Tour de France, Tour de France!

Once again, we have somehow managed to let so much time go by without updating our blog. Our lives in Germany have gotten increasingly busier and more exhausting over the past few weeks, but more updates on that will have to take place another time (soon, I promise).

This blog is dedicated to the fantastic July 28th weekend in Paris we spent watching the Tour de France finale. It was such an incredible moment to see the pack of cyclists whoosh by us for the first time at the Place de Concorde and catch a glimpse of the yellow jersey. Although we waited for about three hours to see them lap around this spot four times (for a mere total of 30 seconds each) it was worth it. How many times in life do you get to see the Tour de France?

But, that was not the only fantastic thing about Paris. This weekend was also a grand reunion with my dear friend, Thomas. Born a Parisian, Thomas was lucky enough to spend six whole months in glorious Waco, Texas, while doing an internship during the summer and fall of 2005. Although I'm sure it was extreme culture shock at first, Thomas became a true Wacoan during that time and embraced all that was Texan. We became fast friends after being introduced by my friend Beth, at Baylor, and soon Thomas was part of the international exchange students gang of Fall '05.

It was so wonderful to finally reunite with Thomas again and he was so gracious to let us crash at his apartment and show us the "true" nightlife of Paris as a local. We ate an interesting French dinner on Friday (pig intestine - yummy) and then headed to some great bars. Thank you, Thomas, for everything. You are the best tour guide EVER!

Unfortunately, our reunion would only last one night, because the next day Thomas had to head out of town for a birthday party. After coffee and croissant at a sidewalk cafe, we parted ways. Jon and I had a few things on our agenda we wanted to see, but we didn't want to be overwhelmed with sightseeing and going, going, going like we had in the past on other trips. Luckily, we had already visited Paris before individually and have experienced most of the major sights. This visit was all about doing and seeing what we WANTED to see, not what we felt we had to see.


First on the list were the Catacombs of Paris (Jon's choice - I wonder why?). The Catacombs ossuary was created at the end of the 18th century due to the closure in 1780 of the largest cemetery in Paris, the Saints Innocents, which the local inhabitants believed was a danger to local health. In 1785, a decree was issued for the transfer of the bones from every cemetery in Paris to an underground site until 1860. The Catacombs were opened to the public at the beginning of the 19th century. I must say it was quite cool to see the endless passages of intricately placed skulls, bones, and yes even crossbones. After an hour of being in the underground tomb, however, I was ready to be in the beautiful sunshine.

We metro-ed to the Louvre where we took a quick photo, but were happy to not have to wait in the long line to enter as we had already been there before. Yes, it may be true that I don't actually remember all the works I saw there, but I still do have a vivid memory of seeing the much-smaller-than-you-would-think Mona Lisa, and let's face it, that's the one reason most people even go to the museum.

Next we roamed around the beautiful Tuileries Garden in front of the Lourve where we shared a bottle of wine and cheese plate in an outdoor cafe. We felt soooo Parisian.

We also had some fun visiting some fantastic statues on our walk to the Orangerie museum. This museum contains Monet's famous mural paintings and other impressionist artists' works. I was so thrilled to finally be able to visit this museum as every other visit to Paris in '99, '03, and '05, it was closed due to renovation. Although it is a very small museum, it was absolutely incredible.

After some art appreciation, we headed for a hike along the Seine toward the Eiffel Tower.
Walking next to the Hotel de Invalides, it did feel quite surreal to finally be in Paris, supposedly the most romantic city in the world, with my husband. After visiting the city four times now, I have learned to like Paris more and more after each trip. I didn't totally dislike Paris after the first visit, but it just didn't seem like the friendliest most intimate city. Now having toured the sites with my sisters twice, my family once and run a marathon here, I think I can say that the great experiences definitely outweigh the disappointing. And being in Paris with my first and only love is definitely an experience to add to Paris' good side.

Even if he is a little.... weird.

After an action-packed day of sight-seeing and dress-shopping (I had to stop in at least one store - it is Paris for pete's sake), we headed out for a night on the town. We took the fabulous metro (I say fabulous cause I could figure that sucker out in a matter of seconds) to the Latin Quarter - my favorite district of Paris.

We stopped by the Notre Dame at sunset where a film about the history of the cathedral was playing inside. Although I had visited this cathedral twice before, it was magical to see it at night with the dark shadows cast on the walls.

Afterward, we crossed the river to the Latin Quarter when we spotted a very bohemian-style bookstore packed with people. Paris is famous for its philosophers and it was easy to imagine that many of them may have visited this same bookstore.

After getting some intellect, we made our way down the bustling alleys with bars, restaurants, and culture a-plenty. Although it's not exactly authentic Parisian, we couldn't resist eating at one of the lively Greek restaurants that had live music, dancing and plate-throwing. I mean, seriously. Who can resist a good glass-breaking session?

We totally rocked the dance floor! We decided we both want to take Greek-dancing lessons (or maybe just study "Zorba the Greek" relentlessly) in order to perfect our skills. It's just too much fun!

After dinner, Jon bought me a beautiful rose on the street and we took a romantic stroll along the Seine. We had an incredible moment on the bridge beneath the moonlit sky holding and kissing one another. Now THIS was true romance. That is until someone yelled for us to "get a room." I mean, seriously, it's Paris. If you can't kiss your husband on the deserted street here, where can you?

The next morning, we planned our attack for the Tour de France over a fantastic brunch. Although we had no idea what the exact route was, we decided to head for the Place de Concorde, as we knew they would be cruising past this point to finish on the Champs de Elysse. Turns out we picked a perfect point behind only one row of people (Americans, Aussies, and Spanish), but what we didn't realize, is that it would take the riders at least three hours to arrive. So, you can imagine the anticipation that was built up (and Jon's bladder) after this time (and three beers). At least they entertained us for a while with a parade of sponsorship cars advertising everything from water, to frozen pizza, to sausage all in a "sexy" way.

At last we did see the riders in all their glory after a grueling Tour tainted with blood-doping and scandal. The sport of cycling may be hurting right now but that did not lessen the experience of the finale in magnifique Paris. And how could it? We shared an incredible weekend filled with history, art, intellect, culture, romance, sport-watching and even a reunion with an old friend. It doesn't get any better than that. Merci beau coup, Paris.