From Italy with Love

Bon jour! Everyone made it home except me and my personal carry on luggage. Our flight on Monday was delayed, then cancelled. Tricia called and rebooked, for both of us. But I was texting delta and they rebooked me separately. Which i didn't request or confirm. Consequently, i was never booked on Tricia's flight and when we double checked we found out I was booked on another flight and the flight left in five min across the airport...and no other flights avail. Arghhh!

So, i said my goodbyes, took the train to town w two transfers 40+ stops, hot and busy, booked a room at a boutique hotel and spent 2 hours touring Paris on a Lime ebike. I just missed seeing a kid get hit by a car on a bike. He was on a suicide mission, after watching him cross a fleet of cars accelerating by inches, he apparently met his match w a taxi moments later. blooded but seemed ok.

It was a tour de force of bikes around Paris. Plenty of bike lanes and i usually followed someone. Funny thing...i had an impromptu bathroom break in the bushes along the famous street champs-elysees. 😂 Pictures of the sites are cool. You actually can get around easier and faster than a car. It was a race against daylight and my battery on my phone to keep the bike going and so i could find my way back to the hotel. I made it with 1 percent left on the phone. Without a phone, i had no map. My backup portable charger was toast too. I was trucking fast back from the Cathedral of Notre Dame, under the Eiffel tower and along the river.

I had dinner down the street and sat next to a younger guy from Korea. He studied in st Louis and went to high school in Orange County, but lives Seoul now. He loves Madrid soccer and was traveling this week to watch a match. He helped me navigate the french language on the menu, while breathing his cigarette smoke.

After the bike, I came away more impressed with Paris. Neat little neighborhoods, great tourist sites and wonderful architecture. I didn't realize u could visit the top of the arc de triumph

Au Revoir Paris.Read more