Today was the final day of the Tour de France at champs-elysee (http://www.letour.fr/indexus.html). Our goal was to be in the vicinity when the bike race ended and say we'd been there. First off, since it was a beautiful cloudless day, we decided to go to the beach. I'm thinking beach along the ocean or man-made beach along a lake or the river. Well, there was sand and river, but not sand next to the river. There was an area of sand for people to play in. Then a long pathway for people to walk on, fence, then a stone walkway, and then the river. And no one was swimming in the river either. Nor did it look like you would want to swim in it. But it was a nice riverwalk. There were little fountains with drinakable water, a few cafes to get something to eat or drink. The first thing we did was play petonque or bocce ball. Actually, John and the kids played. I watched, took pictures, read some of a book, and ate a sandwich.
Then we kept walking in search of a beach and it didn't look like it was going to happen. We found this one kid's play area with sand and this obstacle climbing course. I signed Asia and Zach up to get in but didn't see any signs saying that they had to wait for the next group of kids to go in, so I told them to take their shoes off and go in. They got yelled at by the instructor in there and Asia wouldn't go back in after that, even if it's the right time. Difficulty with the language again. We kept walking and found a swimming pool. We couldn't go in right then because it was for kids 10 and up. In 1/2 an hour would be 10 and under's swimming time. Luckily we made it in time. I was worried we wouldn't get in because people were lining up outside. Only adults with swim suits who are accompanying kids can go in. No picture-taking is allowed. When you walk in, you have to take off your shoes and wade through a little pool of water to wash your feet. Then you have to wear a swim cap. They had convenient machines there that sell not only swim caps, but goggles and speedo's. So yes, men had to wear speedo's. No loose swim trunks. Everyone had to shower before going in to the pool and there were a few more foot washing basins before you got in the pool. But hey, it's free! And way to keep it clean. There were at least 4 life-guards. It was pretty nice actually. Very refreshing. Afterwards, we changed and then took the train to the Champs-Elysee area to catch the end of the tour de france. http://www.letour.fr/indexus.html. We did see some of the bikers go by especially since we were near the Arc de Triomphe which is where the cyclists go around before they get to the finish line. I couldn't tell who we were looking at though. 
The kids couldn't see over the crowd, so Asia was on John's shoulders, and John was holding Zach. Poor kids almost broke John's back. 
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