Sunday, in Paris, was the Tour De France! We didn't really know what to expect, but we were excited! All the Texas girls (and Dr. Heere, our professor from home) wore burnt orange to show out support for Lance, and I brought the trusty Texas Flag so pe
ople would really know who we were supporting! We got to the Champs Elysees around noon, and managed to walk along the route up to the Arc de Triumph, which was really cool! There were lots of souvenier merchants, and lots of different people supporting many different riders! After we finished walking the Champs, we headed to the Place de Concord where our group was stationed. We had nice seats that we a little higher in the air, so you could see more, but we weren't very close to the riders, which was a bit dissapointing! We ate a picnic lunch that we had brought with us and got ready to see the race. And then we waited, and waited, and waiter! It took a very long time for the riders to finally come, but when they did it was so exciting! They made 8 laps around us as the finale of the event! They were lead by police officers and EMTs and some team cars, and then the 3 leaders (lance, of course!) came whizzing by! Then there was a gap, more police and race cars, and the huge group of the rest of the riders would come by! After the 6th lap, we ran down into the park behind us, and managed to get on the garden fence, right on the street where they were riding! So we had a close up view for the last two laps! It was so cool! Boy do they go fast!! After the race was over, we walked through the garden and up to the Lourve for some pictures, and a
less crowded metro station! We headed to Notre Dame, to make the most of our time, and managed to get in at the last minute! The security guard shut the gate right behind us! Mass was already going on, so we only got to walk through the back and admire the church as a whole, but WOW. It was very pretty, and so large! It is hard to imagine all of this stuff being built so long ago! Afterwards we headed home, rested up, and went out for a traditional French dinner. We ate at a sidewalk restaurant and had a 3 course meal. Jordan had fish, and I had a pepper steak, and we had sorbet and chocolate mousse for dessert! yum! Afterwards we headed home and called it a night! On Monday, our goal was to get up early and go to Versailles, but sadly, we found out that Versailles is closed on Monday. Needless to say we were dissappointed, but we were glad because there were still lots of things for us to do! We headed to Lourve, and actually went inside! (I, anna, skipped the Lourve this time around because My mom and I are going again in 2 weeks, didn't want to spoil it!) So Jordan tacled the Lourve, and I shopped! She saw the Mona Lisa, and many other famous works, but said that it was very crowded, and super hot! She was sweating when she came outside! I mainly stayed in the shops under the musuem, and found lots of interesting things! It started to look like rain, so we walked down through the garden, through the Place de Concord, en route to the Champs again. It did start to rain, and we had to seek shelter under a tree and in a phone booth! We were not prepared for rain! It let up enough, and we made our way to a restaurant on the Champs where we dried off for a while and had some delicious pizza! After that we strolled the shops on the Champs, and lusted after all the amazing designers! wow! We then decided it was time for an afternoon snack, and tried a crepe! Wow again! We had nutella (our new favorite spread) and banana, and it was soooo good! I don't understand how the French are so skinny with all this good food! We then headed to the Sacre Cour area, where we climbed the steep steps, and saw th
e beautiful church at Montemarte! The area was fabulous, lots of little cafes and street artistis, it was like a scene from a movie! After dancing down the stairs (A little Chorus Line reprise) we headed to the Moulin Rouge, to see the famous windmill theatre! It was awesome! It made us want to watch the movie all over again (and wish we had the money to see the fabulous show!) We got to peek through the windows and see all the fancy tables set up, and saw the box office getting ready for that night's performance! We headed home, rested up again, ran to the grocery store, and got ready for the Eiffel Tower! We got the tower at dusk, and had
a picnic in the park while watching the sun set and the tower light up! It was fantastic, and soooo pretty! We then tackled the insane long lines to go to the top! We took 3 elevators, but managed to make it around 11:15 or so, and saw the City of Lights all light up! It was beautiful and breathtaking, and really cool to think about how old the Tower actually is! Amazing! We made the long journey down then headed home and called it a night! The next morning we checked out of the hotel and stowed our luggage, and headed out to Roland Garros Tennis stadium. The stadium is the home of the French open, and it was interesting to see another venue of a different type! We enjoyed the tour, especially getting to sit at Centre Court! We headed back to our hotel area and had "Indiana Tex Mex" that, although it sounds strange, was pretty good and managed to hit the spot! We had delicious gelato afterwards, then headed to the train station! The Eurostar was a quick trip and we managed to make it home pretty ea
rly in the evening! We came home and got ourselves together a bit, then headed to dinner at Ultimate Burger, an American style burger place! Very good food; we left full and tired, came home and spent the evening in! This afternoon we have a tour of Wembley stadium, and then Peter Pan tonight! Exciting! love, anna and jordan!
