Track side: Le Tour in Paris

There are some events a sports fan just has to watch. They include, but are not limited to, the Melbourne Cup, tennis Grand Slam finals, the AFL Grand Final, the Boxing Day Test, any soccer or rugby world cup game Australia is competing in, and the last day of le Tour de France. Just watching the TV broadcast of events like these is pretty awesome and one for the memory banks. I remember where I was when Italy ended Australia's soccer world cup campaign in 2006. And when Makybe Diva bagged her Melbourne Cup hat trick in 2005. There are some things you just don't forget. But, ahhh, to be there....

Up until last year I would watch Tour de France fans lining the French roadsides jump and wave at the camera in the helicopter above them and lazily think that one day, maybe, it would be awesome to be there with them. That idea seemed as likely as a cycling event without a doping controversy.

But life has habit of happening.

Two weeks ago I landed in Paris for the fourth time in 13 months, which in itself is a bizarre thing to say when just 18 months ago I'd never been to Europe. To top it off, I was there for the final day of le Tour de France. The decision to fly to Paris for the event was prompted by some fellow Aussie Tour fans I met in Belgium. They were following the event to Paris and it didn't take much to convince me I'd be crazy not to be there. After all, it was only a 90-minute flight.



Finding a vantage point

The Champs Elysees is the setting for the most famous finish in cycling, but that means it's a mad house on the day. We'd been told to avoid it, which we considered in favour of a spot near the Concorde, but in the end we chose to be in the thick of it. Between the barriers for the course, team areas and VIP, getting around was difficult. We caught the metro to the Champs Elysees and used another metro station to slip under the road when we wanted to change sides. By the time the publicity caravan rolled through the crowd was about five deep from the railing and there wasn't much room to move on the very wide footpath of the Champs Elysees.



The atmosphere

If I never see another Union Jack or a set of fake side burns it will be too soon. For those who don't know much about the race, I'll fill you in. Britain has never had a Tour de France winner and at the start of the last day Bradley Wiggins, a Brit, was in the first place. True to le Tour tradition, there was no challenge to his lead. It's another quirk of this event. While the sprinters will contest the final sprint, the general classification (GC) riders won't budge. As long as the Wiggins stayed on his bike and crossed the finish line, he was going to be the winner. So the Brits were out in force.

If an Australian couldn't be in the yellow, I'm glad it was a Brit. The costumes and the cheering was great fun and the Britons are just as rowdy as Aussies. A French winner would also have been incredible, but a winner from any other country woudn't have attracted the same support.

The race

The riders arrived a little after 4pm with 35km to go. They do eight laps around the city course, which includes the Champs Elysees. As expected there was a breakaway of sprinters and the GC riders were back in the peloton. We stood a few hundred metres up from the finish line so we saw them ride up in front of us then a little bit later, after whizzing around the Arc de Triomphe, they went back down the other side. After a couple of laps some Brits in front of me moved back and let me step in so I had a better vantage point three back from the railing. Unfortunately the people in front didn't budge, except one girl who regularly squatted down to use her iPhone even when the riders were going by. Seriously??







The finish

We couldn't see them by this stage so watched the final sprint on the large screen. If anyone wonders why I flew to Paris, it was for this moment: with Aussies on one side screaming for Matt Goss and Brits in the other ear cheering for Mark Cavendish I had goosebumps. I couldn't see as well as I could have on a TV. I didn't have a commentator telling me what was happening. But I was one of thousands and thousands of fans screaming, jumping and waving flags. It was electric.



Again?

If you only see one le Tour stage, Paris shouldn't be it.  It is an incredible thing to be part of, but it isn't the same as waiting for hours on top of a mountain or enjoying the publicity caravan in all its freebie-throwing glory. But in saying that, I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to be there again. Especially if an Aussie is in yellow.

the best place in paris

Today was my last day in Paris so what better time to discover my favourite place. Kamel and I started the day with a trip to the supermarket for croissants and more mint to make more tea. He then suggests going for a bike ride through the city. There’s one catch though…for the first bit we both have to ride on his bike. He convinces me so I hop on all well and hope for the best. I have to admit, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Finally we reached one of the stops for free bikes. There’s a system in Paris, and a lot of other cities around the world, to borrow a bike from one point and drop it off at another somewhere else in the city. It’s free for the first 45 minutes but if you don’t have it back at another drop-off point by then, it costs 1 euro. We started in Clichy and rode to near the river Seine, it was about a 15km ride all up. Despite the traffic, cycling through the city is relatively safe. There is a lot of respect on the road for cyclists and some bike lanes. It isn’t compulsory to wear helmets - the only people who do are children.

