Au Revior!

Alright one last post as I wait in line to check in at de Gaulle.

I had most of today since my flight's not until 7:45p so I took advantage of it to check out some of the major sites. I really had my heart set on Musée d'Orsay but this how the line looked:

Needless to say I thought I'd hang around with this group rather than wait around...

At the time I didn't know what was up with all the pomp and circumstance so I just kept on biking around. 

This is the famous lock bridge, Pont des Arts - where you and your partner attach a lock and throw away the key. But now the government is trying to end the practice since all the weight is comprising the structure. The policemen closed off access so the workers could start removing the locks. 

Also the Français didn't seem to take too kindly to this ad...

Next I made my way back to the Arc de Triomphe - there is something fascinating about it as such a symbol of the French nation, the highs and lows -- Napoleon built it to commemorate his victories, Nazi's marched underneath it, and Tour de France races around it. Today it looked very different then when I rode by yesterday, the circle surrounding it is usually a mass of 8 lanes or so of traffic but today it was empty and those fancy cavalry riders where just outside of it on the Champs-Élysées.

empty traffic circle surrounding the Arc de Triomphe

Turns out there was a state visit about to begin. After a couple minutes of waiting the French President, Francois Hollande arrived, followed shortly by the Spanish King Felipe IV.

Anyway --- a pretty neat way to end the trip.