More photos:
Parlez-vous Anglais? Yes they do. So much for my worst fear that the French people would ignore you if you do not speak their language.
My son David had the chance to use that phrase first even though I had practised it in my head so many times before coming here.
The lady at the Metro ticket counter was so helpful. And charming too, I might add.
She came out of the ticket booth and showed us, or rather David, how to operate the ticket machine.
Our first encounter on entering France was pleasant enough. A train station guard at the airport told us how to buy a train ticket to Gare du Nord, the main station in the city. And he said it all in English.
The subsequent taxi ride to our rented apartment proved to be enjoyable. We had a good discussion going with the taxi driver on the World Cup.
The taxi driver, an Algerian who had been staying in France for 14 years, spoke English. I bet he speaks Spanish and German, too, besides his native language.
The owner of the apartment which we rented for 3 days speaks good English, too.
"Yes I am very French," said Julien who had spent many years overseas, mostly in Africa.
This apartment is in Rue Saint Hubert, outside the city centre but the Metro station is only a short walk away. So getting around is not a problem.
The Paris Metro network is very elaborate compared to the London tube and Hong Kong MTR but is very easy to use once you understand it. There are signs everywhere.
This one-room apartment has a kitchen, laundry machine, TV and most important of all, good and free wifi. Plus at night you can see the Eiffel Tower light up in the distance.
What more can you ask for £90 a night for the three of us? Hotels in the city will definitely cost much more.
You can book such apartments all over Europe through the website airbnb.com.
I like this neighbourhood. It is not too touristy and there are restaurants everywhere.
Guess where we had our first dinner and subsequent two lunches? At a Chinese takeaway shop across the road. The conversation with the Chinese couple who ran the business involved a bit of English, some Mandarin and a lot more Cantonese.
We stopped by at a local pub to watch the USA vs Belgium game. No French wine for us. We drank Belgium beer instead of my usual American Budweiser. Belgium won 2-1.
In my previous visit to Paris about 15 years ago, I had climbed up the Eiffel Tower, enjoyed a night cruise on the River Seine and visited the Notre Dame Cathedral.
So on this trip, we decided to visit the Louvre and Chateau Marseilles.
As expected, there was a long queue at the Louvre but David managed to find a back way in, through the Carousel du Louvre shopping mall.
You can buy tickets at a special counter in the mall. We paid €12 each but David went in free as he is considered a EU student.
I wonder why more visitors are not using this route as I see a long queue outside the main entrance.
The Louvre is big and you need to spend more than a day here if you are a serious art lover. I am not as I am familiar with only the Mona Lisa and Venus of Milo. The museum ran out of audio guides that day, so I really don't know what I am looking at.
I was a bit disappointed with the Mona Lisa when I finally saw her up close. Actually not that close as we had to stand behind a barrier a few feet away.
The painting did not move me. I always thought it would be much bigger.
But what do I know about art. People who know better tell me it's her smile.
I may sound silly but I was more impressed with the other Italian paintings which share this special room with her.
I like The Wedding Feast at Cana, which is on display opposite her. This painting by Veronese measures 6 metres by 10 metres. Now that’s what I call a painting.
It takes an hour by Metro and train to get from our apartment to Versailles.
Ideally you need two full days to fully explore and appreciate the magnificence of the Chateau de Versailles.
We set aside only an afternoon and as such could only tour the main palace. We missed out exploring the palace gardens and Marie Antoinette's estate. I would love to come back here to see Marie Antoinette's private world.
Still the tour was like a walking history lesson for me on the glory days of the French monarchy. Having the audio guide definitely helped.
The palace is a magnificent sight, it's gold paint glittering in the sunlight, as you approach it from the main road a few hundred metres away.
If you want to beat the queue, you can buy the tickets at the Tourist Information office down there. The entry fee is €15 and again David got in free.
The imposing statue of King Loius XIV greets you at the palace gate. He deserves that honour as he did a lot to add grandeur to this chateau.
My favourite rooms are the Galerie des Glaces (Hall of Mirrors), the room used for many famous ceremonies, and the Galerie des Batailles (Hall of Battles) with its collection of paintings on French military victories.
Of course, you must not miss Marie Antoinette's bedroom. Take note of the hidden door from which she fled from the angry peasants.
No trip to Paris would be complete without a walk along the Champs Élysées. I can't afford the branded goods sold there, so for me, it was a visit to the Paris St Germain store to add another football cap to my collection.
As we were heading back to London, David asked me which was my favourite city among those we had visited -- Lisbon, Fatima, Madrid, Barcelona or Paris?
My first answer was Barcelona.
When I sounded unsure, he rephrased the question: Which city would you visit again?
Without hesitation, I replied: Paris.
It is a city which I would visit again and again. It was his choice, too.
They say you should leave the best for the last. We did. Paris is the perfect city to finish off our 12-day European tour.
Football note: All the countries I visited were knocked out of the World Cup --Portugal, Spain and France. It was pointed out to me that I started my tour from England and I was in Australia in May. And they were eliminated in the first round. As a Brazilian fan, I should have visited Germany. But as the French would say: C'est la vie.