Wednesday, 23 May 2007

Encore de picniques...

Not that my life in France revolves around food or anything, but with the arrival of more guests in the form of Jo and Emily recently, I had to do the usual tour... market, Velo's and park. What did bring a new element to the whole thing for me however, was having the park closed early by the police due to strong winds. They proceeded to usher a couple of thousand people back out to the envitable scenic route back into town next to the river - roller bladers, pushchairs, pedestrians, toddlers, high winds, rickety Velo's and a open route straight into the river makes for exciting cycling - but great use of the bell - having not used a bell on a bike since I had my stabilisers removed, it is a whole new, yet satisfying experience... nothing like cycling silently behind pedestrians and then ringing your bell loudly. I have now realised why everyone makes
a dash for the newest bikes - nothing to do with inflated tyres or brakes that work, but for the loudest bell. Still, I should exercise caution as I am sure what goes around comes around and some pedestrian will get their own back and I will end up cycling underwater...

An update in the quest for comfy shoes... I have almost given in to the lure of Converse (I will then be truly French) as they appear to be comfortable and readily available, and have opted for an inbetween... I give you spangly, Dorothy-from-the-Wizard-of-Oz-if-they-were-red, Converse, which are nearly comfortable, and of course - Jo! (obviously not trying to detract attention away from my ridiculous facial expression...)

And now for a guess the number of windows competition..... (oh, and if anyone's interested that is a Southwards view down the Saone).




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