On this day, first thing in the morning, M1 had a 4-hour bike tour booked for us and before you start wondering if we can bike for 4 hours, there are two important details. One, we were on e-bikes so we didn't need to pedal much. Two, there were lots of stops and so there was probably only about 90 minutes of biking. The tour guide would take us to various sites and then we would take a break while he told us the history of the sites. We went to the Louvre, the Royal Palace, and a restaurant/bar where historical writers would meet to shoot the breeze - even Benjamin Franklin frequented this bar when he was in Paris. The guide told us stories about Napoleon and Louis the XIV and I enjoyed that because I like to learn about the history and culture of places I visit. The girls may not have been as interested as me but they also saw other places like where Emily in Paris is filmed and Pierre Herme - the best pastry shop in Paris. We stopped there and got some macarons and a tart and the girls enjoyed that part. And yes, the tart is likely the best I ever tasted.
The actual biking part of the tour was a bit difficult because we weren't used to the traffic signals. There are different signals for cars, cyclists, and pedestrians. Also, there are no stop signs in Paris. The vehicle on the right has the right of way. We had 12 in our group, including the guide and he said that is too many people to ride single file - we would get separated at traffic lights. So during certain stretches we had to ride 2 by 2, which is dangerous because as I said before, the roads are quite narrow. M2 was particularly annoyed with some Taiwanese lady who was in front of us and very slow, which caused us to get separated a few times. (The lady was very pleasant when not on her bike, though.) The guide said because we are riding on Sunday morning, it's actually the time with the least traffic and should be an easy ride. Not for us though, as M2 got honked by a bus that came awfully close to her.
We all enjoyed the bike tour and M1 and M2 thought it was the most fun activity/attraction on our trip. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and we got a kick out of how he kept trying to promote his own start-up tour company on the side. He asked us not to mention that to his boss or in any reviews we would post.
We had a late lunch at an Italian restaurant called Zapi. We got two pizzas and two pastas and I liked them because they were less oily than than in Toronto. (At my age, too much oil can cause problems.) I also found them less filling and I mean that in a good way. Maybe it was the lower oil content, but I was able to eat more. That could also be because we just finished a 4-hour bike tour and I was hungry. M1 really enjoyed her burrata pesto pasta and said it was her favourite dish of the trip.
After lunch was another tour. This was the bus tour, where we could hop on and off at 10 different sites. This was also the first of the attractions on our Paris City Pass. We only got off at two locations - Notre Dame and the Grand Palais. That's because the other sites were ones we would visit ourselves later in the week - Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees.
The bus ride was relaxing and the weather was nice with a cool breeze. So comfortable that M1 and M3 both fell asleep for portions of the tour. We had earphones and the recording would give us a description and history of the sites we were passing. For example, we passed by the tunnel where Lady Di's car accident occurred. Then the recording played "Candle in the Wind". I thought that was special.
When we got to Champs Elysees, there was a French song about Champs Elysees and that became M2's favourite song. She found it on Spotify and kept singing it for the rest of the trip. M1 and M3 got into it too. Also, we passed by some store and M1 mentioned that the same store was in Yorkdale Mall. Then the lady in front of us turned around and asked if we were from Toronto. She was too and heard us talking about Yorkdale.
With two tours on this day, we were exhausted at night. We just wanted to grab a quick bite and perhaps bring it back to the hotel. There was a Vietnamese restaurant near the hotel and we planned to go there so M3 could get that banh mi sandwich she had been craving since being denied at Pearson Airport. But it was closed. In fact, most restaurants were closed on Sundays so the first one we found open, we just bought some takeout (which they call "take away" in Paris) and went back to the hotel.
This was a satisfying day. The tours were like a preview of the sites we would visit the rest of the week. We saw many landmarks and although we only spent a short time at each, I was thinking that even if these two tours were the only activities we did, I would be content.
Big Oh
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