This was the message contained in one of Warmshowers hosts who I have sent a message prior to arriving in Paris.
I was looking forward to visiting Paris from a long time ago.
Not sure where my mindset comes from ( whether it is from some of the romantic movies filmed there or simply all the fame surrounding it ) but its simply one of the towns that makes my heart warm.
After enduring a few annoying days filled with constant headwind coming from Netherlands and Belgium, then a few rainy days, I was really exhausted and looking forward to having some rest in Paris.
Arriving to Paris at night
Finding a Warmshowers host was not easy mind you because if you open the map on their website you get hundreds of hosts in and around Paris. The biggest problem is that most of them are not active so I had to search through tons of them to find somebody I would like to visit.
To make matters worse, it seems that last couple of times whenever I wanted to find a host, it was always a weekend, the worst of days because obviously people work over the week and when the weekend comes you expend them to go out and relax.
Luckily, after several messages sent I got a response and was able to look forward to meeting new people in Paris and have some rest.
And the rest came with Michael and Alex, a lowly couple from France living in the outskirts of Paris ( read: a quiet neighborhood ).
They are also vivid travelers and have cycled across Asia for 2 years before.
We had lovely dinners full of interesting conversations.
I decided to spend 2 days in Paris which would enable me to take one whole day exploring the town with an empty bike.
It was Sunday the day I decided to explore Paris and since the weather was good, a lot of people were on the streets.
My hosts were very kindly provided me with a rough guide on how to cycle the town to make the most of it and this helped me a lot so I wad able to enjoy it to the fullest.
Some were exercising, some were doing drugs, a lot of police sirens driving around all added to the interesting atmosphere.
The town feels dirty, streets are narrow and crowded, marijuana smells at every corner but all this hasnt changed the way I feel about it.
The morning started quietly, but around noon the wole town exploded and there was millions of people on the streets, which I was expecting since it was Sunday and it was good weather.
Saint-Ambroise, Paris
Both pedestrians and cyclists were heavily skipping red lights , but despite all that, the traffic was functioning well, including quite a bit of car horning ( both polite and non so ).
Mind you, the cycling infrastructure in Paris is quite good, but still a lot of city center consist of narrow roads on which both cars and bicycles are permitted, so it can be a bit of a drama.
It does remind me a bit of riding in Italy where everybody are zipping around.
From there the title of this topic comes from ( if you dare to cycle Paris :)
Louvre Museum
And then there is all the marvelous architecture, from small details and monuments to the biggest of all, the Eiffel tower.
And yes, it does look spectacular in real life like it does on the movies.
In fact, people were standing in the middle of the streets, taking photos in front of the Eiffel tower:)
Next time I visit Paris I want to go to the top of Eiffel tower.
Arc de Triomphe, almost as spectacular as the Eiffel tower
Goodbye Paris for now, but we will see you again for sure!
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