The winners of Alternative Bridging Corporation’s (ABC) “April in Paris” broker competition have just returned from their trip and B&C heard from ABC to find out how it all went…

Each time a broker made an enquiry

The winner was Chris Ashton of Bramhall Commercial Finance.

We are pleased to say our lucky winners made it back safe and sound after their weekend away in Paris as winners of our ‘April in Paris’ prize draw.

We launched our broker prize draw at the end of February this year to thank our broker friends for calling us. We offered an entry for each and every deal presented to us during the month of March.

The trip included Eurostar tickets leaving St Pancras on a Friday morning to arrive in Paris in time for lunch and a two night stay at the luxury four-star Melia-Alexander boutique hotel in the elegant Avenue Victor Hugo.

Our winner, Chris Ashton, kindly sent us a report back on his weekend activities in Paris.

“Despite the weather being a bit on the damp side, we had a marvellous time during our weekend in Paris.”

On the first evening the lucky pair were wined and dined at the internationally famous La Coupole.

Chris said: “On arriving on Friday afternoon we settled into our hotel and then made our way to La Coupole, the famous brasserie in Montparnasse, for our dinner reservations. The art deco restaurant was a buzz of great Parisian energy and though oysters were pronounced the speciality, neither of us was brave enough to try them! I enjoyed Foie Gras for starters, followed by Steak-Frites (Parisienne-style), Sam had Baked Camembert followed by Salmon with Ravioli. The meal was rounded off with a delicious cheese board and a nice bottle of burgundy.

"Refuelled and ever-inspired to keep marching around the city, we wandered up to the Sacré Coeur, even going so far as to take in the wonderful views at the very top. We then hopped over to Le Louvre and had a look round the outside. We couldn’t say we have ever seen such a vast, imposing building – it would take at least a day to view inside, but we had dinner reservations which we weren’t missing out on!”

The second evening offered a tour of Paris and they dined on the Bateaux Mouches as it cruised down the River Seine.

Chris reported: “Saturday night was fabulous; dinner on the Bateaux Mouches was everything we expected and more. On stepping onto the boat, musicians performed classic French songs making for a very romantic ambience! While sitting down for our meal, Paris drifted by as we floated along the River Seine, the Eiffel Tower sparkling with thousands of lights – apparently Mariah Carey was at the top on Saturday renewing her wedding vows! Notre Dame and Le Louvre were also part of the scenery as we enjoyed the stunning cuisine on our gourmet menu. Aperitifs, starters, main courses, cheese boards, delicious desserts were all washed down with cognac and coffee, and we then somehow managed to fit in a couple of bottles of wine – just to make sure. After all this we could hardly move!

“Sunday morning was spent leisurely strolling and enjoying the window displays of the amazing patisseries and boulangeries the area had to offer, with prices of up to one hundred Euros for some of the cakes! We then enjoyed a quiet rest in a café near the Gare du Nord before we had to travel home – boo hoo!!

“Sam and I would like to thank Catherine Foley for organising the trip, and also Jonathan Rubins and everyone at ABC for a truly wonderful prize and experience.”