mattm

Pretty good Indian food in London.

Lots of options in Paris oviously, can't really go wrong just walking around generally. Unfortunately the food was always meh for me.

Just don't go into a bike shop in Paris, try to mime out that you want to buy a cycling cap, and instead they want to sell you a helmet or rent you a bike.. ha ha oops that was awkward.

Fat Boy

I like 'em cheap and greasy...

MDcatV

reasons I stopped doing the big group rides around here; which frequently have >100 people. too big and too out of hand in too congested of an area.

rkwaki

Now we're talking.
Nothing like going for 'pizza' at a real dive...
Sometimes you might be lucky enough to get pizza with free anchovies or other unexpected surprises...








Like sausage... <- that was for you Rockets



BTW at first I thought that said cheap and gassy....

waterrockets 

Fat Boy

Beggars can't be choosers...

Fat Boy

On Saturday mornings, I often do a group ride with my club. It's a max of maybe 20 people and we all know each other. Even then, people will sometimes ride stupid. We'll give them a bucket of crap. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't. We have asked people to not return as well.

rkwaki

Multi purpose...

merlinextraligh

Paris is a great city to just walk around. Jardin des Tuileries (Gardens Tuileries) is a nice place to hang out on a sunny day. You can walk from there to the Louvre.

Place de Vosge is another cool place to hang out, impromptu picnic.

You've got to walk the Champs de Elysees from the Place de Concorde to the Arc De Triupmh to see where the TDF finishes. (lots of shopping there for the GF)

Notre Dame is a must. Ice Cream on Ile de City is close by there.

Hangout at sidewalk Cafe. Les dux Maggots is a bit cliched and touristy, but significant in literary history.

Eiffle Tower can be missed, but not bad. Walk up if you want some trianing.

Great restaurants. Jules Verne is an Alain Ducasse Michelin 3 starred restaurant (one of only 26 in France) in the Eiffle Tower. Difficult to get a reservation, and expensive (I think we sent $500 on lunch). But if you want a romantic meal for a special occassion it would impress your girlfreind.
Theother Michelin 3 star I'd reccomend would be Le Arpege.

Tons of Art Galleries, you have to go in the Louvre, but many other Gallieries are better. Musee Dorsay is my favorite, and L'Organrie is awesome if you like Monet. The Musee Rodan and the house and gardens there are great if you like sculpture. Musee Picasso is also nice.

Palace of Versailles is worth doing, but only after you've done Paris. It takes a full day to get out there by train, see it, and get back.

What I'd suggest doing is pick a couple of things you want to see, and walk to them, and just enjoy what you stumble upon as you walk to and between them.

I'll leave the Moulin Rouge discussion for Rkwaki.

Creakyknees

well, rent a bike and explore.. does it even need to be said?

Fat Boy

My advice is to look on CL for a good bike. There are so many at good prices, you just can't go wrong. I got a Niner Air9 (AL 29er hardtail) with an XX drivetrain for $650. It came as a basket-case (literally, in a box), but I had it race-ready for less than $1k. Tires are _everything_. Find out what people are running and get them. In my experience, the bigger and wider, the better. Also, pressures are a big deal. Run them low. 25 psi would be on the high end for a large volume tire with a 150# rider.

As for a Bikes Direct option, I've gotten good mileage out of my older 26" Ti Motobecanne. Having said that, 29" tires are a _big_ deal.

misterwaterfall

50 euro will go a long way in Amsterdam...

The Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam is pretty cool, and the boat tours are actually pretty fun cruising around the canals.

Paris is a one and done for me. I was there for 4 days a couple years ago and won't be going back any time soon. The crepes were pretty good though.

rkwaki

- you and I will never be friends, you are much too fancy for me...

ovoleg

So I finished listening to the Audiobook(narrated audio version of the hardcopy) of Tyler Hamilton's doping book. It was pretty insightful.

