Nothing Happens Here That Doesn't Happen There: I Want to Ride My Bicycle

On the 25th of July I took a train that left before the buttcrack of dawn. Dawn wasn't really even thinking of getting up yet and I was already on a train to Paris at 5:22. The purpose of my trip was to see the last stage of the Tour de France. Even though I wasn't very thrilled to be going by myself, I knew I'd be kicking myself if I didn't go and see Lance Armstrong race. I had a friend tell me about a hotel that was close to the Arch de Triumph--I could see it out my window!!

I was only carrying a small backpack, but checked into my hotel and was off to find lunch and to find the starting point of the free walking tour of Paris. I figured if I wandered around by myself, I'd just see the sights I saw 10 years ago with my parents, and that this tour would give me some cool tidbits. I had a crepe with nutella and banana for lunch--oh la la--wandered over to Notre Dame for a bit, then back to the meeting point for the tour.

The tour was about 4 hours long, including about 30 minutes for a food break. It was a general overview of Paris, stopping by some of the common spots, but some not so common too. And the guide told some interesting stories and was pretty entertaining as well. The group consisted of mosty people in their early 20's, who were staying in hostels. That meant I felt old and rich.

The tour ended, luckily, near the Champs Elysees, and even though my feet were killing me (that's the old part) and I was dying for a good meal and a glass or two of wine (that's the rich part), I went ahead and staked out a few places some people told me were good to watch the Tour on Sunday. I found the spots I was told about and ended up walking the entire way up the Champs Elysees to the Arch de Triumph back to my hotel and didn't hitch the Metro, even though I had a day pass (that's the stubborn part I forgot to mention).

I thought about going to this place for dinner that another friend recommended, but I was so exhausted and I was starving that I took the recommendation from the front desk of a place a couple blocks from the hotel that I think was called Chez Fred. The restaurant didn't seem much of anything, but I'm really glad I went. They had a menu in English and the waiter spoke English, which was great for me (now I know what my friends feel like in Germany), but the best thing was that everyone in there was a local. I sat just inside the door at a small table with a view of the chairs set up on sidewalk. I told the waiter what sorts of wine I like (shiraz) and he chose a French wine for me. You paid by the glass and I had two. I had a steak with shallots and fried super garlicy potatoes. Everything was delicious!!

The next morning I was up pretty early, since I went to bed pretty early (old again). I stopped by the Arch, then wandered down the Champs Elysees to see how many people were actually staking out their positions on the race course. I saw a few with chairs right up on the barrier fences, but not too many, so I decided I had enough time to go see the Eiffel Tower.

After that, it was time to find where I was going to stand. At this point, it was probably close to 11 and I knew I was going to need water, which I had, and food if I was going to be standing somwehere all day waiting for the race that probably wasn't going to arrive until around 3. I went checked out the spots I was told about again, but ultimately decided on a position where the cyclist would be heading right at me out of a tunnel, up a small hill, where they would make a left. It was perfect!

I ended up standing there for close to 7 hours, but it was entirely worth it! Luckily, an American woman, who was also by herself and who was a cyclist and huge cycling fan stood next to me. So we made small talk the entire day. It would have been an even longer 7 hours had I not had someone to talk to.

When the peleton (largest group of the racers) hits Paris, they do 8 laps on a circuit. I think they finally came around to where I was standing at about 4:30. Prior to their arrival, all of the sponsors and the team buses and vehicles paraded by. But when the racers came by, it was all I could to not to bounce a little, I was so excited. Never in my life did I think I was going to see the Tour de France.

I took video or photos of every lap, so if you set it on a slide show you won't see the video. They're probably pretty boring for anyone who doesn't follow cycling, but know that it was awesome.