Tuiles on wheels
Stephanie Curtis reports.
| More Front Burners in this issue |
| Top of the tower |
| Farewell to a giant |
| Aussie oil in a box |
| Lemongrass and ant eggs |
| Sad good-bye |
| Egg safety |
| Gastronomic U |
Paris—It's beginning to look a lot like Amsterdam on the streets of the City of Lights, swept in recent months by a two-wheel revolution of unprecedented dimensions. Parisians' penchant for pedaling soared late last summer when the city's pollution-fighting mayor ordered 15,000 spanking new Vélib bikes to be installed at over 1,200 stations sprinkled throughout the capital's 20 arrondissements. Nearly overnight, these sleek, self-service bike stations sprouted up like champignons on every other street corner. With the simple swipe of a Vélib card or major credit card, anyone can now ride blissfully away with a "bike for hire" for unlimited hours. The tariffs for this new method of individual public transport encourages short hauls; 0 euros for 30 minutes or less, 7 euros for 2 hours, but for a full 8-hour day the tab runs up to 55 euros. To make life even easier, bikers are free to drop off their rentals at any Vélib station in town—no need to return to the station from which they were rented.
At first a novelty, this idea caught on quickly, and the growing wave reached new heights in October when two successive public transport strikes, paralyzing all city buses and subways for more than two weeks, spurred even the most recalcitrant to take to two wheels. And the movement continues to gain momentum. So much so that two of Paris' palace hotels, the Plaza Athénée and the Meurice, have gotten into the game, investing in their own stables of bright and shiny bicyclettes permitting clients to discover Paris by bike at no charge. A cut above the practical proletarian gray of the Vélib bikes manufactured in Hungary, the hotel models are Dutch designs sporting distinctive colors: a cheeky geranium red for the Plaza Athénée, with flashy matching saddlebags and helmets, and for the Meurice, a suave, silvery olive green with matching "totally Meurice" wicker baskets—ideal for toting picnics concocted by the three-star restaurant teams.
Neither of the two hotels offers a set biker's picnic, but their concierges say clients are welcome to order up whatever fits their fancy, from traditional jambons to chic finger sandwiches, perhaps salmon and caviar on black bread, a silky slice of foie gras terrine, a perfectly ripe and runny raw milk Camembert, or a macaroon or tuile or two. And for a little amuse-bouche, why not request the Meurice concierge to slip in one of chef Yannick Alleno's delicious smoky-cheesy mini kugelhopfs?