Now I need recommendations. There is hardly any cycling audiobook media out there! Cavendish's book isn't available in the US...

rkwaki

Or....











You could actually read a book.....
Bwahahahahaha

mattm

"Dog in a Hat", and "The Rider" are good.

ovoleg

Nah dude I aint got time for that nonsense. j/k. I listen to audio on my commute to work/back. I got tired of listening to AM radio.

I'll check those out thanks!

FWIW: I really liked Tylers book. It was interesting throughout.

carpediemracing 

One tip. If a girl that might be a gypsy (typically in a dress) walks up to you with a hand written note card don't say a word. I said no, sorry, and got spat on and she probably cursed me or something, the hate and vitriol in her (foreign to me, not French) words simply shocked me. The begging girls are extremely aggressive. The locals just ignore them, we must have stood out as tourists. Later we saw a group of them (30-40?) sitting by the side of the Seine smoking cigarettes and chattering away.

We went in 2008 and just walked around a lot. Took the Metro to some main place, walked around, then headed back. Eiffel Tower, Champs, Notre Dame, Petit Palace, I don't think we went to the Louvre… wow I can't remember much of what we did. I found it hard to order food since I didn't know some of the basic food things, like how to order steak. Walking around by the Eiffel Tower, the gardens by the Louvre, just walking up and down the Champs, it was nice.

Amsterdam… @botto? I haven't been there except the airport in… 35 years. Yikes.

London. I spent a few weeks working there. I really didn't do much, the one thing I wanted to do was to visit the HMS Belfast, which I visited as a boy. At least I could get food and stuff. Did some walk around by Big Ben, the gate thing (MI6 in a movie?), and some palace that had a fleet of black limos fly out of there while I was watching. I'd want to go back there with the Missus and check out some specific things, not sure what. There is a busy place, sort of a party street/area, can't remember what it's called.

Homebrew01

We did that in Amsterdam. Just the local bike with a basket or rack. Nothing fancy. Made for a fun afternoon.

These days you can have your smartphone queued up at Google Translate.

merlinextraligh

Learning just a few french phrases goes a long way in France. If you ask a Parisian if the speak English, they will say non, and get away from you.

If you go up to them, even with a mixed Florida/West Virginia accent and say in broken French, Pardonnez-moi,bon jour, comment allez-vous, Parlez-vous Anglais?, 9 times out of 10, they'll answer you back in English before you even finish and be quite helpful.

The French are very proud of their culture, and just a nod to that pays dividends.

globecanvas

All three cities have excellent public bikeshare systems (London: Boris bikes, Paris: Velib, Amsterdam: OV fiets). The bikes are clunky but workable and stations are everywhere, and it's a fantastic way to see those cities. I've been in both London and Paris in the past year and spent almost all my free time just tootling around on bikeshares, stopping whenever anything looked interesting. Even if your GF isn't a cyclist it doesn't matter, the terrain is flat and all kinds of people use those bikes. You end up in really cool places you'd never think to go visit. And if you get tired, just check the bike back in at the nearest station and take the tube/metro/tram back to the hotel.

If you are looking for something cycling-related to do, I have a former teammate in Amsterdam who I'm sure would love to take you on a ride. He's a cat 2 who moved over there about 2 years ago to pursue the dream.



BTW here's a tourist protection tip for all three cities, but especially Paris: if a teenager approaches you with a clipboard or some flyers, and wants to ask you some questions for their class or something, clamp your hands firmly over all of your valuables.

mattm

Or guys selling bracelets.. they try to slip it on you then say you gotta pay for it!!

rkwaki

How about:
Voulez-vous couchez avec moi et ma fils ce soir?
Don't say:
Est tu une putain?

mattm

Got the offer from Apple! Yay.

Gave notice here, last day was gonna be the 4th. But it turns out we axe someone going to a competitor basically immediately, so my last day is actually tomorrow.

Extra vacation time I guess, more time to ride!!

merlinextraligh

However, the first is more likely to have success avec un putain.