The Coolest Thing I Have Ever Done

The Coolest Thing I Have Ever Done


I'm in Paris, full of marvelous things to see and do. Treasures and history are on every corner. I'm with a group of people and a man turns to me and says, with his eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas, "This is the coolest thing I have ever done!" What was he talking about? Walking down the Champ-Elysées? Looking at Paris spread out at his feet from the highest level of the Eiffel Tower? Maybe a meal at Tour d'Argent? He probably had done all of those, but none of the above was what he was talking about. So what was it?

It was a ride on a Segway, a new-fangled mode of transportation that had people stopping and staring, pointing and smiling. It is a human transporter allowing people to go up to speeds of 12 miles an hour in any pedestrian environment. I suspect it was first invented to help people with limited mobility, but it is so much fun that everyone wants to hop on and try it.



The only place in Paris that you can rent a Segway is at Fat Bike Tours, an American owned and run operation, owned by David Mebane. He has the exclusive contract with Segway as the only tour operator to have these machines.

I joined a group one day for a trial run. A quick orientation is needed before you set off. There are three keys for starting a Segway, each producing a different speed. The red key, being the fastest, is no longer available to tourists after two couples left a guide in the dust speeding for the fun of it, not as tourists getting a look at Paris. Our great guide, Brittany, had to hold on to our Segway when we first stepped on because at first you wobble back and forth, then suddenly you are balancing-- some sort of gyroscope system underneath the machine keeps you balanced. Then you just lean forward and pull back on the handles to stop or to reverse if already stopped. The turning device is on the left handle. This is the part I enjoyed most, as you turn very quickly and easily and maneuver like something out of Star Wars. The Segway was easy to ride and great fun.

Then we were off on our tour, seeing the Eiffel Tower, Invalides, the Louvre, Ecole Militaire, Alexander III bridge, Place de la Concorde and more. We were covering ground 2 to 3 times faster than the pedestrians we whizzed by on the sidewalks. We could go up or down small curbs easily and quickly come to a stop. I imagine that those who have a little trouble with mobility would love the Segway. All that is necessary physically is being able to step up and down. Plus, you must weigh at least 70 pounds.

Part of the fun of the tour on the Segway is the attention we attracted. As we drove by, people stared either with a smile, because they could see how much fun it was, or with a frown, wondering what in the heck this new-fangled contraption was (however you say that in French). Bikes aren't allowed in parks, and we saw security men and policemen trying to decide if we should be made to dismount and walk our Segways. We found that as long as we didn't go right up to the Pyramid at the Louvre they would let us continue to ride.

When we stopped there to take a look at the Pyramid from a distance, people surrounded us and asked, "Where can you rent these?," "How do these work?," "What are these?," "Can you buy them here in Paris?," and on and on. I have a feeling that Madonna gets this kind of attention when she goes out for a walk. For just a few hours on one day, it was a rather heady feeling. We saw a bike tour go by us and I saw the riders look at us with envy.

David, the owner, told me that after a Prince of Saudi Arabia tried the latest Segway, he immediately went and ordered 30 of them for his use back home, as well as for his family and employees. Plaza Athenée has struck a deal with David to put carrying bags with their name on them for groups coming from this prestigious hotel to do the Segway Tour.

I asked David why this tour has become so wildly popular and he said he thought it was because it was so new--the latest rage. Maybe in a year or so the fad will pass, but it sure is a draw at the present time.



Is it potentially dangerous? I guess it could be. The Segway stops so quickly and easily that I don't think it would be easy to run into a pedestrian. It is possible to fall off, and I'm sure a few people will run into a wall or get a wheel caught in some gravel. No one in my group had any problems once we became familiar with our Segways. All I know is that it was a really fun thing to do and, possibly, "the coolest thing I have ever done."

These tours are very quickly booked. Call or email ahead of time to book.

Fat Bike Tours-Paris
Dates : Every day March 1st-October 15th
Times: Day tour at 10:30am, night tour at 6:30pm
Prices: Day tour 70 Euro, night tour 70 Euro, both tours 125 Euros
Meeting Point: Both tours meet in the area under the Eiffel Tower
Phone : 01 56 58 10 54
Web site :http://www.fattirebiketoursparis.com/
email: info@FatTireBikeToursParis.com

Something Different in Paris

Even though I had heard that there was a pet cemetery on the outskirts of Paris, I was more interested in walking around the cemeteries for people, like Père Lachaise and Montmartre. It was only after a friend talked me into going with her to the pet cemetery that I wondered what had taken me so long.

It isn't that difficult or that long of a Métro ride to get there—just take a short walk from the end of line 13 in Asnières to find the Le Cimetière des Chiens D'Asnières-Sur-Seine. It's in a fantastic location right on the Seine and, although most of the tombstones are very small, it does have the feel of the typical French cemetery. As All Saints Day had occurred a week before my visit, the cemetery was full of yellow chrysanthemums, a custom in France. People had visited the graves of the pets here just as families visited departed relatives in all cemeteries across France.



