Jeopardy

I will get my moaning off my chest.

1. Having to use my little Asus tablet which for some reason has a cursor which flips around merrily all over the place and makes typing a nightmare. I suspect my own electrical field has a malign influence on it. Alternatively I am doing something inadvertently on the keyboard which instructs the damn thing to leap about randomly to the middle of other sentences, and any work takes three times as long.

2. Being told we had to spend the next two days in Paris might sound joyous but:
 - we're wearing clothes suitable to sunny Spain and not autumnal Paris.
 
 - my shoes [not sufficiently worn in before we left] look ok but are cheap, badly-made with some sort of lump in the sole of the left one, have given me blisters already in our search for a hotel.

 - if we had known we'd be coming here I'd have researched what was on, worked out a good plan - but as it is we're without information and the latest edition of Pariscope is not out till tomorrow... The tourist offices are not really much use - they can tell you about the Eiffel Tower etc but not anything more interesting.

 - there is a trapped feeling - we have only a small amount of luggage not suitable to transfer to flights - wrong size and shape for cabin bags and having planned this luxury trip on the overnight train to Madrid - literally for months - as a treat for Andrew's birthday. I was very reluctant just to switch to some other transport... We always go thriftily and economically and this wa to be a First Class experience - huh!

 - I am regretting agreeing to stay in such a cheap hotel. The bed is comfortable and the sheets clean - but there was that smell - I thought disinfectant but it could have been room freshener. And the carpet - ugh! I didn't pack my bedroom slippers because we were staying in someone's private house in Spain and I had limited space in my bag, but now I wish I had. On my luxy trip - I did NOT expect to be in such a dump.This is a temple dedicated to the dim lightbulb and dark brown paint.

But, now here's some good news.

Last night, before I crashed out, trying not to be grumpy, I texted a few pals to ask what they recommend we do while we're here.... and we have had splendid replies - visit the old mosque or the Shakespeare bookshop, go to a medieval banquet or an opera dinner with singing waiters, details of various exhibitions on at the moment, etc. Overbreakfast in a moment, we will look at the map and decide what to do.