Bicycle madness

The alarm went off far too early and up we got for a day of bicycle madness.  Paris has an awesome automated system where you can hire a bike from one of many, many stations around the city, ride it round for a while and return it to any other station for a few euros.  Brilliant way of reducing traffic congestion and (for tourists like us) of seeing more of the city than you can get to on foot, at your own pace.

Of course you also get to experience the craziness that is Parisian driving and the pleasure of navigating your way through the maze of winding one way streets, but that really is all part of the fun.  So after a bit of trial and error we figured out how the system works (hint: you need a credit card with a chip in it) and set off like some kind of crazy-ass scene from the Famous Five.  Except it was the Not So Famous Three.  But at least we had a Timmy, even if he wasn’t a dog.

We figured we’d start by trying to find the Moulin Rouge, as we’re going to a show there on Saturday.   Can’t be that hard, we figured – we even had maps and everything.  Well, turns out it was probably the most challenging part of the day due to the aforementioned one way streets that seem to go any direction but straight, but we got there via a roundabout route, safe and well, and had to celebrate with a beer.  Hint 2:  When you get offered the choice of various sizes of beer while sitting at a cafe opposite the Moulin Rouge, the correct answer is not ‘large’.  Both because it’s a 1 litre glass that’s about the size of your head, and also because it costs 16 euros a beer.  Hmm.  Having said that, it seems like most drivers in Paris are half pissed given the way they drive, so if you can’t beat em…

Next stop was a nearby cemetery where a number of famous people are buried (though not Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde – that’s a different one) where we wandered for a while spotting well-known names and extravagant tombstones and mausoleums.  Sobering stuff, but amazing extravagance in many cases.  Plenty of cats (both black and otherwise) as well, as all good cemeteries need, though several of them looked like they needed a decent feed.  And I’m not going any further with that thought process, thanks all the same…

The next destination was Sacre-Couer, the beautiful 19th century  church that sits atop a hill with an exceptional view of Paris.  Of course, sitting that high up is fine when you’re arriving via something other than pedal power, not quite so exciting when you’re riding a bike that weighs at least 14 tonnes.  Totally worth it once we got there though – I got very trigger happy with the camera, especially once we paid the 5 euros and climbed up to the top, but I’ll only include one (more) photo here for the sake of your sanity.  It’s probably fortunate that one can’t take photos inside the church or crypt itself, as I would have run my battery flat right there…

The downhill run back into the city and along the river was great fun, dodging scooters, cars and pedestrians left right and centre.  There’s plenty of bicycle lanes around though (either dedicated or shared with buses) so that does make life easier.  Again, landmarks as far as the eye can see once you get to that part of town – the Arc de Triomphe and madness of the Champs-Elysse, National Assembly, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Louvre – the list goes on and on and on.  The riding had been a fantastic experience – I would seriously recommend it to anyone that is visiting Paris for a few days – but 10+ hours in the saddle was finally taking its toll so we ditched the bikes, bought some bits and pieces for dinner (including but for once not limited to cheese and red wine) and rested our weary bones over a few drinks before bed.  We must have been tired, there was a lot of dribble being talked.  Nothing to do with the wine, I’m sure…