Tour de France!!!

Its super late here and everyone already knows what happened on the stage so I will just cut to the chase.  Here are some of my favorite shots from today.

Shut up legs!!

Norway corner, not sure how this is even legal!

There are a ton more here, and probably twice that many that I didn't even load anywhere.

More pics

Everything that you might have thought about the race is true.  It was surreal being there and seeing all these guys laying it down.  When you see see Jens attacking, after all the drama going down with Radio Shack, you know the dude just loves riding his bike.

That was probably the best part of the day.  Everyone there was a total bike nut.  I am sure the Parisians avoid the day like the plagues, and it was still wall to wall people.  We didn't even try to get near the finish or awards.  It was like 5 deep by 11 in the morning and the race didn't get into Paris till almost 4.

The only bad part was that we missed most of the sponsors caravan, with a bunch of semis parked in front of us waiting to park on the Place de la Concorde.  Shout out to Nestle though for bringing the bunny.

The tour baby!!

Just about 12 hours to go before the Tour arrives in Paris.  Arrived bright and early in Paris this morning.  Hotel couldn't be any more perfect, looks out over the 1k to go banner (or where it will be tomorrow).  You can definitely tell the race is coming, lots of grandstands put up, and barricades all around the course.

Keep an eye on the Ferris wheel tomorrow.....thats where I will be.

With Wiggans wrapping up the GC today, I gotta think Sky is going to be super motivated riding for Cav now.  He will be crossing the finish right about here tomorrow.

Bumped into Movistar at dinner

 The Ferris wheel is part of a big carnival, kinda like a little state fair.  Anyway, was funny to me to see the same rides, and scams being run 5,000 miles away.  This was a new one to me.  Climb a ridiculous ladder and get a XBOX.  Needless to say this guy lost.

Passonis in Paris Part II

So I kinda forgot about to finish blogging about my trip to Paris with Cousin Lauren and Aunt Debbie, but better late than never. You can check out Passonis in Paris Part I in case you forgot.

These pics are of the Upper Chapel in Sainte-Chapelle that were for the private use of the King.

View when you first enter the chapel




Alter



Stained Glass




Stained Glass



Rose Window shows how the relics came to Paris

Rose Window

We needed a break, so we had tea on the Sceine River. Well Aunt Debbie had tea and Lauren had a drink.

Aunt Debbie drinking her tea

View of Notre Dame from our boat

We headed to Louve after our Tea Time and watched the Eiffel Tower sparkle.

Cousin Lauren

Aunt Debbie and Cousin Lauren

Sunset on the lawn of the Louve

Next up Passonis in Paris Part III.

Paris for Cyclists

Its been awhile since we got back from Paris, and I got to thinking that the best part for me (or at least the most intersting part) was seeing all the sights from the Tour up close and personal. So in honor of Sunday's upcoming spin around Paris, I thought everyone might enjoy some of the sights.

Its almost become commonplace for me to see things that I wouldn't have ever imagined 12 months ago, and this was no different. If you have any DVDs of the Tour go watch the circuits around Paris and then come back to look at the pics.

Our hotel was on the Rue de Rivoli, it is the stretch before the Plas de la Concorde leading to the Champs. I am hoping we will be back to sit in the lobby and watch the race pass by.

A couple of blocks to the left of our hotel was the Louvre, the tunnel the riders pass goes below the garden's of the Louvre.

Left turn onto the Rue de Rivoli, in front of the familiar statue.

Another left turn onto the Plas de la Concorde

Then a long way up the Champs. It is surprisingly uphill.

No wonder they are always trying to ride in the gutter. All the streets are paved in cobbles, and doesn't look like they have been trying to ensure the quality or smoothness of them.

Passoni's in Paris

My Aunt and Cousin came for a visit, so we headed to Paris for a few days. Poor Bob had to work so he couldn't join us, but I think he secretly enjoyed his alone time. He could watch as much cycling as he wanted without being subjected to shows like Gossip Girl and Teen Mom 2.

We left on early Tuesday and returned late on Thursday. We arrived in Paris at about 10:30 and headed to our hotel to drop off our luggage. Despite my past adventures on the subway, I decided we should try it again. It was quick and easy. No pick pockets this time. When we arrived at our hotel, without getting lost once, the room was ready so we got to relax for a bit, before heading out.



Our hotel was right above a little boulangerie "bakery"



Comfy beds




View from our balcony




Lauren learning how to take pics with my DSLR.
Pretty impressive for a first try. Right?


