Weekend Paris

Saturday morning - chilly in Paris.  Forecast is for max of 13 degrees so coat, hat and gloves on we set out for walkies. And did we walk!  We were looking for the Fat Tyre Tour office near to Eiffel Tower but I suspect we well and truely took the tourist route - even with maps in hand.  We stopped off for lunch half way at a lovely frantically busy cafe and shared what was basically a ham, potato and cheese open grill (very yummy) with salad and red wine.  Quite good value too so were quite happy with ourselves. On we went, finally finding the tour office about 3pm.  We booked for the Sunday tour as the forecast was for 18 degrees and a number of roads are closed to cars on  Sunday.  As the afternoon progressed, it appeared to warm up a little (or maybe it was that we were so warm from walking so far). We headed for the river and walked along for a couple of kilometres. It was a beautiful afternoon and we very relaxing (although our feet were starting to cry). 

Peter on the River Seine

NB: As the photo of Peter took about 15 mins to load - there will be few. I am going to read my book while I upload photos.


When our feet finally gave up we caught a bus that dropped us almost to our doorstep. We decided to have dinner just around the corner from our apartment as I needed something warm to eat. When we arrived just after 7pm it was relatively quiet but by 7.30 pm it was packed. Good atmosphere and excellent food - Peter had lamb chops and I had a veal chop with mushroom sauce and mashed veg - yummy.  We were were not sure about the etiquette of using our fingers to chew our bones (best bits), we decided to play it safe. 


Sunday morning we made our way by Metro to the Fat Tyre Office.  Funny how things work out. The Metro station where we were to catch the train had a notice in French which we couldn't understand. However, there were a couple of ladies from Peru who spoke French and a tiny English. Basically, we followed them (as did a young English couple) to an entrance the other side of a huge square (that was obviously what the notice said) and all was good (except for the fact that Peter got caught half way in the train doors and I had the drag him inside). We arrived just in time for the tour and off we went - a most spectacular Sunday morning.  Our guide, Jackson, was very knowledgeable about the history of Paris and its buildings.  We stopped off at a cafe in a park which was very nice but because it was near tourists sights, it was ridiculously expensive, particularly the beer (9 euro a glass) and coffee (4.80 euro). To put it into perspective, the lovely cafe near our apartment charges 2.80 euro for a coffee.  


One of the highlights of the tour was definitely being able to ride on the road for about 2kms along the River Seine with no traffic. FANASTIC! A number of roads are closed to cars between 10am and 6pm every Sunday - isn't that a great idea?


The wireless connection just dropped out and I lost a couple of paras. Will do more tomorrow.