August 13, Monday - The factory next door started up at about 4:00 am. Rowan had told me that when he was staying in this campground at Ieper in 2003, the factory had been in full operation the entire time he was there, and he warned me it might be noisy. But this time, it had been silent all weekend.

I'm not sure what the factory does ... we're guessing it is some sort of scrap metal sorting and recycling ... but when it started at 4:00 am, it sounded like they had just demolished a house! We had just enough time to doze off after that, when they started dropping what sounded like large plates of metal onto other large plates of metal.

We got up early.

After packing up the site, we cycled from Ieper to Lille. The route was very pleasant ... no significant hills, farming country, nice little roads which were well marked so Lille wasn't too hard to find. However, at the outskirts of Lille, we were on our own for finding the train station.

First, we got lost. Then we found a train station, but not the one we wanted. And then we found ourselves in a very old-looking part of Lille with narrow deeply cobbled streets and old buildings. In fact, I believe we had stumbled upon Le Vieux Lille (The Old Lille). It was fascinating! Exactly the way I thought an old French city should look!

We stopped at a small pâtisserie on a corner to purchase some lunch. Incidentally, a pâtisserie is essentially a pastry shop. They are wonderful places, and there is at least one in just about every town in France. They sell all sorts of delicious baked goods. A boulangerie is a bakery, and is similar to a pâtisserie, but usually also sells a few other foods ... possibly a small selection of fruit or canned goods.

Our hunt for the station continued and led us into the middle of an amazing square! The square, Place du Général de Gaulle, is surrounded by old and interesting architecture including the Vieille Bourse which was built in 1651 and the newer Opera House built in 1907. We stopped to take several photos because we had simply not expected to see all this in Lille. I turned and looked down one of the roads leading away from the square ... and there it was ... the station!

When we got to the train station, I needed to use the toilet ... and this time was interesting experience for me for two reasons. 1) It was the first pay toilet I have ever encountered (cost €0.50); and 2) it was very "public". The toilet booths were private enough, but the men's side and women's side weren't really separated, and the sink area was right there in the open. This was not to be the only pay toilet I encountered in France, they are relatively common. I actually don't mind. Train station toilets could be terribly dirty places, but the pay toilets were very well kept. And this was not to be the only time where men and women use essentially the same place. The French don't seem to have the same attitudes as North Americans when it comes to things like that. It's a little cultural difference we North Americans have to keep in mind, and get used to, when we visit other countries.

And then I negotiated a train for us and the bicycles, in a mix of French and English, with a very friendly and helpful ticket cashier. The train we were booked on worked well for us because we had a couple hours to look around before our train left, and because we were on a TGV, so we would be in Paris in an hour! And this TGV took bicycles. When I was in France in 2003, I don't believe any TGV trains took bicycles, but a few do now.

We looked around a Go Sport shop, which is similar to a Decathlon but perhaps a little bit more expensive. Then we walked around the station area a bit, and lunched by the fountains in front of the station. Lille is an interesting place ... a mix of the old with the very new and modern. To the left of the station is a very modern area. To the right, and in front, it's old. We would like to return to Lille to have a better look around.

The train had a little bicycle room where we had to hang our bicycles by one wheel, and then stack our panniers around the other wheel to keep them from swinging. It seemed to work quite well. Then we settled ourselves very comfortably in the car. We had sort of hoped to be able to watch the scenery go by, but the TGV is a very fast train. Apparently some trains run as fast as 300 km/h. We were sitting backward, which didn't help, and I spent the first little while on the training saying, "Oh, look at ..." and "Did you see ..." as things zipped past so fast I wasn't sure if I saw them. Eventually we just napped.

Upon arriving at the Gare du Nord in Paris, we called Claire ... waited for her to meet us ... and then followed her very briskly to her place. She seems like a very strong and confident rider, especially in busy Paris traffic! BTW - Claire is also preparing for the PBP.

Claire's apartment is up four flights of stairs ... spiral stairs ... and Claire's apartment is VERY small. I loved it. I want one just like it! I think Alberta developers should look into building similar apartment complexes to help deal with the housing issues in this part of Canada.

