A full day to wander around Paris before leaving for the sleeper train to Budapest. This was my first real test of the new Fuji X100 and it was a joy to use. I felt like a proper street photographer using a Leica. It’s easy to be energised by a new camera and a city to explore so I needed to properly test the camera to move past that initial excitement and decide whether it was a good camera or not.

Our first stop was at Montparnasse Tower. This is the best view you can get of Paris because it includes everything you want to look at. You can see the Eiffel Tower, Sacre-Coeur and Notre Dame. I didn’t take a big camera on this trip. Only the X100 so I could really test it out. I didn’t want to fall back on a big camera so I had to take some photos through the tourist telescope device.

We grabbed some eclairs, choc for me and coffee for my wife, and wandered to the Arc de Triomphe to get a close up view of it. Not something we’ve done in the past. I never knew you could get up close and wander around it. I thought it was an arch on a roundabout but there’s a lot to take in.

We ended the day with a late lunch at Amelie’s cafe before heading to the train station. The cafe is great because it could be an overpriced tourist trap but its not. It’s a decent little cafe that is never too busy. I genuinely enjoy every visit. It’s become a tradition for my wife and I just as our evening meal is usually at Refuges des Fondu.

It was a busy but relaxed day. I was in love with the camera.