Monday 6 to Thursday 9 October

Last day in Paris. Tradition has it that when in Paris, we dine at Au Pied de Fouet, so off we go to this very local little bistro that has been serving guests for 160 years. Lunch was once again upstairs and the place was full with tables turning over quickly as well. Best confit duck ever – again.

Our departure from Paris on Monday was on the Eurostar. The 2.5 hour trip was seamless and comfortable. Jen had been dispatched ahead of us to collect keys and meet us at the expensive, booked apartment in Tower Bridge, very close to Alyssa’s flat.

A litany of problems then arose. The keys were left under a pot plant on the street. It took a phone call from Jen to the agent to locate them. Far worse was to come, as the flat stank of mould, with creepy black stuff growing on the walls. Broken and missing floor boards in the kitchen and the list goes on. Flashy filled a page in his note book with things that were wrong. Unfortunately, we were forced to stay the night.

Jen and Flashy cooked dinner at Alyssa’s flat which was fun, then first thing next morning we got out. Clothes smelling of mould. A new booking was made in a very flash and expensive apartment nearby and the fun and games started with complaints and demands for a refund from both Booking.com and the agents managing the shit hole. Long story short, we managed to get admission of liability from the agent and agreement to a refund from Booking.com.

Then it was the day of Alyssa’s Call to the Bar Ceremony at Grey’s Inn, London. In order to set the scene, Alyssa suggested we do a legal walking tour around the Inns (Grey’s, Lincoln’s, Inner and Middle Temple), the Royal Courts of Justice, the gown and wig makers and some of the residences where famous people once lived. This we did, with a wonderful guide and learnt a lot about the legal traditions in Britain.

Then it was lunch in the hall of Lincoln’s Inn and back home to change for the evening ceremony. The call to the Bar was full of tradition and the 46 young lawyers were ‘published’ as barristers. The following reception was excellent and we met a number of senior judges who were taking a big interest in Alyssa. She will no doubt go far in her chosen career.

To celebrate, we walked to Tolkas Restaurant, not far away in the city of London. The Australian waiter brought us free Champagne and we shared some good food with a Rose and a Spanish red.