суббота, 12 июля 2014 г.
The reason is that the tour rides in road domination formation, and makes good use of bus-only lanes
I hoped to spend quite a bit of my time in Paris on a Velib (shared bike), but the weather really wasn t cooperative and a close encounter between my left knee and the cobblestones of Prague just prior to my arrival was also a bit discouraging. The weather had improved and the swelling subsided london boutique hotels by my last night; however, so some friends and I rendezvous d at the South foot of the Eiffel Tower at dusk for a Fat Tire Bike tour. This is an amazingly good value that I strongly recommend to first-time and experienced visitors to the city alike.
The bikes are comfortable and well maintained and the staff at Fat Tire have the tour down to a fair science. No reservations required. You meet at the Eiffel Tower, they divide everyone into manageable groups, walk you back a few blocks to their headquarters and collect your fee, store your effects and sell you bottles of water and rain ponchos if required. Eat something before the meet up time and take an extra layer for the night tour they will give you a bungee cord to carry it along on your rat trap.
The first part of the ride is the most parlous but quite exhilarating: A half-hour ride to Notre Dame and Ile Saint-Louis and quite a bit of it in traffic! Well how can that be fun, you ask? Or safe?
The reason is that the tour rides in road domination formation, and makes good use of bus-only lanes. london boutique hotels Those occasional honks one hears while blocking the entire road are merely the good citizens of Paris complimenting the riders on their excellent form, agreeable environmental choices and all-round good looks. It is a bit stop-and-go just at the beginning, but soon everyone in the group is comfortable and the amount of road riding diminishes considerably after that first leg.
On the Ile Saint-Louis we stopped for a famous Berthillon ice cream cone and listened to an old fellow play the accordian on the pedestrian bridge. It was one of these great moments in Paris right out of Lady and the Tramp, only minus the meatball.
Later, we rode into the Cour Napoleon (the large courtyard surrounding the glass pyramid at the Louvre) through a passageway at the back where a lone cellist was exploiting the acoustics. Also quite magical. We spent a bit of time racing around the pyramid, photo-bombing london boutique hotels the tourists not clever enough to be on two wheels, and then headed along to the Place de la Concorde london boutique hotels and a ride down the road-width sidewalks of the Champs-Elysees.
After nearly three hours of short, easy rides and sight-seeing with a knowledgable guide, we locked up our bikes and boarded a bateaux mouche (open excursion boat) for an hour long sightseeing london boutique hotels tour along the Seine. This was included in the 3o Euro tour ticket, as was a fairly generous pour of wine. Another short bike leg and we arrived back at Fat Tire at about 1130, tired but happy.
Fat Tire also operates day tours in Paris, as well as in Barcelona and Madrid. I recently did the Barcelona tour and found it to also be a great value and a brilliant way to get oriented to that city.
Posted in Europe , favourite things , frugal tips , hiking and biking , outdoor adventures , Sunshine Coast B.C. , travel , travel tips | Tagged biking , Cottager's Wife , cycling , Europe , european travel , F , Fat Tire Bike tour Barcelona , Fat Tire bike tour Paris , France , frugal tips , frugal travel , Paris , Sunshine Coast B.C. blogs , travel , Travel tips | 1 Comment
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