Velib

So I discovered something great in Paris this weekend... Velib!

Ok, so actually I have known about Velib since I arrived, but this past weekend was the first time that I tried it out for myself.

The best way I can think to describe Velib is a bike share program. There are these little stations all over the city, where bikes are parked and held in place by electronic machines. You go to the machine and pay (it's free for the first 30 minutes and then 1 euro after that-- much cheaper than taking a cab home after the metro closes) Anyways, then you take a bike and ride it to your desired destination and then when you get there you park your bike in another Velib station and it is considered returned.

It's honestly a great concept. My friend Cassie decided to try the Velib out together after we went to the Parisian nightclub, Social Club (of which we weren't exactly fans). Although we got a little lost, it probably would have been better to plan out our route before we started going, we made it home in not very much time at all and avoided a 15€ cab ride! (those add up quickly) We also had more fun riding the bikes around Paris than we had at the nightclub!

Paris is extremely bike friendly and there are bike lanes on most of the main streets so that you can stay out of the way of the cars and since I have a good amount of biking experience from my summer days on Fire Island, I felt like a pro! I will definitely start taking the Velib more often now that I know how to work them, especially since there is a station right outside my apartment building.