After the we checked in we headed to the Musee d'Orsay. Unfortunately you aren't allowed to take pictures inside, but trust me it is beautiful. The collection is housed in a former train station built for the Universal Exhibition in 1900, so the building itself is a work of art. We saw painting by Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Gauguin, and Sisley. My favorite was series of paintings by Monet of the Rouen Cathederal in the late 19th century.



Statues outside the Musee d'Orsay


After the museum, we headed over to the Eiffel Tower.



Eiffel Tower


After we the Eiffel Tower, went to a fondue place for dinner. I didn't take my camera, but we ate lots of cheese and Lauren got yelled at by a Frenchmen for not correctly eating her fondue.

The next morning we headed out to see Conciergerie and Sainte-Chapelle. Conciergerie was built as a palace, but is famous for being the prison where Marie Antoinette was jailed before she was beheaded. The actual cell where Marie Antoinette was converted into chapel in her memory.



Staircase at Conciergerie

  

Conciergerie




Conciergerie



Conciergerie



Stained Glass in Marie Antoinette chapel


Sainte-Chapelle was built by King Louis IX in 1248 to house relics, such as the Crown of Thorns, he acquired during the crusades. There are 16 stained class windows illustrating biblical scenes. The final window tells how the relics came to Paris. One of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The pictures don't do it justice. I could have sat in the chapel for hours.




Outside of Sainte-Chapelle



Outside of Sainte-Chapelle

Lower chapel for commoners



Stained glass in lower chapel



Look for Paris Continued to see the rest of our visit.

Paris Day Three!!

Up bright and early this morning, they say that if you get to the Eiffel tower early you beat the rush. In an attempt to cut some time we popped into the store and got breakfast treats to go. Now this is important for later...we didn't ask for a half dozen liege waffles and 8 apple donuts, they just came that way, and we were off. Not alot of tourists out this early...

Made it to the tower about 9:45 which we thought would have been early enough to avoid the rush. but we were wrong. Probably 300 people in line at each of the corners of the tower. The first elevator takes you to the second floor 128 metres up. At this point I was a little weary of going to the top. Kristen made fun of me with some off color comments about my manhood so I sucked it up. I can really only say it was high and amazing. 276 metres from the top.

At the top of this island is the original statue of liberty. Made it back down to the lowest level around noon and Kristen was hungry so she grabbed a sandwich and some frites. Here is where the day kinda took a turn for the worst. Not proud of it but it was kinda a freakshow from this point on. Instead of a sandwich I finished off the donuts and waffles. Kirsten had only had two donuts so that was half a dozen of each for me. Not sure why it happens I think after the first couple I am so ashamed, I try to eat the rest of the evidence. Oh and I finished off her sandwich and frites. Jumped on a tour bus and checked out some of the seedier parts of the city. Kristen wouldn't let me get off the bus and explore the sights.

Our last attraction for the trip was the Champs and the Arc de Triomphe. the champs kinda reminded me of Vegas, except for the hotels. Lots of fancy high end stores, the mega store or two, lots of people and tons of sidewalk cafes.

Not sure how I was still hungry but macaroons looked too good to pass up so we took a break and tried them out. I would personally take an EL Fudge over them but they were still good.

On to the Arc. We had been walking all day and passed on the 284 stairs to the top. But checked it out from the ground. Pretty impressive, and strange to think this is the middle of a roundabout.

My travel tip is to head down the side streets or a block off of the touristy roads to find the best food and best deals. We stumbled across a little Italian place, that rocked my world. As good as I thought french food was for the last two days the Italian food was even better. So salad, pasta, finished Kristen's pizza, my dessert and most of Kristen's dessert.

Kristen was concerned about how much I had eaten, I told her I was eating for two. My stomach was a person of its own, and I named him pickles. Pickles and I weren't feeling too good, but when we walked past the crape stand in the park on the way home I was suduced by the smell. Didn't know where I was going to put it, it was going to be a struggle for sure, I figured it was a Parisian speciality so nutella and a crepe it was for desert #4. Me excited...

Pickles not so excited...

A quick run down of my caloric intake for the day... 6 Waffles 1200 6 Apple Donuts 1400 Half a Cheese sandwich and frites 500 Macaroons 200 Super Italian Salad (and the meat from Kristen's) 400 Pasta Trio 900 Caramel Cream 400 Half of Kristen's Apple tart 200 Nutella Crepe 600 So that is a grand total of........................5,800 calories, and at least 4 deserts. Did I mention that I shame ate most of the candy from yesterday, after we got home last night. No, well yeah that happened. So that is it..... We are heading back to London in the morning, and for me the real world. We have just shy of a thousand pics from the last couple of days. Remind us when we see you next and we can share them all. Parting shots....