Paris, France

Saturday, July 22, 2006

One can barely scratch the surface of what Paris has to offer in merely three days. We were set to meet up with our friend Vicki upon arrival, which was a welcome change of pace. Not only were Beth and I glad to see a familiar face, but I was a fish out of water with the French language and some local help was a welcome relief. I had adapted fairly successfully to the Italian tongue having already known a decent amount of Spanish, but French was a shock. It is a beautiful language, however, and I'd like to pick up more before I return.

I digress.


Beth and I spent our days braving the heat and visiting some of the more famous sights in the sizeable city. We took in sweeping views at the Eiffel Tower, walked the Champs-Élysées, a got to see the famed Notre Dame. The Metro (subway) was a convenient and cheap way to get around, and was reasonably easy to navigate once we got the hang of it. We visited many of the sights at our own pace, knowing that we'd be back to see more someday.


Our evenings were spent with our gracious host Vicki, and a few or her friends. Philippe, Laura, Leah, Leslie, Margaret and Vicki joined us for a few nights on the town spent chatting up Brits, Scots, Spaniards, Brazilians and Canadians in a sampling of pubs, clubs and restaurants around town.


Paris is a beautiful and romantic city, and was an ideal way to end our trip abroad. I can definitely foresee ourselves spending more time there in the future. There's a lot going on there, and one could probably spend years exploring it. Until then, our thanks go out to Vicki and our new friends for sharing their fair city and making it a visit to remember.

À la prochaine, we bid you a fond adieu.

Two Tour de France Posts

Congratulations to fellow San Diegan Floyd Landis for winning the 2006 Tour de France! In case you missed them, here are links to the two Tour de France posts from the stage that we got to see:

Hollanders know how to party
Allez! Allez! Allez!

Allez! Allez! Allez!

Tuesday, July 18, 2006 - Race Day

We awoke at 7:00 (AM) to the sounds of the PA on the L'Equippe van, advertising their newspaper and various other Tour souvenirs. After a night of tossing and turning on our 10 euro sleeping bags set on an 8% cement slope, this wasn't an ideal way to start our day. We begrudgingly got out of bed and were pleasantly surprised with the handiwork that had occurred the night before. Since we had left for "the Dutch corner" to party with the Hollanders the night before, we hadn't noticed that the entire road had been covered with acryllic paint T-Mobile logos, devil's pitchforks (for Didi), and various other cyclists' names with motivations in multiple languages.

We spent our day sleeping in what little shade we could find, playing cards, chatting up our neighbors, and watching the steady stream of tired riders make their way laboriously to the summit. I even had a Frenchmen offer me 20 Euro to drive him to the top. Unfortunately I had to refuse, as giving up our spot now could be disasterous, but offered some water as consolation. Disappointed, he pressed onward.

At around 15:30 (3:30 PM) the caravan began to pass through our section of the route. The caravon consists of outrageous "floats" (if you could call them that) throwing "prizes" to the crowd. Grown men turn into little boys as they push, shove, elbow and gouge other spectators, scrambing for their free candy samples, keychains, hats and magnets. The purpose of this caravan is to amp up the crowd as the race approaches (and to advertise, of course). I have to admit that it worked for me, as I was waving my arms like a kindergartner and getting into the scrum with the rest of them. Beth fared better than I in the "swag" department, catching a good bit of the goodies, all while covering the event with our camera.

The wait during the next hour was almost unbearable. We (my new Scottish friend and I) found an RV with a satellite TV hookup, and watched with race as the riders approached, judging their distance by the helicopters following the peloton.


Finally the riders began to arrive, and I watched the legends of cycling pedal by. The group was fairly tired from the nearly 180 grueling kilometers they had already traveled that day, and as a result began to spread out on the climb, allowing us a great view as they passed. I have to admit, though, that I had a hard time recognizing the faces that I had until now only seen on TV. I did spot George Hincapie, and was able to run alongside him for a short bit, encouraging him with "Allez! Allez! Allez!/Go! Go! Go!" He looked to me, but seemed a bit to tired to respond. Seeing as he had a lot of work still to do, I'll let it slide.

The caravan of riders and vehicles ended with a blue van labeled "Fin de Course." At that point, we packed up and worked our way slowly back to Grenoble. We had originally planned to camp another night, but it became apparent that we would be the only ones doing so, so we decided to try our luck in Grenoble. It wasn't easy, but we managed to find a place right by the train station.

Seeing Le Tour in person, and sharing the intensity with about one million people was an amazing experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. This was somewhat of a pilgrimmage for me, and I'm so happy to have been able to do this with Beth, and on our honeymoon no less!


Update: Added pictures!

Hollanders know how to party

Monday, July 17, 2006

After cleaning house at the Decathlon (a sporting goods store) in Grenoble, purchasing a tent, two sleeping bags and two tripod chairs for 50 euro, we arrived at l'Alpe d'Huez at what seemed like just the right time. We parked about halfway up the final climb, just above turn N° 7 and set up camp on the road. Shortly after, the entire road filled in with vehicles behind us. Beth and I met a French family that we had initially mistaken for Americans, who had been following the entire tour. They were big Discovery fans, as their car was bedecked in American flags and Discovery-clad stuffed animals. I found myself wishing that I had brought my bike as I watched countless riders of varying age and condition making their way around the switchbacks that I had memorized from watching the tour on TV. After a delicious meal of bread, cheese, salami, and pesto (from Cinque Terre), Beth and I headed up the road to check out the scene.


Hollanders know how to party. They set themselves up with a DJ booth and a bar next to the church at turn N° 9. The orange clad mob drank beers and danced in conga lines while singing along to cheesy techno remixes (a la The A-Team theme). It was gloriously campy, and ended up turning into a great way to pass the time as we waited for race day.