Monday, December 7, 2015

France 2015 - Day 8 - Cruising the Seine

Our final function was a evening cruise on the MV Le Paquebot along the Seine.







More Champagne and Aperitifs, along with 2 billionaires in one place.


The guy in the blue jacket owns the Saxo bank.


And the guy wearing Peter Sagan's green jersey owns the Tinkoff bank.

After a while we got a chance to meet the team and have some photos. It was quite dark so the photos aren't that good

Aussie Michael Rogers on the mic.


Me getting up and missing the shot with Alberto Contador


Me with Peter Sagan


After the formal stuff we cruised up and down the Seine. 





Friday, December 4, 2015

France 2015 - Day 8 - The Big Race

Well this was what we were supposed to be here for.

After a 30 min walk, in the rain, we reached our spot for the final stage, not to bad just opposite the finish line and thankfully under cover.





Before the race there is a parade of the sponsors which goes around and around.



Interesting to see a familiar brand here.



Then just as the racers hit the Champs-Élysées the Patrouille Acrobatique de France  (French Airforce Aerobatic team) do a fly over.



And then the riders arrive for the last part of the final stage.

Chris Fromme (in yellow) and Peter Sagan (in green)







Looking down the




Mid race break









Team Sky at the finish.


Alberto Contador

Aussie Michael Rogers



Tinkoff -Saxo team after the race.




Saturday, November 28, 2015

France 2015 - Day 8 - Wandering about before the race

The final of the Tour wasn't until the afternoon so we decided on another walk around the city.







I think this was sewage..



The Musée d'Histoire Contemporaine, which is a museum of contemporary history.



The Grand Palais, this is a large historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex.



Petite Palais  which is now an art gallery





We wandered through same back streets and saw some interesting cars. I can see these electric cars being pretty practical in a big city. Not much use for a family though.




 Porsche family sedan



or SUV


 New VW beetle




The Flame of Liberty (Flamme de la Liberté) in Paris is a full-sized, gold-leaf-covered replica of the new flame at the upper end of the torch carried in the hand of the Statue of Liberty. The flame became an unofficial memorial for Diana, Princess of Wales after her 1997 death in the tunnel beneath the Pont de l'Alma.



We could see the crowd building so we headed back.



Lolly shop


Outside the flasher hotels 




were the nicer cars