There was a sweet feeling about the place as well as some melancholy. I think I would have felt the same if it had been a cemetery for children. To the owners of these pets, their animals were their children and we came upon graves with tiny miniatures of animals on them or old chew toys. One dog's grave had a hollow plastic ball full of old tennis balls that he must have loved to play with. There were photos of the pets and names like Fifi or Susan. One grave had written on it: "I have been mistreated by other people, but never by Gaston, my friend, who loved me unconditionally."



At the entrance to the cemetery stands a huge sculpture with the carving of a Saint Bernard carrying a child on its back. The dog represented is Barry, who saved the lives of 40 people in the Alps before he lost his own life attempting a rescue for the 41st time. There is also a large tombstone—with a statue of a German Shepherd Statue on top—that memorializes all of the police dogs who die in action. The grave for Rin Tin Tin had me puzzled until I did some research and found that the original Rin Tin Tin (a French cartoon name, by the way) was taken to the States by an American soldier and the rest is history




Not only dogs and cats are buried here; there are also tombstones for three horses. I was surprised to see a stone for a rabbit and also one for Cocotte, a chicken said to have lived for 25 years and to have been a wonderful companion.



My friend and I are both cat lovers and so we loved seeing the many cats that live among the tombstones. (They do other things among the tomb stones as I discovered when I got home and traced a horrible smell to the bottom of my shoe). Most of them were tame and friendly-looking; one could pet them or feed them, and they managed to weave their way around our legs as we wandered around. While we were there, some ladies came and fed some of them. We overheard one saying her cat had recently died and she came to the cemetery twice a week to walk around. It brought her comfort.
Would I recommend a first-timer to Paris visit this cemetery? Not really, as I think Père Lachaise and the Montmartre cemeteries should be seen first. But, if you have been to Paris several times, and you are a pet lover, I think this would fill the bill for something different. I found it to be a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon.



Nearby, we found the restaurant, Le Père Lamotte. It looked very plain on the outside but served some very great-tasting food. I had a salad, baked fish, 2 vegetables and a soda for 13€. Additionally, there were also some interesting shops on the streets selling Middle-Eastern spices, fabric and housewares.

Le Cimetière Des Chiens
4, pont de Clichy
92600 Asnières-sur-Seine
Restaurant au Père Lamotte
23, Bd Voltaire
92600 Asnières

The Covered Arcades of Paris

The Covered Arcades of Paris

Paris is full of famous monuments known the world over that are a delight to see and visit. They are huge, seen from miles away and from many areas of Paris-turn a corner and there is one of them. The first time visitor has to see them all-the Eiffel Tower, Arch de Triumph, Notre Dame. Their presence is a testiment to hundreds of years of history that rolled along in this part of the world, sometimes built on top of temples and relics from thousands of years ago.

All of these shrines to man, and sometimes, to God, should be seen. They are amazing. But sometimes it is refreshing to see a part of history from the not so distant past, as close as 150 years ago, in the galeries, or covered passages of Paris which give one a feel for Paris as it was in the 19th century. These first “shopping malls” allowed shoppers respite from the weather, not to mention the open sewers and unpaved streets outside as Haussman had not yet begun his monumental work which not only changed Paris to the city it is today but constructed the much needed underground sewer system. There were 150 of these arcades by the mid 19th century but only 18 remain today, nearly all on the right bank.Each arcade that remains is unique. Some have been beautifully restored to their original splendor, some are slowly continuing their descent into disrepair.

It is possible to see seven of these arcades all in one area, some of them running in a straight line one after another. A good place to start is the Galerie Vero Dodat located near Rue du Rivoli at 19 rue Jean-Jacques-Rousseau still remaining much as it was 150 years ago with its marble floors and painted ceilings.



From here it is a short walk to Palais Royal location of one of the most charming gardens in Paris often unvisited by visitors. Marvelous covered galeries run down each side of the building with columns and speared fences topped with gold marching along. Interesting shops line each side and Colette (the movie Gigi was based on one of her short stories) lived at the very end above the children’s playground. Continue on through the archway on the right, cross the narrow street and go up the stairs there, feeling like a Parisian who knows a great shortcut. You will enter a short alley called Passage des Deux Pavillions with a store selling interesting postcards. Crossing the street and to the right is Passage Vivienne, perhaps the most exquisite of all the remaining arcades with shafts of light coming down from the glass celling to the marble floor. Two great stops here are LeGrand Filles and Fils for a wine tasting or a great variety of wine accoutrement, such as wine glasses and cork screws. A little further down in A Priori The for a light lunch and a cup of tea. Next is Passage Cobert, now owned by the Bibliotheque Nationale.

