Paris, Day 2 - Velib Bike Ride

So Paris has this wonderful public trasportation system of bikes called "Velib." Pierre told us it took them a couple years to get the system figured out, but boy did they figure it out. They are genius. There are stations of them all over the city and it's free for the first half hour (which is all it really about all takes to get from one side of Paris to the other on a bike) and cost an extra Euro for each additional half hour. They work so well because Paris is almost completely flat and not that big. But the BEST part about these bikes is that you actually get to see the city as you travel through it, unlike the metro which is underground. The metro also has a bunch of stops and is usually crowded. Not to mention the smell when there are crowds of sweaty people with their arms up, holding on to the railing and you're stuck standing right on top of them.

Driving with the traffic in Paris is insane. Tons of people on bikes ride right along with the cars. There is no rhyme or reason to the traffic in the streets of Paris. There are no lanes. There are more 6 to 12-way stops than 4-way. The round abouts are huge with people merging in and cutting across 5 lanes to turn right or left (my imaginary lanes, because remember, there are none). Lots of one way streets and tiny alleys so you can't go back the way you came if you get lost. It took some time to gain confidence on bikes, but it was worth it.

Disclaimer: sorry this little video is so shakey. It's hard to film and ride. You can't really tell how beautiful it was to be riding down the cobble stone streets with the seine river on your right and the eiffel tower on your left. And yes, I wore a skirt, scarf and sandals on a bike ride. If the French women can do it, so can I. During this bike ride I had an I can't believe I'm actually here experiencing this right now moment. It was so surreal.

*My book for all the flights, to and from Paris, was "City of Bones" - easy, fast, entertaining read. Thanks Ruth.

After six months- skipping on Christmas presents, birthday presents, and an anniversary weekend, having garage sales and taking bits out of every paycheck- saving started to become routine and I began to forget what I was doing it for. Arriving at the airport, I started to get really excited. That's when it hit me that we were ACTUALLY going to Paris! I was even looking forward to 12 hours (sans 2 year old) on a plane! It might sound crazy, or lazy, but I have a bladder of steel and LOVE to read, so being forced to sit next to a window with a great view and a good book is a real treat for me. There's absolutely no guilt that I'm not doing anything productive, because I can't. I'm stuck in this seat without any interruptions. I love it. (As long as there are no children with me.)My A.D.D. husband with the world's smallest bladder, on the other hand, doesn't so much share this love I have for flying.

q.w

When we landed in Paris, my aunt Heather's husband, Pierre (how appropriate) picked us up from the airport and drove us back to their gorgeous apartment, 5 floors up in a beautiful 1800's Parisian building, in the heart of Paris. I was in love with this place! I remember thinking "Paris is exactly everything you imagine it would be!" From the balcony, I could look down on people dining outside a cafe, see cats scaling the roof tops of the buildings across the street, smell fresh bread cooking in the bakery on the bottom floor. There were even guys on the side walks playing accordions and artists outside with their canvases up on easel's, painting in the little neighborhood streets.

*from the Louvre... through the Tuilerie Gardens... to the Arc du Triomphe.

We didn't waste one minute of our vacation time. The first thing we did, after dropping off our luggage, was walk from the Louvre to the Arc du Triomphe down the famous avenue called Champ Elysees. The Louvre was gorgeous (it used the be the Palace before being turned into a museum) but my favorite part of this walk was definitely the Tuileries Gardens! It reminded me of Central Park in New York, but waaay better. There were fountains, life sized marble statues, children on pony rides, a man who rented out toy sail boats for the kids to play with around the fountain, outdoor cafe's, a carousel, crepe stands, and tons of beautiful places to just sit and relax under the trees. The beautifully manicured lawns, with rows of identical trees and perfectly shaped bushes felt like something out of a Tim Burton fairy tale. I think it was my favorite place in all of Paris.

After walking down the Champs Elysees, we came to the Arc du Triomphe. We climbed a spiral stair case to the top. The view was amazing. My aunt said the view from the Arc du Triomphe is the best view in Paris. Even better than the view from the Eiffel Tower, because from the top of the Eiffel Tower you're looking down on the city of Paris, but it just looks like any other city because what you're really looking for is... the Eiffel Tower (which you can't see because you're on top of it). Plus it's a lot more crowded. But from the top of the Arc du Triomphe, you can see everything, including the Eiffel Tower (as seen in the far left photo above).

At the end of the day, I was TIRED. For dinner, we ate at a wonderful little cafe, "Alexanders" (it's my aunts favorite, and she would know the best places to go, she lives there). We happily plopped into bed as soon as the sun went down, at 10:30pm, and slept like babies. Or better yet, like parents without babies.

Our New Pet Bird

Ryan: BABE!! COME OUT HERE! You have to see this!

Get-the-camera, get-the-camera, get-the-camera!

Me: What? What? What?

Ryan: LOOK what your daughter did!

Me: Oh my gosh, that is so cute.

Okay now Wendy, let's get out. It's nasty in there.

Wendy: Tweet, Tweet.

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Ryan & I laughed so hard we cried. But that just egged her on. She would NOT get out or stop saying "Tweet tweet!" I had to get her out of there though, because it really was nasty in there and I was worried Ryan might want to trade her in a week later for a different toddler the way he does with birds.

My new ride

Out with the old...

...in with the new!

Okay not so NEW anymore, we've had it for a little while now, but we LOVE our CRV! I was really reluctant to get rid of the Passat. Maybe it was because Ryan picked me up in that car for some of our first dates. It was the "Just Married" car he drove me away from our wedding reception in. It was the car we placed our first child in her carseat and drove her home from the hospital in. It was paid off. It was comfortable and pretty. BUT it cost a small fortune to fix. It was expensive to insure BECAUSE it was expensive to fix. We had to put the expensive gas in it. Yadda, yadda, yadda...

I thought I would miss the Passat but I don't at all. I love my new ride. I feel like more of a mom in a bigger car. Next stop, minivan?