It’s quite nerve-wracking riding through the streets so I just followed Kamel. As long as I remembered to look for the red lights and remember to stop. Riding on the cobblestones isn’t fun though…beautiful to look at but really, I should have worn a sports bra. We make it to the river Seine in one piece and drop the bike back. We then go down to the “beach”. The weather was a lot nicer so there were heaps of people there. The Parisians really do treat it like a beach. They sunbake in their bathers on towels, the kids build sand castles and there are sprinklers for them to run under. We eat our croissants and have an ice cream while we walk along the bank. There are a couple of street performers, the most amusing being an old man wearing a T-shirt saying “Papy dancing”. He has a CD player and speakers playing top-40 songs and dances along. Kamel said a lot of older people turn to doing things like that because the pension isn’t enough. Maybe Australian pensioners should turn to busking.

It’s mid-afternoon when we get back to the bikes but for some reason Kamel’s transport card won’t work so we can’t hire another one. Instead we decided to walk to Luxemburg Garden, which I drove past yesterday. I had wanted to go in then, but ran out of time. We buy a baguette, some cheese and hummus on the way there.

The park is huge and amazing. It doesn’t take long for me to decide this is my favourite place in Paris. We sit down by a fountain and pond. Children can buy little sailboats and sail them in the water, so the pond is full of them. The kids run around the outside with sticks to push their boats back into the centre. It’s hot so I stick my feet into the water…very refreshing. After lunch we walk around the rest of the park. There is a family area, with secure fences, sand pits and shallow pools for kids to play, people playing chess, tennis courts, basketball courts and heaps and heaps of chairs all around the park for people to pull up anywhere. Kamel told me that people often go to parks to sunbake and relax, just as we would go to the beach. I guess there isn’t room on the banks of the River Seine for everyone. 

Kamel rides back to the train station (it’s too much hassle to take the bike on the metro) and I catch the bus and meet him there. Then it’s home time.

a trip to the beach

Bois Colombes is about 15 minutes by train from Paris, so it’s really not far at all. But it doesn’t take much to escape the ‘city feel’. I made the most of a few empty streets to go for a run around the suburb. The area was a lot bigger than I thought. We’d walked past a few shops and restaurants last night, but there were a lot more. During my run I found pretty much every shop you would need. Kamel said later that the only thing missing was entertainment. When he goes out, he usually goes straight from work (he works in Paris), rather than come home because there aren’t any places to go in Bois Colombes.

After my run I had some lunch, a French twist of my favourite, honey toast. Instead I made a honey baguette. And a peanut butter one for good measure. I caught the train into Paris and found one of the bus stops for the hop on/hop off bus so I could use my ticket yesterday. There was still one route I didn’t fit in yesterday. This time I decided to get off at the Louve. I walked around the Pyramids a bit and even contemplated going in because there wasn’t half the line there was yesterday, but I still wanted to see the left bank (the route I’d missed) and figured if I went inside the louve, I’d be there for a while. Back on the bus and off at Notre Dame to switch routes.

The left bank (which judging from Kamel’s reaction when I called it that is a name the French don’t use) is supposed to be the art haven of Paris. Many years ago it was a big area for art, writing, music etc. There is also a big university there.  Paris has A LOT of cafes and it was no exception in this part of town. And all the outdoor seats face the street so if two people sit together, they sit next to each other and face the same way. Makes for great people watching. I rode the bus right round and got off where I started. On the way there I’d spotted a good present for someone (I won’t give away what it was or for who) so went to get that - except they didn’t have it in the right size so I walked for a good hour or so until I found what I wanted. To the person I bought it for: you better like it, or at least pretend you do!

When the bus drove over the River Seine, I noticed sand on the banks and people stretched out on deck chairs like a beach. It looked like a bit of fun so I strolled along there for a bit and managed to score a chair for a bit, so I may have had a little nap. Kamel told me later that they do that for one month every year and becomes Paris’s beach. It wouldn’t have been set up when I was here last month. It seems like a strange thing to do but when the beach is 200/300km away, I guess you make do with what you’ve got.

