5/29/2010 - 5/31/2010. Paris, France.
On the way to the Isle of Man 2010 TT, we layed over for a couple days in Paris France. Uncharacteristically, the lead up to Paris was smooth and uneventful. We made Dulles airport on time, and we had masterfully packed our bags right up to, but not over the weight limit. We proceeded to the departure gate via the new subway, somehow my boarding pass unseated itself from my back pocket & remained on this train. I didn't realize until they called for boarding. Although Air France was going to let me on as they'd affixed a sticker to my passport, someone brought the boarding pass to the gate. Some man and his son of non American background had taken our seats. After some initial attempts at negotiating, they came to the conclusion they would like the aisle seats more and we took our window seats. Our flight was otherwise uneventful, luggage was first off the plane, and we were on our way via Air France shuttle in minutes. After a brief walk, we arrived at the Best Western Star Champs Elysees. The hotel was nicely up kept, with nice furnishings and a relative bargain for the location about 400 yards from the craziest intersection ever designed - the Arc de Triomphe. Basically a 6-8 lane wide roundabout with 10 feeder streets.
Fortunately for us, a friend and coworker, Nico G. had agreed to show us around all the sights of Paris. He met us at the hotel, and proceeded to show us Paris from his convertible. Traffic was not for the meek. He handled it like another day at the office.
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Nico graciously shuttled us all over the city to every imaginable tourist attraction as well as places only locals would be familiar with. Though it was only for a few hours, we saw and learned much of Paris - except the price of fuel... When I asked, Nico replied "I don't like to talk about things that make me sad"... We stopped off in the Latin quarter for a break at a cafe after touring Notre Dame. We got to meet the bride to be in the video above. A once in a lifetime chance encounter that was amusing & fun. We parted ways in the Latin quarter so Nico could go home to his wife, and we made our way back to the hotel.
The next day we went out for more sights, though not raining, the Eiffel Tower was socked in with fog up top and the upper level was closed. We checked out some motorcycle dealers with displays on manufacturer row, then walked to the Louvre. It was even more busy than the Eiffel Tower so we didn't go in. We made our way back for the flight out to the Isle of Man the next day.
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