F1 and Tour de France
Paris has a lot to offer and sometimes I have a difficult time trying to decide what to do. On this particular Sunday I had to decide between watching an F1 race at the Renault shop on the Champs-Elyées and catching the finish of the Tour de France – also on the Champ-Elyées. In the end, I decided to compromise and do both!
I say “compromise” since doing both meant not being able stick around for all of the F1 show at Renault and not being able to get to the Champs-Elyées early to claim a choice spot to take photos of the Tour.
Europe 1 personalities were broadcasting live from the Renault shop – this was new for me. It’s always interesting to watch an F1 telecast from the Renault café because you get to experience the audience’s reaction to the race. Watching the excitement and disappointment of the broadcasters added a new dimension – especially when they sound impartial on television and radio (despite the obvious body language they display in-person).
After the F1 race, I quickly went outside to try to find a good spot for the Tour – I did not get a front-row spot but I was close enough get a few snapshots. But, there are so many people that it can be difficult to take pictures – especially if you are trying to take photos using a slow shutter speed while being bumped by everyone else trying to watch the race.
As a kid, I used to watch the Tour de France and dream about watching the Tour as it passed thru some scenic countryside setting. Now that I have experienced the Tour in person I have come to think that the Champs-Elysées may have been a better place: the bicycles pass by so fast that they are just a blur. Imagine being in the countryside waiting for hours for the Tour to come by and only to have a blur of bicycles as a memory. At least on the Champs-Elysées you can watch them go by several times (since they do about 8 loops).