After my little nap I made my way to La Chapell to meet Kamel. This area is up where I was yesterday at Sacre Coeur. We had Indian for tea, and both ate so much we thought we should walk a bit. We ended up at Sacre Coeur, but this time there were a lot less people. We sat for a bit on the steps looking over the city. A lot of people had taken up a few drinks and food to eat up there, and there were people walking around selling beer. We kept walking and ended up in the area near the Moulin Rouge. While this area used to house a lot of brothels etc, it’s not really designed for tourists. There are still plenty of peep shows and sex shops, even a sex museum. There are also plenty of pubs, it’s sort of the nightlife area. We went to an Irish pub and had a drink and although there is a club attached and we’d planned to go dancing, I was a bit tired so we left, making it home about 1am.

paris from above

Despite some concerns that my train trip might turn out like Agatha Christie’s novel The 4.50 from Paddington, I arrived in Paris safe and sound. I had read the station had showers and luggage storage so I went off in search of both. The showers were really close to the arrivals terminal so I parted with 6 euro and had one there. It turned out to be the best 6 euro I have spent all trip. Each cubicle had a big change area and then a separate shower and toilet so there was plenty of room for all my luggage while I got ready. They provide towels, shampoo and even hairdryers.

The luggage storage was also easy to find so it wasn’t long before I was clean and bag-free. It was only past 8am so I headed to a Maccas from breakfast and free wifi before walking to Notre Dame to catch a hop on/hop off bus. Mum and Dad had suggested riding them and Shirly also recommended one company that has four routes going in different parts of the city. I got a two-day pass for 30 euro and got on board. It was a bit windy so up top was a little chilly, but it was a great way to see the city. The first route went past all the major attractions, Champs Elysees, Eiffel Tower etc. I rode that until it came to an area where it joined another line so I hoped off, ran into the post office, and jumped on the line which explores the area near the Moulin Rouge. It was night when I was in this area last so it was interesting to see it again. There are so many cabaret places and sex shops, but still plenty of families walking around.
I got off near Sacre Coeur and walked up the hill to the church. There are about 200 steps just to reach the church so I probably worked off the chicken baguette I had for lunch in no time. I walked through the church and then went looking for the entrance to the Dome. The ticket box was closed but the ticket machine accepted credit cards so rather than wait for the office to open and more people to arrive, I just used that. And up I went, another 300 steps.

The stairwell was very narrow, and gets more so the closer you get to the top. But one of the best things about the ticket office being closed was that I didn’t see anyone until I got near the top. I was counting the steps but lost count when a woman moved aside to let me pass and I said thank you. The dome had an amazing view of the city. I had thought about going up the Eiffel Tower but the problem with that is once you’re up it, you can’t see it. At least this way I could see the Tower. It really does standout against the rest of the city. The view made this the second-best 6 euro I’d spent all day. Sacre Coeur is just over 100 years old but it looks a lot older. The edges of the steps are worn smooth from the years and the people. I ran my hand on a lot of the surfaces in the dome and struggled to find anything rough. The stone seats up there are so worn and smooth they are almost slippery to sit on. Unfortunately there is quite a bit of graffiti up there too. T + M 2000, GS FOREVER 26.09.10. Very mature stuff. Meegs was ‘ere in 2011, but I didn’t feel the need to carve that into the building.

Although a lot of the buildings in Paris are several stories high, they are really quite short compared to a lot of major cities. In the distance I saw a few modern skyscrapers, but almost everything you can see clearly is very old. It was a bit overcast so I don’t know if it was the weather or the city that caused the haze in the distance. Kamel, my courchsurfing host in Paris, told me later that building too high is prohibited, I guess to maintain the very beautiful city they have now.

I rode the bus back to where I changed before, used an Internet café to print out some bus tickets for London and Scotland, and headed back to the Notre Dame. Here I changed to another bus that would take me past the station. I had to meet Kamel, who very kindly replied to my post on the Emergency couch needed forum, at Saint Lazare station so I got my luggage and headed there.
Kamel has lived in Paris his whole life and joined couchsurfing initially to improve his English, before he started hosting. He’s a financial controller and works rather long hours. When we met just after 8pm, he’d only just finished work. We caught the train to his place in the suburbs. It was really nice to get out of the city. He made a traditional Moroccan tea (his parents are Moroccan) with mint, which was delicious. Kamel has a lot of strong views on the French media so it was really interesting talking to him about that. He said the media was never very critical of the French government, which made it very hard to get accurate reports.  I think he missed his calling as a journalist.
We finished the night with an episode of Entourage. Great show!