Freedom Biking in Paris

Today was an adventurous day in Paris. And, believe me, I was ready for at least some adventure. The reason? The weather. It was gorgeous. Since the sky for the past week has consistently threatened rain, today was a very welcome change. It wasn't only sunny...it was warm too. Finally, the summer clothes I packed for my trip have come to some use.

I started the day with a relaxing cafe latte with my family at the neighborhood cafe/restaurant. After lunch, I met up for a rendez-vous with Houari, a French Algerian friend whose sense for fashion and all things luxurious surpasses few others. Our first goal for the afternoon was to rent the Velib. The term is a melange of the words "velo" and "liberté". The ciy's mayor instilled a great new bicycle program where people can rent bikes througout the city. The bike stations are numerous and in many locations, and the bikes themselves are new and rustproof. They also come with their own lock. It's a great idea and the city is full of velib riders. Or, quite literally, freedom riders.

After a couple of unsucessful attempts at attaining a bike at stations in our area, we took the metro to Champs Elysées and catch a showing of "Caramel", the Lebanese film we had planned to see. The past few days have been ideal movie days since the ticket prices were slashed dramatically to promote good will among residents and tourists who had had enough of depressing weather.



The film is in Lebanese Arabic with French subtitles and was directed by Nadine Labaki (who also played the role of Layale in the film). It is the story of five Lebanese women all connected through a local beauty salon. The age of the characters run from early twenties to eighties and looks at universal issues, in addition to dilemnas specific to women in Lebanon and Middle Eastern women in general. It is a beautifully shot film and got it just right esthetically. I hope it opens in the U.S., although I believe such gems will probably be harder to find in America. In Paris, it shows right smack in the middle of the Champs Elysées. Go figure.

After the movie, we made a brief stop to my favorite Target doppelganger, "Monoprix". Here's a picture of Houari in front of the store:



Allthough it is very similar to Target in its superstore concept, The merchandise at Monoprix is considered more selective.

Afterwards, we were finally able to get a couple of velib bikes at a popular station off of Champs Elysées.


Here is Houari negotiating with the computerized machine at the station. Our first two times didn't work out so well, but third time's a charm!:


We then rode from the 8th arrondissment until close to the Opera where Houari wanted to make a stop at Zara Home. A recent addition to the Zara clothing brand, Zara Home looks lke a cross between a Pottery Barn and a Cost Plus Market (from outside anyway. I was guarding the bikes out front). The ride to the store kind of reminded me of Shanghai - the opperative word here is "kind of". Because although both scenes are filled with bicyclists, motorbikes, buses and cars, nothing compares to those crazy Shanghai intersections and their swarms of bicylists, and even a rickshaw now and then.


Around 6:30pm, we headed back to our starting point via Rue Rivoli. I love the impressive view off this street where the Tuilleries, Les Invalides, The Obelisk statue and the Eiffel Tower create aun unbelievable portrait of the city. We then rode back towards Champs Elysées and then Avenue Pierre 1er Serbie. The cobble stones were a bit hard on the velib, but the whole experience was exhilarating. Paris by bicycle is a must for any sightseer. Of course, I wouldn't recommend it without someone who knows the city's ins and outs.




The first day en velib was a success. Now that I have a week long pass, there are 6 more days to go. Long live freedom biking !