Paris, Reims, Dijon, EuroDisney

This trip was made in my Fiat Tipo in the company of my mother, my daughter and another person. We enter France through the long Mont Blanc tunnel and stop at Chamonix Mont Blanc. This little town at the foot of the French side of Mont Blanc is one of the best-known mountain resorts in the world. From here leaves the French section of the transnational cable car to Courmayeur in Italy. We avoid going up in the cable car but observe from below the station of the Aiguille du Midi, which appears tiny in the distance. We visit the very pretty town, crossed by a torrent, then continue on the road to Geneva, near which we enter Switzerland (see the related itinerary). After the short evening stop in Geneva we re-enter France at St. Gines, where we spend the night in a motel perched on a height. The next day we continue to Dijon, where we stop for lunch in a restaurant in the historic centre.

We take the opportunity for a visit to the city, which has numerous medieval buildings, a sumptuous cathedral and many half-timbered houses. We liked Dijon, and satisfied with the short stop we continue to Reims, where in the evening we admire the superb Gothic cathedral with its monumental façade from which a pair of bold towers soar. We look carefully at the many sculptures on the exterior of the church, then at dusk we move on to Marne-la-Vallée, where we stay in a small hotel. The following day we visit the recently opened EuroDisney park. Although it is a cold, rainy day, the park is crowded and to access the various attractions we have to endure very long queues. We still manage to go on almost all the rides, attend numerous shows and see the big parade on Main Street U.S.A.

The park is well organised, with costumed characters on every corner for the delight of the little ones, and it really feels as if you are in a fairy tale. Unfortunately, on the subsequent occasions I will visit it I won't find it quite so rich. On leaving the park we stroll through the adjacent shopping centre, a long street with truly chic venues, a real piece of Americana in the heart of Europe. The next day we move on to Paris, park the car in an outlying district and reach the centre by Metro. We visit the Louvre, trying to see what in my view are the most significant things, then walk through the Tuileries Gardens to the Obelisk in Place de la Concorde. From here to the nearby Petit Palais, Grand Palais and the Musée de la Découverte, an interesting display of scientific and astronomical contraptions to put visitors in touch with humanity's discoveries and inventions.

Unfortunately there are no explanations in Italian, which limits our involvement. We content ourselves with seeing the Arc de Triomphe from a distance, then take the Metro to the Place du Trocadéro, from where, on the terrace of the two semicircular Palais de Chaillot, you enjoy a splendid view of the Eiffel Tower and the Champ de Mars. From here, again by Metro, we accompany my mother and my daughter to the train station from which they will return to Italy, while I and the other person continue our visit to Paris. In the evening we walk the streets of the capital's fashion shops, passing by the Élysée Palace, seat of the President of the Republic, and the Church of the Madeleine, which recalls a Hellenic temple. Reaching the Pigalle district, we spend the night in a hotel. The following morning we take a stroll through the 'red light' area of Pigalle as far as the famous Moulin Rouge.

The long street is lined with sex shops, night clubs, strip joints and anything else connected with sex. At the doors of these places, open day and night, there is always someone inviting you in. Out of curiosity we go into a nightclub; they seat us at a table while a young lady performs a rather squalid striptease on the floor, and when the waiter brings the bill for our drink we manage to slip out pretending to cry — how embarrassing!! Better to reach the Parc de la Villette by Metro to see the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie. Here too, as had happened at the Musée de la Découverte, we struggle to use all those contraptions made available to us because of the lack of instructions in Italian. In the park is the Géode, an enormous futuristic sphere inside which we watch the screening of a huge film.

When the screening ends we leave La Villette and by Metro return to the place where we had parked our car the previous morning. From here we set off for Calais, where we board for Great Britain (see the related itinerary). On the return from Great Britain we will come back by ferry to Calais and from here return to Italy.