Touring Trip - MY FIRST!

I don't speak much French...in fact, I would characterize the amount of French I speak as "damned little". But this didn't stop me from having a great trip. First off, the French have a completely undeserved reputation for being rude. Everyone I met was helpful, friendly, and polite. "Please" and "Thank you" go a long way, it seems.
The first few days of the trip were spent riding around Paris and taking in the sights. The only musuems I went into were the Picasso Museum - which was incredible - and something described in the guidebook as a "museum of curiosities located in the basement of the Marquis de Sade's old house. I was game! Turned out to be a kiddie magic show and collection of old wind-up toys, both of which were pretty fun. I ran into an old magician friend, Max, in the Marquis' place.

As it turns out, a few people I know (loosely) were in Paris at the same time. We didn't run into each other, but an on-line discussion about Parisian bike culture followed. Along the lines of "there is no bike culture here - but everyone rides bikes". I think what everyone was trying to say was that there is no bike subculture in Paris - cycling is just part of the normal culture and has absolutley no outlaw cachet.

After riding in the city I made a few day trips/multi-day trips to Fontainbleu, Compiegne, Chantilly, Auvers sur Oise and a scattering of little towns in between those points. Riding through the French countryside was pretty much just like I imagined.