ople would really know who we were supporting! We got to the Champs Elysees around noon, and managed to walk along the route up to the Arc de Triumph, which was really cool! There were lots of souvenier merchants, and lots of different people supporting many different riders! After we finished walking the Champs, we headed to the Place de Concord where our group was stationed. We had nice seats that we a little higher in the air, so you could see more, but we weren't very close to the riders, which was a bit dissapointing! We ate a picnic lunch that we had brought with us and got ready to see the race. And then we waited, and waited, and waiter! It took a very long time for the riders to finally come, but when they did it was so exciting! They made 8 laps around us as the finale of the event! They were lead by police officers and EMTs and some team cars, and then the 3 leaders (lance, of course!) came whizzing by! Then there was a gap, more police and race cars, and the huge group of the rest of the riders would come by! After the 6th lap, we ran down into the park behind us, and managed to get on the garden fence, right on the street where they were riding! So we had a close up view for the last two laps! It was so cool! Boy do they go fast!! After the race was over, we walked through the garden and up to the Lourve for some pictures, and a
less crowded metro station! We headed to Notre Dame, to make the most of our time, and managed to get in at the last minute! The security guard shut the gate right behind us! Mass was already going on, so we only got to walk through the back and admire the church as a whole, but WOW. It was very pretty, and so large! It is hard to imagine all of this stuff being built so long ago! Afterwards we headed home, rested up, and went out for a traditional French dinner. We ate at a sidewalk restaurant and had a 3 course meal. Jordan had fish, and I had a pepper steak, and we had sorbet and chocolate mousse for dessert! yum! Afterwards we headed home and called it a night! On Monday, our goal was to get up early and go to Versailles, but sadly, we found out that Versailles is closed on Monday. Needless to say we were dissappointed, but we were glad because there were still lots of things for us to do! We headed to Lourve, and actually went inside! (I, anna, skipped the Lourve this time around because My mom and I are going again in 2 weeks, didn't want to spoil it!) So Jordan tacled the Lourve, and I shopped! She saw the Mona Lisa, and many other famous works, but said that it was very crowded, and super hot! She was sweating when she came outside! I mainly stayed in the shops under the musuem, and found lots of interesting things! It started to look like rain, so we walked down through the garden, through the Place de Concord, en route to the Champs again. It did start to rain, and we had to seek shelter under a tree and in a phone booth! We were not prepared for rain! It let up enough, and we made our way to a restaurant on the Champs where we dried off for a while and had some delicious pizza! After that we strolled the shops on the Champs, and lusted after all the amazing designers! wow! We then decided it was time for an afternoon snack, and tried a crepe! Wow again! We had nutella (our new favorite spread) and banana, and it was soooo good! I don't understand how the French are so skinny with all this good food! We then headed to the Sacre Cour area, where we climbed the steep steps, and saw th
e beautiful church at Montemarte! The area was fabulous, lots of little cafes and street artistis, it was like a scene from a movie! After dancing down the stairs (A little Chorus Line reprise) we headed to the Moulin Rouge, to see the famous windmill theatre! It was awesome! It made us want to watch the movie all over again (and wish we had the money to see the fabulous show!) We got to peek through the windows and see all the fancy tables set up, and saw the box office getting ready for that night's performance! We headed home, rested up again, ran to the grocery store, and got ready for the Eiffel Tower! We got the tower at dusk, and had 
a picnic in the park while watching the sun set and the tower light up! It was fantastic, and soooo pretty! We then tackled the insane long lines to go to the top! We took 3 elevators, but managed to make it around 11:15 or so, and saw the City of Lights all light up! It was beautiful and breathtaking, and really cool to think about how old the Tower actually is! Amazing! We made the long journey down then headed home and called it a night! The next morning we checked out of the hotel and stowed our luggage, and headed out to Roland Garros Tennis stadium. The stadium is the home of the French open, and it was interesting to see another venue of a different type! We enjoyed the tour, especially getting to sit at Centre Court! We headed back to our hotel area and had "Indiana Tex Mex" that, although it sounds strange, was pretty good and managed to hit the spot! We had delicious gelato afterwards, then headed to the train station! The Eurostar was a quick trip and we managed to make it home pretty ea
rly in the evening! We came home and got ourselves together a bit, then headed to dinner at Ultimate Burger, an American style burger place! Very good food; we left full and tired, came home and spent the evening in! This afternoon we have a tour of Wembley stadium, and then Peter Pan tonight! Exciting! love, anna and jordan!
You are doing such a great job on your blog. I told your Mom maybe you should become a journalist? Love reading about some of the places I saw & reminiscing. It was a long time ago - but I did LOVE Paris :)
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