"Since life is short and the world is wide, the sooner you start exploring it the better" - Simon Raven from an article in THE SPECTATOR, 1968...We have spent a good part of our days in Paris walking and riding the Metro. Walking brings you to the many quaint neighborhoods filled with cafes, markets, cafes, and of course, the big landmarks. My feet have a long way to where I can walk around with tall boots like so many of the Parisien women. I tried it one day and after a mile, had to find a store open on Sunday afternoon to trade them in for some comfortable shoes. Well, there are not very many stores open on Sunday, but there was one shoe store open on the Champ Elysses, full of Nikes and Adidas. Not exactly fashionista, but I was desperate enough to have to spend 90 euros on a pair. It was either that or limp all the way back or take the Metro, which was out of the question on a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon!
There is another way to get around and we are soon going to try it. Last summer, the city of Paris put out 20,000 public bikes at around 1400 spots throughout the city, called Velib. We have discovered that all you need is a card for 29 euros a year, which allows you to swipe it and use any bike free for 1/2 hour. After that, it's about 2 euros an hour. There are bike lanes everywhere and this is looking like another good way to get from place to place. Now, if I just get up enough courage to bike in the traffic!
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