THE FIRST REUNION

Sorry, I know its been a while since I posted anything, but between some bastard stealing my bike, not seeing the sun (or more than 20 degrees) for a couple of months (yes! I know! Its supposed to be summer here..... hmm) and desperately struggling to get to work every day (while the rest of France is on holidays).... it's just been toooooo hard.

So I thought I would post a couple of pics of Till and Shini's wedding a couple of weeks ago. We first went to Milan, which sadly, was a ghost town (again, the whole of Europe's on holidays).... but we still ate lots of great food and - it was hot! Then we went to Lake Lugano for the wedding. Its a gorgeous spot (not much to do though if you don't like riding bikes up mountains or hiking - that's me!)... but it was great too see some of the old gang. Of course, Shini looked like a princess.....

THE ONE-ARMED HARMONICA MAN

In Paris there are a lot of homeless people, and also beggars and buskers. Last weekend when we were walking along the Seine we saw this guy. He was amazing. He only had one arm but he was playing the harmonica!

NOT JUST AN OLD MAN'S GAME

Last weekend we went to the Paris Plage (beach). Its a man-made beach (of sorts) that the City of Paris sets up along the Seine for a month over summer. They have free concerts, deck chairs overlooking the river, some sand, a swimming pool, and petanque courts.

Petanque (or boules) is played all over France, and you often see old men gathered around debating on which boule is closest to the jack.

Valentin, a seasoned player, showed us the rope. With a large dose of beginner's luck, I managed to win my first game ever!

PARIS' NEW MISTRESS

Parisians have embarked on a new love affair: the velib. This is a scheme recently introduced by the city of Paris to encourage people to ride bikes. There are 20,000 new bikes at stations every 300 meters around the city, which you can hire for a minimal cost (first 30 minutes free, or 1 euro / day) It's been amazing to see how the Parisians have taken to the new bikes. Everyone is using them and people with their own bikes are riding more also.

Riding in Paris is good because the city is flat and there are lots of bike and bus lanes (which cyclists can use also). The only problem is there are too many lights..... and I got busted yesterday by cops for going through a red light. Luckily I acted like a dumb foreigner and got off without having to pay the 90 euro fine!