[ random acts of alex ]

Tour de Paris

For anyone wondering where the hell I've been, Marcela and I spent the early part of this week in Paris. First to witness the end of the Tour de France, and then to do a little shopping and exploring of the parts of Paris (especially the food) we didn't see the first time around last summer.

The last day of the Tour de France was a whole lot of waiting (six hours) for the racers to arrive on the Champs-Elysees and then watch them zoom by sixteen times on their eight laps around central Paris. So how did we kill six hours? Thumb wars! That and watching a jumbo screen placed near the finish line which showed the progress of the final stage as they approached the city.

Around 4pm, the peloton showed up and the crowds lining the avenue pushed forward to catch glimpses of their favorite riders. Just picking out someone, like Lance Armstrong, wasn't all that easy because they raced by at an amazing pace. But we had our sixteen chances and I managed to get at least one photo of Mr. Armstrong as he passed our vantage point. Marcela's one and only shot was somewhat less than successful. She did get part of a wheel at least.

We were pretty close to the finish line and could just barely make-out the riders that made it onto the podium. Even made a short video of the end of the anthem played in Armstrong's honor. Sorry for the crap quality. My camera only does so much.

Other highlights of the week:

• The Pantheon: Basically an elaborate crypt for famous dead Parisians like Voltaire and Victor Hugo, with a great view of the Paris skyline at the top.
• Shopping: Marcela's new favorite place to shop is the Galaries Lafayette where she rediscovered her love of Zara.
• Centre Pompidou: The modern art mecca of Paris. Best part was before we even stepped in. Marcela got into it with the pigeons. Here's a video of another pigeon episode.
• Gli Angeli: Great, great Italian restaurant. Don't have any pictures or a link to any website, but it was great. On rue St-Gilles if you can find it.

So now we're still recuperating from the five days we spent there. Next up on Marcela's visit is a trip up to Bernkastel-Kues tomorrow where dinner at a winery awaits. It's our attempt at sophistication. More about that on Sunday.

Related link:

• Paris photo and video gallery: Some more photos from the trip and seven short videos I took. The videos are around 3mb apiece, and play best once fully loaded. Enjoy.

posted by alex @ 7/29/2005 09:31:00 PM