I just got back from 3 nights in Paris and the highlight and ostensible purpose was to watch the end of hte Tour de France. A few notes:
Packing for the trip - All I brought were 3 dresses and a pair of Clark%26#39;s sandals (and underwear and toiletries of course). The plan was that I would wear a dress each day, then use the fabric freshener and wear the freshest one on the trip home. The weather was so hot that I ended up wearing 2 dresses in one day, but fortunately the sales were on and I bought enough things to get me through. Aside from the heat, I felt comfortable and appropriately dressed everywhere I went.
Shopping - My agenda included a trip to Mephisto where I bought a cute pair of sandals on sale. I wore those in the evenings to give my Clarks a rest. I also stopped at Diptyque and Sephora (Rivoli NOT Champs) and then bought a bunch of clothes in the various shops on St. Michel. The next day, I went to Printemps and Galerie Lafayette, but wasn%26#39;t tempted by anything there.
Eating - Breakfasts and lunches were usually in whatever cafe was closest. We had 3 dinners: La Pre Verre, L%26#39;Atelier Maitre Albert, and Louis Vins. All were good.
Tour de France - We spent most of the day walking around the area of the course. Around lunchtime we walked down to Alma and sat in a cafe there for a couple of hours, then made our way back up to the Champs Elysee. We picked a spot near Rond Pont and were 4 or 5 people back from the rail. This worked out very well when the riders came by and we stayed to see all the laps. It was an experience of a lifetime, but I don%26#39;t need to repeat it!
Fashion notes - I tried to observe what people were wearing. Women mostly tended to wear skirts or dresses with sandals. There were a few wearing shorts, but most of those didn%26#39;t look so good and were probably tourists! I saw a lot of men wearing long shorts and capris and noticed the sleek white sneakers that Truffaut spoke of. They tended to look very stylish.
It was a wonderful trip and we%26#39;re already thinking about going back in the next couple of months!
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I%26#39;ve read posts from people who say you need to get in place in the morning to get a good spot, but suppose you%26#39;re in your chosen place and need a bathroom. Do they set up porta-potties or anything like that?
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Mimmy, I didn%26#39;t see anything that looked like a port a potty! We had some drinks at a cafe about a block away and they were charging half a euro to use their toilet. I imagine many of the cafes nearby did something similar.
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Also forgot to mention - we got to our spot at about 3:30. I think the people who had spots on the rail were dedicated and spent the whole day there. If you were in a group, you could always leave one at a time to get food, use the bathrooms, etc.
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Thanks, RedSavage. One of these times I%26#39;d like to be in Paris to see the last leg of le Tour de France. It%26#39;s good to know you don%26#39;t have to spend the day holding your spot in order to see the riders.
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