I’ve spent another four days in Paris. As on previous trips I was sick with fear for several days before the journey and had no sleep the night before travelling: I had to go out very early and wouldn’t have been able to make it if I’d gone to bed anyway.

This time we stayed in a hotel near the Place de la République and I had a room to myself, which made things a bit easier as it gave me more control over my room and I didn’t inflict my OCD on my friends so much. At first I was going to share a room with them but we had to change to a different hotel a few weeks beforehand as I discovered that the one we originally booked had a dog.

On our first day we just wandered the streets for a while (okay, we got lost). The next day we returned to Versailles and visited the gardens, the Petit Trianon, and the Hameau de la Reine. On the way back a woman with a dog brushed against me on the Métro which was traumatic, but I managed not to lose it until I got back to the hotel. I had to bin the shirt and jeans I was wearing. On the third day we went to the Pompidou Centre. I’m not much into modern art but there were a few things I liked and my friends enjoyed it. After that we went to Notre Dame and this time I went up the towers. On our last day we went to the Tuileries Gardens, the Musée de l’Orangerie, and the Place de la Concorde. We went to look at the Arc de Triomphe but didn’t have time to go inside. Maybe we’ll do that next time. We had time to go for dinner at the same Indian restaurant as last year – we went there every day – before getting the train back to England.

So, in all I had a good time, And I suppose it’s progress that I can now eat in restaurants and stay in hotels without too much difficulty; things that I was unable to do at all for most of my life.