From Geneve we had ideas of heading south into Italy for one last visit, but while riding through Switzerland I thought the bike was make a different sound to usual so in Geneve I checked it over and suspected the rear wheel bearings were on there way out. So with that news and the weather the way it was we decided to head straight for Paris and then on to England. As we entered France it started to rain and continued while we were in the mountainous areas but stopped as we left the forest for the farming areas. It was nice being back in France, there is just something about the villages and countryside that makes it different and nice. Getting towards the end of the tourist season the first campground we arrived at was closed, as was the second and third sites, it was now becoming a long day as we continued on trying to find a campground open, we did eventually find a place open in a lovely little village and it was most affordable at around €6.
The next day we rode into Paris and to a campground we had been told about that was a bit over an hours walk from the Eiffel Tower. After setting up we went for a walk in the area to find supplies and see what Paris was about. What we found was a lovely, but extremely busy area with people and cars and bikes everywhere, but at the same time it was nice with little back streets and shops. With the forecast saying clear weather we headed into Paris the next day without our umbrellas. We started off by getting misplaced in the park we needed to walk through, it is massive and made up of forest and small trails as well as park land and roads. Eventually we found ourselves looking at the very impressive sight that is the Eiffel Tower. We took photos and then joined the queue to get tickets to go up it. After just over an hour we were in the lift heading sky ward, we had elected to go to the top so we eventually got out of the third lift at 197 metres and the view was stunning. Walking around you definitely get the feeling the tower is moving, not nice at all, the information says it can move up to 100mm, I would have thought more. Remember I said we didn't bring our umbrellas, well you guessed it, while we were up the tower it started to rain, and it rained for the rest of the day, and we walked everywhere arriving back at the campground around 8pm, soaked! From the tower we walked through some of the parks and streets to have a look at the Louvre before walking up the Champs Élysées past the Arc De Triomphe and back to camp. The next day we decided to take our umbrellas (it didn't rain) and to catch the shuttle bus put on by the camp that takes you to Porte Maillot at the top of the Champs Élysées, we then walked to the Louvre where we joined the queue at the sign that advised it could take three hours to get in! Fortunately it didn't and we were in in just over an hour. Once inside we found out that being the first Sunday of the month it was free to enter, which saved us some money, so we hired an audio guide each and went in search of the Mona Lisa. We figured we were on the right track when the crowds were getting thicker, then all of a sudden we were being told to leave by security staff which caused all sorts of problems until one of the guards said it was for security reasons. Once the area was secure a couple of men came by and retrieved their child pushers, they had left them unattended in the area and caused mayhem! We were then let back in and we found Lisa surrounded, so we waited until we could photograph her and then went to look at what we could for the next four hours, it was amazing and well done. From the Louvre we walked up to see the Moulin Rouge, we didn't go in, shows started at €105 each. The outside looks plain during the day so we stayed in the area until dark to get more photos before walking back to see the Tower with its lights on and then back to Porte Maillot to catch the 11.30 shuttle to camp, another long day.
The next morning we woke to rain, but we packed and left anyway as the forecast was the same all week. I had ideas of riding along the Champs Élysées, but after seeing the traffic on it and it was now raining I decided against it. It rained all day off and on and when we arrived at our chosen campground they didn't have any cabins but they were kind enough to lead us to a lovely B&B in an old chateau farmhouse where we had a nice dry warm bed for the night before continuing on the next day towards Calais were we stayed in a cabin for a few days while we looked as some more WWII sites before heading up to England.