As the months pass and I settle into a comfortable daily routine here in Paris I'm embarrassed to admit that I have stopped playing the tourist in this beautiful city.
My days off work are normally spent catching up with friends or running errands and my regular run along the Seine and under the Eiffel Tower has become almost routine and I no longer stop to stare and do a little dance when I reach the corner when I first catch a glimpse of the famous monument.
But the recent visit of an Aussie friend helped to open my eyes again and also helped to make me aware that although I now have the general gist of the layout of Paris there's still so much more I have to explore.
There's nothing like seeing a city again through someone else's eyes to reignite your curiosity again, and in a matter of hours after the arrival of the divine Miss S The Boy and I had already trekked to the very top of the Eiffel Tower on a beautifully clear and crisp afternoon - the last in a long time - followed by a sunset cruise along the Seine pointing out our favourite landmarks.
The day was beautiful but freezing and after we had lost feeling in our hands and feet we stumbled back to Trocadero to guzzle down some Vin Chaud and nutella crepes.
During the following five days we headed to the Louvre, the Catacombs, Montmartre and Abbessess, Notre Dame, walked the length of the Champs Elysses and had many nights out on the town and I was appalled by how blasé I'd already become about my new home, and how much of my travel planning was about other places in Europe I wanted to go to rather than what I would do the next day. Worst of all I was ashamed it had taken a friend's excitement to re-awaken it all for me.
But no more. Cut to a brand new year and I've got me a brand new resolution: to go out and explore every day some more of my new town and to drink in this once in a lifetime experience!