When we got settled a bit, we walked over to a very interesting little restaurant where people share tables, and where everyone is packed in like sardines, but where they serve large quantities of very good food. We each had a massive salad with fried potatoes, an egg, and cheese among the greens. After supper, Claire delivered us back to the apartment.

August 14, Tuesday - We slept in quite late ... all this travelling from place to place is exhausting!

When we finally got going, we started our first day in Paris by walking to the Seine, which was not very far away. We explored the area a bit, took some photos, and then made our way to the local Decathlon, where we proceeded to buy out the store. I picked up another T-shirt, a couple pair of shorts, and a few other items. Rowan got a lot more. We spent quite a bit of time there, wandering up and down the aisles and looking at everything. I really wish Canada had a store like Decathlon.

About the shorts I picked up ... I couldn't find any like them where I live, so I had intended to see if I could find any in France. They are basically basketball shorts, I guess. Lightweight material, fairly loose, and they come down to the knee. I like them for touring because I can wear them over my cycling shorts while cycling. Then, when I stop to go into a grocery store, or cafe, or something, I look presentable. In addition, they are very comfortable for wearing around the campsite or hostel or wherever. The material is also easy to wash and dry. I highly recommend checking into them!

On our way back to the apartment, we picked up some lunch at a pâtisserie, and then ate it in a small park. And later we found a laundromat so we could finally have some clean clothes. All the basic, mundane stuff of travelling. But I must say that sometimes even the mundane chores can be interesting ... we took a nice walk while our laundry was washing, and back at the laundromat sat quietly observing the people there, and one family in particular. Somewhat amusing!

Oh, but I must mention the new bicycles Paris has introduced ... the plan is called, "Vélib". They are essentially rental bicycles placed all over the city with the goal of encouraging people to cycle rather than using their cars. We took a look at some of them in the racks, watched a maintenance person come by and check the bicycles to see if they were still all OK, and watched some people coming and going with them.

As for renting them, there are a variety of options. You can get a card which will allow you to have a daily, weekly, or monthly subscription, or you can use your credit card. You are initially charged €150 as a deposit. When you return the bicycle, you are refunded all but the nominal charge for the bicycle. The first half hour is free, so if you only used the bicycle for 30 minutes, you would have the whole €150 returned, but if you used it for 1 hour, you would be charged €1.30 for the second half hour. A third half hour would cost €2.60. A fourth half hour would be €5.20, and for every half hour after that the charge is €5.20. Daily, weekly and monthly charges are less. The €150 charge (deposit) is to help ensure that people don't vandalize the bicycles and don't steal the bicycles. In fact, at one station, I watched as three cyclists came in and seemed rather frantic about getting their bicycles correctly returned quickly. Either they were late for work, or didn't want to be charge any extra.

There were a lot of people riding these bicycles around Paris, so they are definitely used. Everything was very new, so it will be interesting to see how the plan continues to work as time goes by. If you do a search on the internet for "Vélib Paris" there is quite a bit of information about it all.

August 15, Wednesday - The first place we went was the Decathlon store. OK, we're addicted to that place! But great selection and low prices on sporting goods, what more could you want? Among other things, we picked up platform converters for SPD pedals so I can now ride with either regular shoes or cycling shoes. One side of my pedal is the platform, and the other is my SPD pedal.

Once these were attached to my bicycle, we cycled into Paris ... and I wore my regular sandals to test the pedals. This proved to be more uncomfortable than I had hoped, and I struggled with riding a bit. Shoes with a more solid sole would have been better. It also took some getting used to for me to ride completely unclipped. I haven't done that in years!

Nevertheless, we made our way to Notre Dame, which is HUGE!! Construction began on the cathedral in 1163, and it was completed in the mid-1300s. The architecture is French Gothic. We tried to take some photos, but it is extremely difficult to take a good photo of a building so large. I would have like to take a peak inside, but there were throngs of people around. August 15th is the "Assumption of the Blessed Virgin" a Roman Catholic (and French) holiday. I assume that there was a special mass in the cathedral to celebrate.

