14th Day in France/Zurich

Today was a day we thought we could leisurely take our time getting out of our hotel, until the maid knocked and clearly looked frustrated we were not out. So we packed up quickly and headed to the train station to go to Champ Elysee and the Arc de Triumph.  We were going to go through the Arc de Triumph before we watched the last stage (21st stage) of the Tour de France, but it was closed.   We then decided to eat lunch before the tour starts. ( If you do not eat lunch before 2:00 you do not get lunch.  They stop serving until dinner.)  Rebecca and I heard the floats coming for the tour and decided we would go out and and stake out a spot to watch the Tour.  We ended up finding a spot which meant we had to scale the wall.  I did and thought Rebecca would be right behind me.  She was laughing and motioned she would just go around.


Once again it was exhilarating to watch the tour.  They were so incredibly fast.  Where we were at they would make a 2 or 3 mile loop 8 times.  We watched 5 of those loops and then decided we would have to beat the crowd to the metro.

 

The yellow jersey 

Good- Bye Paris- Hello Zurich( for only a few hours for Erik and I)

Things we learned about France,

1.  Men and women share the same bathrooms

2.  Bathrooms are definitely limited.  No wonder the French are so small, they don't eat or drink because their country has no toilets. 

3.  Most of the French smoke.

4.  The roads and the streets are impossible to figure out and drive in.

5.  The French like to put raw eggs on lots of their food.

6.  The French start counting the number "1" with their thumb. (A little confusing when the French man was trying to ask me how many waters I had ordered with my meal and I thought he was asking me if the meal was a thumbs up meal.  I kept nodding and putting both thumb's up saying I liked the meal it was good.  He would repeat the counting in French and put his thumb up and then his second finger as he pointed to Rebecca.  I thought he was asking if we both liked our meal!  (1) me and (2) her.  So I am putting both my thumbs up motioning we both liked our meal and I'm kissing all ten of my fingers trying to get my point across that "yes, it was good."  He finally had to walk over and point to the waters for me and say, un and un.  I got it then.  

7.  Diet coke in Paris is $8.00

8.  All soda's are served warm or with no ice. 
9.  The French don't understand French when it is said with an american accent.  I kept asking for a banana , which is banan in French.  I am saying banan and 2 men are saying it looking at me with a question like '
"We are not sure what you want"  I say "banan?" again and they look at each other and question with their hands in the air as they say "banan?"  Finally I use my sign language and pretend I am peeling a banana and while I am peeling I say "banan?  and they finally say OHHHHHHH BANAN!!! ( I thought that is what I was saying!)
10.  They are nice.  We did not encounter any really rude French people.