spring

spring is here early this year and looks set to stay.  not only is the sky a cloudless blue and the flowers in full bloom, but the bikini clad seine-bakers are out in full force camping along the cobblestoned banks of paris' muggy river on sunday, day of worship. god of choice: the sun.

 along with some of my nearest & dearest, i took a leisurely bike ride across paris from the quiet streets of the marais, cruising along the seine, ducking alternately across and below the bridges separating the left & right banks, cycling by the city's beautiful churches to the winding, earthy, tree-lined paths of paris' boulogne woods, 'le bois de boulogne'.  the park is more than twice the size of central park in new york and over 3 times the size of london's hyde park.  a remnant of the ancient oak forest of Rouvrey 'forêt de rouvrey', the park extended from the west of paris (where it remains today, as a part of paris' 16eme arrondissement) into Normandy, as far as Rouen, virtually unbroken but for the winding loops of the River Seine.

the leisurely bike ride took an hour and a half each way although you wouldn't know it except for our fairly sore back ends, no thanks to the person in the group who opted for the hardcore, cobble stoned detour home through the crowds of strolling pedestrians meandering along the low river banks.  those of you who ride can imagine the navigation skills required to loop through the crowds, whilst pedaling from our deepest core to stay on our wheels in creative balancing acts of little mobility.  we rode by ferry loads of tourists and perhaps locals alike enjoying the sunny day out on the city's waters, and whizzed by the seine-lined weekend dwellers soaking up the sun in keen anticipation of summer's paris plage (when the cityscape dons greenery in the form of potted palm trees and the riverbank becomes a seine-side holiday resort complete with sandy beaches, deckchairs, ice cream vendors & concert shows).

some of us stopped for ice-cream, some of us dodged amateur cyclists clumsily stop-starting as the lights turned green at bicycle & automobile congested traffic light junctions on main boulevards, narrowly avoiding being hurled in front of a big city bus in the process (note to self to consider a helmet as unparisian a fashion statement as that may be).  some of us contemplate picking up a coupla shrimp for our aquariums en route. and a few of us stop for a ride on the st paul ménagerie (carrousel) as we approach home.  all of us have digested our al fresco, forest-side buffet brunch on the water by the time we return to the marais.  and i, for one, sported sore buttocks along with reinforced pedaling power to boot today during my daily commute across the 3eme.

it was totally worth it.  

friends, fun, sun, the city & all the seasonal eye candy it has to offer.

oh we also biked by Roland Garros where the French Open kicks off this time next month.

in weather like this, the biking brigade will be there with bells on.  watch this space for more on our sunny spring adventures.