Literally translating to ‘household of three’,  Ménage à trois, may happen to be some people’s favorite borrowed phrase from the French language.  I snapped this shot in the St Germaine section of Paris, and it seems to capture the (ironic) essence of the French in one split second.   What would your caption be?

Paris, France

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This weekend marks Memorial Day in the United States.   Officially it is a Federal holiday commemorating U.S. soldiers who died during military service.  Unofficially, it also marks a start to the summer season here with a day off of work, barbecues, beach days, and parties.   Just one week later is the anniversary of D-Day.  This is a shot I took in Normandy, France at the D-Day beaches. During WWII,  the Allied forces stormed these beaches in what was the largest land and sea invasion in history with more than 160,000 troops.  An estimated 425,000 German and Allied soldiers were killed, wounded, or went missing that day.  In the end, the bloody invasion succeeded in bringing the allies closer to the western border of Germany and an ultimate end to the war that could have gone the other way with a very scary outcome for Europe and the rest of the world.

Barbed Wire
Normandy, France

It’s winter. Have you planned your ski trip yet?

The Alps
Chamonix-Mont Blanc, France

Two years ago, I spent a lovely week in south-eastern France with my friends Leyla and Ann in a small town about an hour from the Swiss border.  They showed me around nearby towns including the famous Chamonix (sham-oh-NEE)–known for it’s beautiful peaks and popular ski resort.

Chamonix was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924.  Mont Blanc, which is nearly 16,000 feet high (4800 meters), is the third most visited natural site in the world.  This area is famous for a number of outdoor sports including mountain climbing, extreme skiing, ice climbing and rafting.  While I didn’t participate in any of that, I did ride up the cable car up to the summit of Aiguille du Midi.  When it was built in 1955, it was the highest cable car in the world.

Greetings from Paris! Wish you were here!

This shot reminds me of an old postcard. Nearly any photo from Europe that you take in black and white can easily evoke a feeling of an earlier era since so many of the buildings are at least one hundred years old.

Paris’s Gare du Nord (North Station) was originally built in 1864 and remodeled into the building you see here in 1889.  It is one of six major train stations connecting Paris with all of France and beyond on the French SNCF train line.

Paris was the very first city I arrived in during my first trip to Europe. Now I’ve been there about four times and I still in awe of its charms.

Gare Du Nord
Paris, France

The bicycle. To many Americans, it is a fun hunk of recreational metal. To others around the world, it is a vital and necessary means of transport. Slowly, as the industrial nations begin to feel the consequences of the 20^th century marvel that is the automobile, more and more of us are ‘taking to the streets’ on our bikes. I sold my car before I left to travel the world and now that I am back, my two means of transport: bicycle and public transport.

Cities around the United States are finally becoming more bike friendly by making roads more people friendly and not just ‘made for cars.’ Even Google Maps recently added a ‘by bicycle’ option when plotting out directions. I use this often in Chicago.  Google’s Midwest manager of global communications and public affairs said, “Maps have (for the most part) been made for cars. We wanted to make maps for people.”

Google takes into account hills, routes that are better for biking, and neighborhoods.

When I travel, I join up with a bike tour whenever possible. In my opinion, there is no better way to get an overview (and often an ‘otherview,’ seeing off-the-beaten-path sights) of a new city.  Not only is it a more interactive way to get to know a city, if you take one the first few days of your arrival, it helps you get your bearings for the rest of your visit.

Bike tours I’ve taken during my travels over the last several years:

• Chicago — Chicago Cycling Club
• Arizona
• Montreal
• Cotopaxi, Ecuador
• Buenos Aires
• Sydney
• Melbourne
• Vietnam — Intrepid Travel
• Budapest
• Krakow
• Munsterland, Germany
• Berlin — Fat Tire
• Berlin II — Berlin on Bike
• Paris — Fat Tire

Chicago has really beefed up its bicycling resume over the last decade. It doesn’t hurt that “da Mayor” is a cycling fan and has helped push the installation of hundred of more bike racks and the creation of dozens more biking lanes all over the city streets.  And Chicago events like this weekend’s annual Bike the Drive, during which Lake Shore Drive,  the city’s major artery along the lakefront, is closed to all automobile traffic all morning and thousands take to the street to enjoy one of Chicago’s most beautiful drives, really put cycling into the spotlight.

In many parts of Asia, the bicycle is still the formidable and much more affordable vehicle upon which citizens get themselves to and from work.  In no other place to me was this more evident that Vietnam, where bikes outnumber cars about 3 to 1.  Cities in Europe have longtime embraced the bike. In Amsterdam, my Dutch friends happily hopped on their bikes and joined the masses, carrying them everywhere.   My friend, Vibeke, even straddled her ‘chariot’ to get her to a big fancy charity gala cloaked in a dress, heels, and all.   In Sweden, bikes are the norm and my friend Paula glides through the streets with aplomb no matter what the weather.

But no other country, I’ve been to has got it down to a science like France.  Lyon, France began a Vélo’v public bicycle rental program in May 2005.  Vélib’, French for free bicycle or bicycle freedom, is now a mainstay of urban travel across France with tens of thousands of self-service bikes made available throughout the country.  In other French cities like Paris, Toulouse, and several others, these city-wide bike renting systems are now in place allowing you to rent a bike for an hour or the day and return it to any number of stations scattered all around the city. So in essence you can ride a bike to work and leave it at another station and not worry about locking it up or having it stolen. All you need is a credit card and usually the first 30 minutes are free with a deposit or weekly fee. I used the bikes in Lyon and loved it. The system couldn’t be more perfect and organized. I had a free bike and before my 30 minutes were up, I would come across another bike station and could return the bike or even take out a new one for another 30 minutes to return that one somewhere else. Genius!

Even big US city mayors like Michael Bloomberg of New York City and our very own bicycle guy, Mayor Daley have visited the city of lights to check out this innovative program.  If you can, take to the streets and think of your bike as more than a once-a-month recreational pastime. Ride it out to meet friends, ride it to the supermarket (like I did today and stuffed my backpack chock full of fruits and veggies), or ride it to work. You will get their faster than waiting in rush hour traffic, you will save money on gas, and you will feel good.

Some Chicago Bike links:

• City of Chicago Bicycling Program
• Active Transportation Alliance – Chicgoland’s voice for better biking, walking, & transit
• The Chainlink – Chicago Bicyclist Resource
• Chicago Cycling Club — FREE bike tours all over Chicago
• Bike the Drive – Sign up now…takes place May 31^st!
• McDonald’s Cycle Center – One of the country’s largest bike parking facilities
• Wrigley Field Free Bike Valet – Free awesomeness!
• L.A.T.E. Ride – July 10^th/11th
• Boulevard Lakefront Tour –  August 29th
• Chicago Critical Mass – Bikes take over the streets the last Friday of every month
• Bobby’s Bike Hike – City bike tours
• Fork and the Road — Biking AND eating tours!