After seeing the sites by foot yesterday, we decided, to do other sites by bicycle. Dianne and Cheryl made us another great breakfast. We kicked back for a while and Brian and I did some planning. Once that was sorted, it was time for an early lunch, so we decided to go down to a restaurant around the corner. It is set in a beautiful leafy area of the town. The outdoor dining over here is so good.

Once we had lunch and a couple local drinks, we figured we were ready to take on the world. The bike rack was right near the restaurant, which was very convenient. But getting started wasn't as simple as jumping on a bike! We had to tackle the machine first. You would consider this to be very straight forward, but for four middle aged technically challenged people, it was a bit like F-Troop V the Daleks. EXTERMINATE! After about 25 goes at getting the tickets, we began to wonder how cycling became such a popular pastime in this lovely city. Well eventually Dianne asked a lady who was returning her machine, and of course the first thing she did was select English on the machine. Voila, we could see things more clearly now. Then when she showed us, we realised we were not going far enough through the process. Well, we eventually got started.

We knew our way around which was good, and in many cases there are bike paths, though you do need to share some with Taxi's and Buses. But let me tell you, Dianne wasn't sharing them with anyone. She gets a little nervous and wobbly when vehicles are close, so instead she shared her bike with the public on the footpath. We began to make our way towards the Champs Elyse, as we approached Concorde, which is a semi roundabout, Cheryl sort of made up her own rules, and did this fabulous maneuver which Daniel Riccardo would have been proud of. But, she got to the other side. The trip up the Champs Elyse was very good, except the amount of people on it was about twice it was yesterday, so we had to hop off and on the bikes regularly.

The area is so good, and people make the most of being able to do all sorts of activities on it. Currently there is a fair and side show.

On the way up, we stopped to see if the girls could get into the John Paul Gautier exhibition. Trying to gets tickets on line was impossible. However when we arrived, we found out the show was sold out. You could get in, but the wait for tickets at the door was 4 hours. Pass.

It was just after this point, that I made a discovery. There in front of me was a big Golden Arch. We found it, the original birth place of the famous burger invented by Philippe McDonald. It was here all the time on the Champs Elyse. I can understand why we missed it the first time. Louis XV built the other buildings around it so they would blend perfectly into the architectural wonder we call the McDonalds Café. The google translator tells me the Golden Arches have been replicated on all 37 bridges that cross the river Seine. It just goes to show you, good design stands the test of time. That's in seine isn't it!

Once we got to the ARC, our next stop was to be the Eifel Tower. We had not seen that yet.
If you know the location of the ARC, you will understand it is on a very busy roundabout, with 4 sets of duel roads coming off it. So we had to cross the road a couple of times to get to the exit we needed. The lights turned Green, and I stepped out to make the crossing, and for once I was looking the right way. (which is left :))Before I knew it, this little Blue Renault had braked hard and tooted at me. When I stepped out, the light on my side of the road was in fact RED, but the light on the other side was green. Clearly this sort of signaling is some method of population control.

The trip down to the Eifel tower was quite uneventful, thankfully. Like all the other tourists sites in Paris, the tower was wall to wall people. We stopped for a look, but did not venture up. The queues were just too long. Besides, it took that long to get the bikes out of the rack, I didn't think we had enough time to do it again.

(After we got back home, Cheryl complained about the hard work it was to climb up the Champs Elyse, and then the peak of the bridge at the Eifel tower. We all looked at her, and Brian said his bike was great in the lowest gear. Cheryl goes...... gears? and she is only a bottle blonde!)

The ride back along the Seine was great. Again the waters edge had cycle paths, and areas for activities, which are fully utilised. Every so many meters along the way there are these great seats made out of railway sleepers, all designed in different ways and in different colours, made to catch every unsuspecting cyclists name Dianne, just so she can bruise her shin whilst trying to stop for a photo. Very effective they are.

After a considerable time, we finally arrived back in our Rue. Time to park the bike. It took just as long to put the bikes back as it took to get them out! It seems the racks have a few problems as the mechanism for locking them break from time to time. We were lucky in the end as a couple of people took bikes out, so we knew those locks worked.

Finally we are at home again. We were off to the Moulin Rouge.(MR) We were running late, due to some dodgy planning, so time to use my UBER app. Worked perfectly, and Uber were sensational. Best cabs I have ever ridden in, and highly recommended. We arrived at the Moulin Rouge in good time. So, off the to the Irish pub for an ale, and a light snack.

By the time we had finished the crowd had grown very large at the MR, however the time to get in was really quite quick. Brian entertained us for awhile whilst he gave this guy a hard time for trying to jump the queue.
The MR was really top class entertainment. The girls were very talented, long legs, beautiful slender bodies, nice abs, and lovely................. blue eyes. Dianne again did a great job in organising the tickets. We had excellent seats, which Brian and I really appreciated! But truthfully, if you are considering coming to Paris, the MR is worth seeing. The singing, dancing, and supporting acts are simply great to watch. Of course there is the girl swimming with the pythons. If you know Dianne well enough you will appreciate she got very nervous when the snake tank started to rise from the depths. I haven't asked, but I can only assume she hasn't seen a python that big.

Once the MR had finished it was time to make our way back, and get some well deserved sleep. I went to use my Uber app, but no wireless! Damn. Eventually we caught a taxi.

A great day, full of fun and laughter. A fantastic night of entertainment, but time for bed as we are feeling the pinch. (Dianne is still trying to shake off the flu. Which reminds me, we need another bottle of gin!)