the A1 and the A3, guided by the Garmin through a mass of multiple lanes and spaghetti junctions to Montreuil, arriving just before dark.

The GS looks laden as though for a long summer trip, but in fact most of the space in the metal panniers was taken up with presents for Angela's children.

At a motorway service station near Beauvais I came out to find three French youths doubled over in laughter, pointing at the front of the BMW. I asked what they found amusing and it seems they thought my leprechaun lucky mascot was a bad model of the actor Chuck Norris. Easily amused I guess...