Sastre arrives

The tour! Finally! Around 2 I went to the Arc and started my day there. It actually wasn't as crowded as I thought and I could have stayed with a decent view if i wanted to but i cant stay in one place for 15 minutes much less 3 hours. So I walked down the long gentle slope of Champs Elysees and checked out all of the Australian, Luxons (?), and Spaniards and any other fan. The australians were in full force, i think they are the most rabid sports fans in the world with the UK right after them (the french are the farthest thing from rabid), plus the australians drink more than any kind of people i know (maybe that has something to do with it). I finally made it to my destination which was right in front of the Louvre. My Parisian-American contact told me this was the best place to watch without obstructions. Once again she was right, I had a great view but again I couldnt sit still so I watched the first 2 out of the 7 laps from here and then walked across the Tuileries for another view. On Rue Rivoli, with a great view of Place Vendome I watched 2 more laps and then walked further up the park to watch the final laps. By the final lap I am right in front of the concorde. When they passed for the final time the sidewalks got so crowded we could barely move. I was like when are they going to open up the streets? Then I look to my left and the metro station is right there so i'm like why not? I run down and I'm on my train to the arc in less than 30 seconds, and its only 4 stops away! Im thinking its possible by a long shot that i can see the end of the race and even if i dont i can see all the podium stuff which is better than standing on the sidewalk. I get off and run up to the arc and run to the front where the champ elysees runs into it. Sweet! But not so. The race just ended and for some reason all the ceremony stuff is at the bottom of the hill. Oh well, not really disappointed I walked down and caught from the backside the presentation of the white roses or whatever flowers they give out. It still was awesome and now i know how to watch the race- from all over the tuileries, then when they pass for the last lap, get on the subway at concorde and pop up at Franklin D Roosevelt to catch the end, just make sure i get off at FDR and not 2 stops farther down at the Arc.