After a few days of sun and warmth in Turkey , winter returned to us as we entered France . Our first meeting here was at the New Zealand
Embassy, where we met with Carmel Cahill, the directorate for Trade &
Agriculture in the Organisation for Economic & Community Development
(OECD). The is a group of 34 countries that embrace the principles of the
market economy, and are committed to growth and improvement. There are another
5 to 6 observer countries involved as well. They are really a think tank which produces
reports on how member countries can improve their economies and communities.
One of the interesting points that came out of the briefing
with Carmel was
that overall subsidies in the developed world are continuing to be wound back.
This is in complete contrast to the developing world where although still low
subsidies are increasing as countries use them as a tool toward food security
and to slow the rate of population movement from the rural areas to the cities. This may well be a real challange for Australian Agriculture into the future
Following our briefing it was time to do some sight seeing, first on the list was Notre Dame. It was completed in 1260 taking 93 years to build. It is an amazing example of gothic achitecture, and it bell tower was made famous by the novel "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"
This silver cross and cabinet was a gift to Notre Dame from a deceased princesses estate (Cant remember who). The guide said that the box underneath the cross contains a slither of Christs cross.
According to the guide the red box in front of this alter contains the crown of thorns worn by Jesus at his crucifiction
Next stop "The Eiffel Tower". The wise ones in our group caught the metro and had plenty of time to suck in this amazing structure while we waited for the others to get there on foot.
The last stop for the day was the Arc de Triomphe
Finally to finish the day off, what trip to Paris would be complete without a feed of garlic snails and a nice white wine
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