The Sights of Paris by Bike Share

Bike Share Terminal

I put in ear plugs last night and slept in this morning.  Just what I needed after the flight and ride into Paris yesterday.  Manu made me lunch and helped me sign up for renting a bike.  The public bike rental system (called Velib') is really something to behold here in Paris.  I got my bike (complete with 3 speeds) just up the street and after a quick dash through traffic, I met up with Lucile at Saint Francois Xavier near the tomb of Napoleon.  From there, we both got on rented bikes (a brave moment for Lucile) and I followed her around as she pointed out famous monuments and explained more than I could ever remember about the French Revolution as well as pivotal local events of WWII.  We sprinted (no, we actually just dodged buses) down the Champs-Élysées (I rode in the gutter like a Tour sprinter) to Place de la Concorde and Lucile took some photos of me on my rental bike.  I could see the Arc de Triomphe in the distance.  We rode past the Tuileries Gardens, the Louvre and Foucalt's Pendulum, returned our bikes and walked around the Latin Quarter.  Lucile said I should take a look around Shakespeare and Company so, she stayed outside since the hallways are so narrow while I went inside.  What a special place.  Someone was playing the piano upstairs and there were quite a few people reading in the upstairs front room.  After stopping for a sweet snack and people watching for a bit (Lucile is a professional people watcher), we walked around the Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens) and then went map shopping.  It was at this point that I had the opportunity to buy just about any cycling specific guidebook or map of France.....decision time.

The bike I chose to ride

For those of you that don't know, I've been nursing an injured knee for several weeks now.  On the ride from CdG into Paris, my knee definitely let me know that riding in the Alps and doing the climbs that I had on my agenda was probably out of the question if I wanted to avoid serious (and unnecessary) pain...time to compromise my original plan and settle on something more practical, but equally wonderful.  I bought maps of the Euro 6 bike route which starts on the west coast and ends up in Mulhouse (on the east side of France).  It's a leisurely ride up the Loire river valley, full of vineyards and castles.  I think that's my new agenda.  Eat, drink, and enjoy pedaling through France!

L'Hôtel national des Invalides (The National Residence of the Invalids)
Where Napoleon is entombed

Place de la Concorde (The Obelisk stands behind me)

Looking up the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, the Arc De Triomphe in the distance

Lucile and I ride across the Garden of Tuileries toward the Louvre

Who knew that brownies and beer went well together?

We snuck inside the Sorbonne for a quick peak into a 12th century lecture hall.

The Pantheon of Paris.  

In 1851, physicist Léon Foucault demonstrated the rotation of the Earth by his experiment conducted in the Panthéon, by constructing a 67 meter Foucault pendulum beneath the central dome. 

Luxembourg Gardens on a rainy afternoon

Luxembourg Palace - the home of the French Senate

Lucile, my tour guide (on the left)

Thanks for being my personal guide today, Lucile! I'll never forget it!
PS - It should be noted that after Lucile read this post, she noted all of the monuments that I forgot to mention.  ;)  The overwhelming feeling at the end of the day was just how little I know about French history....and just how much of it there is!