My first Tour de France

What a weekend.

In total contrast to last weekend, this one was hectic - I actually stepped out of the house (I know, but it gets even better).

Friday - dinner on the Champs Elysées

Friday it was time to meet up with an old friend - of which there seem to be plenty floating around, weirdly.

So I'm standing on the platform, waiting for the train that will take me to the restaurant (on the Champs Elysées no less), when a timid-looking girl sidles up to me and awkwardly gestures at the tracks "Eiffel Tower"? Seeing as she clearly wasn't sure if I spoke English, I was tempted to shrug (in a convincingly French way - maybe with a little "putain" for credibility) and say something like: "Désolé mais je parle pas anglais". Realising it wasn't a big deal being able to convince a foreigner I was a native speaker, and slightly taking pity on her, I summoned my most reassuring British accent. Turns out Diane's Australian and left to live the dream in Europe. Respect. Totally should have got her "06".

The restaurant we ate at served a combination of French and German food, and was pretty good if pretty expensive. €22ish euros got me 2 courses which ain't bad at all for the Champs. The food was pretty good but the wine left something to be desired - a "vintage" 2009 just won't cut it. Food - the kraut was pretty damn sauer and the crème pretty damn brûlée (I could be a food critic), but that didn't stop it being demolished in a minute flat.

Objects in image taste better than they appear

Saturday - Friends made, Money lost

Nothing much happened on the Saturday, apart from a poker game with the flatmates where I met my first real live French stereotype (minus beret). The less said about the poker game the better. Went from being chip leader to losing all my significant stake of 7 euros with 2 pair (Aces and 10s), and on a bad beat. So that was Saturday.

Sunday - Tour de France

Man did I regret going to bed at 4am on Sunday morning. First, I overslept and thought I'd missed the Tour de France (missing Bastille day still haunts me) and then was halfway to the station before I realised my camera was uncharacteristically light. Apparently, you need batteries.


After navigating my way out of the metro station, which took about as long as the actual metro trip, I met up with a certain co-Parisian and we headed off to the Champs to catch some cycling action. Easier said than done - the roads were packed and it didn't help the gendarmes had closed half of said roads. 


After hunting for a spot, we found one that was poifect but it wasn't long before we were under attack...two diminutive Vietnamese women's blitzkrieg caught us by surprise. I bend over to tie my shoelace and by the time I've straightened up they have me surrounded. Pincer movement - oldest trick in the  book. Being a fiercely territorial creature, I held my ground and saw out their offensive until they eventually backed down. Victory.


They may take our personal space, but they'll never take..our freedom!

Sergeant Green calling in reinforcements

I took my camera in the hope of getting some awesome photos but the place was infested with other photographers and it was near impossible to get good shots. By the end I was just rapid-firing above my head - the 'shoot and hope' manoeuvre. Managed to get a few passable ones, check my Facebook over the next few days.

If I ever find out whose head this is, they won't have one left after I'm done with 'em

So a pretty sweet weekend all in all! Roll on the rest of the year abroad.


Peace from Paris.