Getting our bikes, and biking through Paris

Today we got the bikes that we're going to be using on this trip. I'm glad that we got some regular bikes, instead of using the folding bikes. The bikes we got are much more efficient than the folding bikes, I pedal with a lot less effort. After we got them, we biked towards the center of town. The bike trail is very well developed, well set apart from the road, and overall very nice. Lots of very fast bikers on it though. Biking around the touristy areas downtown was not all that much fun, because streets were so crowded. 
But in the less crowded areas, like around the sports store where I went to get a bike lock, it was more fun.
The most interesting area, where I've never been before, was the Park de Bercy. Very interesting, tons of people milling about, beautiful though  neglected looking. Lots and lots of people who didn't look like they had anywhere else to go. 
By the way, there's plenty of homeless tents in Paris, something I haven't seen on my previous trips here.
We ate dinner at Bercy Village, an open air shopping mall of stone buildings, that looks like it was renovated from something much older. Had dinner in a Japanese restaurant there. The food was not that expensive, and pretty good. It actually seems cheaper than in the US. So far people are very friendly. My French is very very basic, but it seems like most people understand it. I think I have a harder time understanding them, than they do understanding me. Peter is still working up the courage to try to have some conversations with people.

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