Then we decided to seek out the Eiffel Tower. Just as we were leaving the Notre Dame area, something caught my attention. All along the Seine, booths were set up selling what looked like collector's editions of various things including cartoon prints, records (LPs), comic books, and lots and lots of books. I would have liked to spend the day browsing through it all, but there were many other things we wanted to see.

We crossed the river, and had slowed up for a traffic light, when someone on a bicycle came up beside me and, in French, asked me if I were Canadian. In French, I said I was, and he pointed at my bicycle and told me it was a Canadian bicycle (which, of course, I knew). Then he asked me if I were from Quebec, because my bicycle was made in Quebec. I told him I was from the west side of Canada. Then he told me he was from Quebec, but was living in Paris right now. Cool! :)

Somehow we ended up at the Forum des Halles, on the north side of the Seine ... and if you were to ask me to show you how we got there, I would not be able to. I find it interesting now that when I asked Rowan where we were, his response was that we were at some kind of forum. He was right! From the Forum des Halles we could see the Bourse de Commerce, and we came in right beside the St. Eustache cathedral, and a large stone sculpture.

The stone sculpture is called "l'Ecoute" created by Henri de Miller, which is located in a square called "Place René Cassin", next to the church. It is a very large head resting on a hand. We would have liked to take a photo of the sculpture, but unfortunately people enjoy climbing all over it, and it was covered in children. Somehow the effect of the sculpture is lost when there is a child crawling across the nose. But if you do a search on the internet for "l'Ecoute" by Henri de Miller, I have seen some really good photos of it.

Now that I'm looking at maps to figure out where we went, I am amused to discover that when we were at the Forum des Halles, we were right next to the Louvre, literally within half a kilometer. I had wanted to visit the Louvre, but thought it was much further away, and so we decided not to try to hunt for it. Next time I'm in Paris, I must bring a map!

From there, we continued on our way to the Eiffel Tower. Fortunately, it is visible from many parts of the city, so we had something to aim for. It is also right next to the Seine, so we were able to follow that, once we were on the correct side.

We took a plethora of photos of the Eiffel Tower. The last time I was in Paris I only took two photos of the Eiffel Tower ... in fact that was all I took of Paris. I wanted to take a lot more this time.

While we were wandering around looking at the Tower from different angles and taking photos, someone came up to us, and said, "Those must be Randonneuring bicycles". Turns out he was an Australian Randonneur, an acquaintance of Rowan who had ridden the RAAM earlier in the year! Funny how our bicycles stood out as Randonneuring bicycles! We had a nice little chat.

We had lunch at a small kiosk cafe next to the Seine, below the Eiffel Tower. While there (and in a few other places as well) we were accosted a few times by women begging for money and food. Their approach is to ask you if you speak English, and if you say "Yes", they hand you a piece of paper with a sob story on it about some sort of hardships back home etc. etc., and asking for money. After saying "Yes" once to the question about speaking English, I started responding "Non".

Then we started back for the apartment, but on our way we decided to make a detour to the Champs-Elysees to see the Arc de Triomphe. We cycled up the Champs-Elysees. Evidently, aside from the Tour de France when there is no vehicle traffic, cycling the Champs-Elysees is not really recommended ... and I can tell you from experience why not!! The road is cobbled, which makes for some challenging cycling to begin with.

Then the road is absolutely filled with traffic ... much of which seems intent on finding a parking spot by the side of the road somewhere. If unsuccessful at accomplishing that, double parking is an option ... or suddenly stopping to let out several passengers might be another option. Police vehicles inch their way up the road to deal with double parkers, and busses stopping periodically also add to the congestion. If traffic isn't enough, hoards of pedestrians seem dissatisfied with the side of the road they are on, and constantly make dashes to the other side of the road. Some use the traffic lights ... some don't.

We made it a good way up the road before finally stopping, and dashing to the middle of the road to take some photos. Then we headed back down. It was all rather frightening!

And then we returned to the apartment where we had supper with Claire.