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An offer she couldn’t refuse

INDEPENDENT TRAVELLER

AN OFFER SHE COULDN’T REFUSE

 “At the age of 37, she realised she’d    
 never drive through Paris, in a sports 
 car, with the warm wind in her hair.” 
    from: ‘The Ballad of Lucy Jordan’ 
  
 I may yet end up like the woman in the 
 song The Ballad of Lucy Jordan but at 
 least, at the age of 22, I can claim to 
 have ridden through Paris, on a quad 
5 bike, on a bitingly cold day in March. 
    I am studying French at Warwick 
 University, and spending this 
 academic year at the Sorbonne. But 
 I happened to be at home for the 
10 weekend in London when Simon 
 Calder’s column asked for a 
 participant for some undisclosed (but speeding around Paris at what felt a
 ‘legal and decent’) activity in Paris. lot faster than our top speed of
 Three days and a Eurostar trip later, 50km/h. The quad was also effective
15 I found myself clambering on to the for squeezing up the small
 back of a large yellow quad bike in a40 pedestrianised roads that one
 central Paris car park. We set off on a normally wouldn’t be able to – let
 whirlwind tour of the city’s highlights alone be allowed to – navigate in a
 with a seemingly fearless photo vehicle. We found that no one
20 grapher hanging out of the car in front questioned the quad, although we
 of us, taking pictures of us in all our45 might have been lucky as most of the
 quad-biking glory for Simon’s column. police were off at the Sorbonne
    The afternoon was certainly not for dealing with rioting students.
 those who wish to maintain an air of    All in all, it was a fantastic way to
25 Parisian chic, [id:57012] despite the explore Paris and weave in and out of
 helmet, the rather attractive Paris50 those petites rues in record time. It
 Quad Visit anorak and the paralysing would be worth braving the hills of
 cold, I did feel a bit like a film star, Montmartre to discover what the quad
 being photographed zooming around really can do, but with all the posing
30 the Louvre, perched on the we didn’t have time. I’ll have to try it
 surprisingly comfortable back seat of a55 again – but the next time, I insist on
 chauffeur-driven quad bike, while some warm wind in my hair. And I’ll
 Parisians and tourists alike gaped. drive.
    It was a bit of a bumpy ride at first, ALESSlA HORWICH
35 but soon it became quite exciting,