Le Tour de France

Every summer that I've lived in France, I was away from Paris when the Tour de France finished on the Champs-Elysées. In 2009, I finally got to experience the Tour, when it passed through Marseille. It was such a super fun day...all the excitement, the crowds, the advertisements, and then, finally, the cyclists. It was the beginning of one of their stages, though, so I didn't get to see them whizzing by, but just starting off. Which was fine by me, because I got to be close enough to reach out and touch the cyclists (which I didn't do, by the way...)

This year, though, I was finally in Paris for the finale. Hugs and I had some things to do that day, so we didn't wait the whole day for a primo spot. We showed up just in time for the caravan of sponsors. I chose to post Smurfette for my mom. The advertisers are really fun. They hand out stuff, have ads everywhere, and really use the event to make their mark. I suppose it's a bit like Super Bowl Commericals...

Another fun part of the Tour de France is the crowds...even for an introvert like me. The fun, excited atmosphere and people from all nations cheering on their home athletes makes for some awesome people watching.
Of course the cyclists and the race is the best part! There were so many people on the streets that we couldn't really see the Champs very well, but the big screen helped us to watch as they approached near the end. I love this shot...that's the guy who won in the yellow and the highest point guy behind him in green.
A big difference of seeing the Tour in Paris versus in Marseille is that in Marseille, it was 24+ hours of craziness for about 57 seconds of excitement as the cyclists went by. In Paris, because they loop the Champs several times (7, I think), we got to see them go by a whole bunch...and they were going FAST! It was so neat seeing them whiz by in a big colorful blur.
We didn't stay to see the very end and the ceremony, because well...we didn't want to fight the crowds to get on the metro. We'd had our fun, saw the cyclists, and were ready to call it a day. I really do enjoy the Tour de France and will look forward to when I get to see it again.