Exit Passage Vivienne, turn right and walk to Passage Choiseul. This one lacks charm and sophistication, and is a more working class environment, but is lined with interesting shops and it leads to Passage Panoramas, a short walk away at 10 Rue St-Marc, which actually did once posses panaoramas in two large rotundas, now gone. There are shops here selling stamps for serious collectors and some very interesting antique postcards fun to look at to see how Paris has changed.

Directly across the street from here is my favorite passage, Passage Jouffroy lined with fun toys stores, kitchen ware shops, small restaurants and the Musee Grevin, the equivalent of Madme Tussaud’s, home of wax figures of famous people. It is a relaxing passage to walk through, looking up at the clock near the roof, the glass ceiling, the feeling of time past, with its charm and simpler times. At the end, across the street, is yet one more, Passage Verdeau, a contiuation of the previous two, but not as charming.

An Unexpected Work of Art

Paris Meridian Medallions
Would you believe that there is some art in Paris that most visitors never see and often walk on unknowingly? Few people are aware of these 135 bronze medallions embedded in the pavement of Paris, which start north in Montmartre and go clear across Paris, where they end at the Cité Universitaire on the edge of the city limits and Parc Montsouris.

You will notice one of them while visiting the Palais Royal; a little bronze circle embedded in the pavement with the name Arago and north and south represented by the letter N and S .You may not know who Arago is and may have read of these medallions in the best selling book, The Da Vinci Code, where you learn that the medallions represented a meridian line that was used by France.

Many countries had their own meridian lines on one time, including France. The French were very advanced in the science of time and the measurement of the earth. French scientist Abbé Jean Picard first measured the length of a degree of longitude and computed from it the size of the earth in 1655. In fact, the metric system was started at this time, the meter being 1 ten-millionth of a meridian quadrant from the North Pole to the equator. The meridian line was used both for navigation and time keeping. France, along with Ireland, adhered to the Paris Meridian for time keeping until 1911 and for navigation until 1914, when it finally converted to the Greenwich Meridian with the rest of the world.

Why is Arago on this medallion? He was a scientist and a statesman who became director of the Paris Observatory where he lived until his death in 1853. There is a monument to him across Arago Boulevard in Place Ile de Sein in the 14th arrondissement but the statue of him was melted down during World War II and never replaced. In 1995 Paris commissioned Dutch conceptual artist Jan Dibbits to create a new memorial. And now you can follow the path of this art through gardens, streets, buildings, courtyards and quais, through the 2nd, 6th, 9th, 10th and 12th arrondissements. As you do so you will notice that practically nothing built in Paris is on any straight north, south, east or west axis, neither streets or buildings. You can find a medallion on one side of a building and have to go blocks out of your way to get to the other side to find yet another medallion. The whole thing can become rather addictive.

Finding a list of the medallions with the address and general location of them gives one the feeling that they would be easy to find but you will soon find that this is not the case. It is helpful to note the direction of north and south on the medallions themselves and follow an imaginary line from one to another. You will discover that a few have either been dug up leaving an empty hole or covered with asphalt in others. People may stop you to ask if they can help you find the lost object you appear to be looking for as you scan the ground looking for these mysterious speres. You will often confuse what you think is a possible medallion for one of the many round gas or plumbling coverings which lie all over the pavements of Paris.
You may have hope of locating all of the medallions in one day and it could be done but you will find that after the first three exhausting hours on the first day that you will want to spread out the time to two or three days. A good place to start is at the locked gates of the observatory garden where Arago once did his research. The observatory itself is built on the line of the Parisioan Meridian with the four facades oriented towards the four points of the compass. You will find the monument to Arago with several medallions from there and ended up in beautiful Parc Montsouris where the marker for the southern edge stands. Going straight north from this you will find four more medallions and discover they are always embedded in cement or asphalt, never dirt or grass. Perhaps the next day you can through the Saint Germain des Pres area, through the Luxembourg gardens (there are six there) and even go into Saint Sulpice church where there is an obelisk on the north/south axis in a corner. The early church officials used to use this to watch the movement of the sun to determine the date of Easter. It has nothing to do with the Meridian Line itself despite what Dan Brown said in his book and, by the way, was never called The Rose Line.

Walk through the Palais Royal then cross the street to the Louvre where not only does a line of medallions run through the courtyard behind the I.M. Pei pyramid, but there is also one inside the Louvre. Go on the other side of the Louvre, find one on the quai, crossed Pont des Arts and find one in front of the Institut de France and then one behind it.

The most northern marker is in Montmartre but can't be seen as it is in a private courtyard. You can walk downhill from here through Montmartre finding medallions all the way to Pigalle where most had been removed at some point leaving either round holes or nothing. The line continues all the way down to Boulevard Haussmann.

It turns out to be a very interesting way to see Paris.You don't go to just one metro stop to see a monument such as the Opéra, but walk across neighborhoods with a new eye, realizing how small Paris can be, how connected all of the neighborhoods are. It turns out to be an adventurous way to explore Paris.
For the location of the medallions visit:
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