Hi all,
Back from Paris yesterday, thought I’d fill you all in on my trip. It was, in a word, FANTASTIC!! The weather was sunny and warm most of the time. The food was exceptional, both in the expensive restaurants and the smaller everyday cafes. The tip on eating in the smaller restaurants is to take the waiter’s recommendations, the specials are almost always the best bet.
The people were very nice to us and wonderfully tolerant of my repeated attempts to butcher their language. We did not come across any of that famous Parisian “attitude” towards Americans. People really did offer to help if they saw us looking at maps.
I love the style of the Parisians, they dress much better than Americans. Even the older men and women still dress well (in America this population seems to be invisible somehow…) I never saw sweat pants, except when people were exercising, and people of all ages seem to do that in France, too.
A big THANKS to the Slowtwitchers, especially Francois for the recommendations I got on where to go, what to do, etc. Traveling with the bikes on United was no problem, they did not charge us extra and we only had to open the bike boxes once to be inspected for security on the return trip (security at DeGualle is much more rigorous than SFO). I did not need my USCF vouchers.
The apartment we stayed in was near the Bois De Boulogne and I ran there on several days. Beautiful!! I also rode on the track around the Hippodrome with some of the locals. They were very nice to me (not many women there, but the guys were ok, especially when they saw I knew how to ride in a group). We rode one day to Versailles (a spectacular route that took us through the Bois de Bolougne, Parc St. Cloud, some beautiful villages and the Versailles forest).
We also rode across Paris and out along the Marne River, another lovely meandering route with a memorable stop for “4 fromage” pizza at the turn around point.
Paris is an excellent cycling town, and we went all over on bikes. The drivers are fast and aggressive, but I think in general they are a lot better drivers than we have here in the SF Bay Area (very few SUVs!). There are bike lanes everywhere. The only place that really required nerves of steel was a turn around the Arc de Triomphe and a ride down the Champs de Elysee on a Sunday afternoon.
Someone recommended “Velo & Oxygen” for cycling needs. My friend (who shall remain nameless) forgot her saddle. That’s right. Didn’t make it into the bike case. So we went to Velo & Oxygen to buy a seatpost and saddle. There we encountered a smidgen of attitude (though I had found the french terms for what we needed), but when I asked to look at a few specific saddles, the attitude evaporated. I quickly realized it was not “French” attitude I was faced with but the “Bikeshop” attitude one encounters sometimes that is occasionally discussed here. Things were fine after I had demonstrated “a modicum of knowledge of things bike related” and the young man was extremely helpful.
Oh, the shopping. I did damage to the Amex card that would make Cathy proud. Did I mention that the Parisians dress well? You can too if you’re willing to bolster the french economy. I think there is an annual trip in my future.
I’d love to live there someday but I’m afraid I would have to take up smoking so the slimming effects of that would counter the effects of my consumption of the cheese, chocolate and beef, all of which were out of this world.
Did I mention that the food was really good?
OK, I have to go workout for several hours now.
Leigh