Our arrival in Paris was one eagerly awaited for after the many hours spent travelling throughout the previous night and day. At last, we were here. The city of buzz. The city of fashion. The city of history. Here we stood as travellers, a small group of 24 pilgrims compared to the estimated 44 million tourists that would visit the city this year.

We knew that we were pilgrims but at this stage we really wanted to be tourists – and our wish was granted!