A day in Paris

We are just pausing for an hour from sightseeing today. Of course we
were awake very early - 4.30am! When Amy was woken at 6.30 she was not
impressed! So John and Jos reassembled the bikes, then we all went out
sightseeing. Our hotel, the Villa Saint Martin, is very conveniently
situated close to the Gard de l'Est railway station but is also walking
distance to some of the sights.
So we first walked to Notre Dame Cathedral. Like most big churches
this is a magnificent structure. Then we walked along the River to the
Louvre. We did not go through the museum, but walked around the
outside. Next we took the underground to Mont Matre. On the way we
purchased fresh filled bread rolls, which we ate while sitting in the
sun at the top off the hill. A look through the Sacre Cour church was
followed by a walk through the artist's quarter at Mont Matre. We
strolled back down the hill, past the Moulin Rouge on the way. Another
coffee was consumed while watching life go by before navigating the
underground again to the Arc de Triumph. John was very pleased to
finally be standing at the spot where the Tour d'France culminates
every year. We walked some of the way down the very long Champs Elysee
before returning to the underground to negotiate the two lines back to
the hotel.
Tonight we are planning to do a river cruise and to see the Eiffel
Tower. We will have an early start tomorrow with a hotel transfer to
the hotel opposite the Gard d'Est Railway Station, from where the
famous Orient Express train began. We will also begin our Orient
Express journey from the same location. There is a rider briefing at
10am tomorrow (Saturday) at the new hotel so we need to move over
before them.
Paris has certainly turned on a fine sunny day for us, at 23 degrees.

Arrived in Paris!

In Paris! We have arrived and met Jos at the hotel. We walked to meet
Amy at the Gare d'Nord station where she arrived from London. We sat
at a cafe on the street for a coffee /orange juice and watched the
world go by. Coffee is a mere €4 per cup! John found the orange juice
to be more like carrot juice! We are at the hotel now, sorting out the
bikes. They did get a rather rough handling on the trip over!

Enjoying catching up with Amy after her 8 months away.

Frankfurt

We have arrived in Frankfurt after 30 hours of travel. Flights have
gone well - plane from NZ was full and we were at the back of the
plane. The transfer in LA went well except for having to trolley the
bikes to the second terminal as they were oversized luggage. However
it was a short walk on a sunny California day. From LA we had the
luxury of travelling business class, the flight path was over Ireland
and England before hitting cloud which obscured the view of Holland.
It is certainly warm here, though the forecast for Paris is for rain.
We leave in an hour and a half for Paris.

Enroute!

We are now in the Koru lounge at Wellington airport. Richard brought us and our 2 x 23kilo bags and 2 x 23 kilo bike boxes to the airport. All very carefully measured & weighed. They are all checked in to Paris, but we will have to uplift and clear them in LA. Hopefully we and the luggage will all turn up safely in Paris on the same flight!
It has started to rain outside, and is very gloomy looking. So not sorry to be leaving the winter behind. John has a very big grin on his face as he begins his first trip to Europe.

Departure day

We are all packed, waiting with our gear by the door! Amy is really
excited about seeing us in Paris - and has planned all the places where
she would like us to take her! It is a lovely sunny day, one of those
days when Wellington is at its best - especially with the lovely autumn
leaves still on the trees.

We are about to check in for 48 hours of travel - the joys of living in
the Southern Hemisphere! Anyway, our next updates will be from Europe.

Countdown to departure day continues - two sleeps to go! The bikes have their new tyres on and have been cleaned; they are now packed in their boxes for traveling. Winter has struck with a vengeance, and it was cold and wet outside all weekend. So having recovered from 'flu & colds we are now hampered by the weather. It should be fine & sunny on Wednesday when we leave!

Map of rest days

Here is a map of the trip with the locations of the rest days marked.

Click on the + sign to zoom in and use the mouse to move around.



View Larger Map

Update

A beautiful autumn day with clear skies & no wind. Still no cycling happening unfortunately. The packing is underway, trying to juggle the requirements of both the airlines and the allowances for the trip.

Preparations well underway

With 11 days 'till we leave, preparations are well underway. John has been struck down with the 'flu, spending 3 days in bed; I am hoping to avoid it. It is a beautiful autumn day, and we have not been out training.