I had a blast yesterday watching and participating in the Tour De France. Next year, a mountain stage (for the husband) but finale stage was amazing.
I was selected from annual Velib members to participate in the Pre-ride along the lap from Hotel de Ville up to the Arc and back. Another awesome %26quot;only in Paris%26quot; memory for me. Just a big goofy grin on all 365 faces that got such an opportunity. Lots of self-portrait pictures with the monuments in the background were taken. Just one lap along Champs Elysees was enough for me, 8 for the real thing.
Get there early if you want a premier seat along Concorde or Champs. I was astounded at how many people were out at 11 am while the riders didn%26#39;t even show until well after 4 pm. Better yet show up later with your step stool or Mardi Gras parade chair.
Bring your supplies of water and food. They sell it along the Champs Elysees but at a premium.
Show up well before the riders do. They have a parade of the trucks and advertisers that is fun to watch. Swerving trucks and buses along the Champs Elysees. Even the French genderarme had their participant crazy driving down the street.
Concorde metro stop closes early in the day. Don%26#39;t even think about it.
Buy your Tour souvenirs at the end of the race. Lines are much shorter. And buy them anywhere but Rivoli (at least 5 euro more).
When exiting Champs elysees, head to nearest metro stop but avoid Line 1. I think it is crazy during the week, but absolute madness yesterday.
anyone else?
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It went through my village on day 5, passing the bottom of my street, so I didn%26#39;t have the transport worries.........
Absolute madness - the %26quot;caravanne%26quot; passes about 90 minutes before the race gets ther e- this si all the sponsers throwing our gifts - think mardi gras at 60 kilometres and hour....
I have posted pics and links to my otehr pic on my bog here …blogspot.com/2008/…yet-more-tour-photos.html
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Great photos wizard...your blog is wonderful. :)
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Hello to all,
We were at the Tour yesterday,too!
How cool for you to be one of the Velib riders, Flashby.
Thanks to other posters here including ParisBiker, m.giroux and Les68, we were by the Place de la Concorde and got to see the riders close up as they went around the circle then came right by us on the turn. Only 1 layer of barricades here, instead of two that we saw elsewhere. We got there about noon, brought a picnic and got to sit up on the bridge railing so did see a lot. Met some interesting people surrounding us, very friendly, high energy and celebratory feel.
Also walked down the Champs after and the riders went around again with their teams on a parade lap.
Great fun watching them interact with crowd, acccepting flags, beer, stuffed animals, etc.
Great day, I highly recommend seeing it once.
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Thanks mez - we try :)
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Hi. We are planning on going this year to watch the finale, but wanted to get your take on whether this is good for kids. My boys are 3 and 6. I like the idea of the picnic and the %26quot;parade%26quot; beforehand but wanted to learn from you how kid-friendly this is...
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