Home at last

We got in late last night, but Air France lost all of our luggage except the car seat. So we are home, but don't any clothes or diapers or extra shoes. Our suitcases are still in Paris and might arrive tonight. We had an adventure at the Paris airport: somebody had abandoned a bag, and the French police/military/bomb squad all arrived and cordoned off a big section of the terminal and exploded the bag. It was the loudest noise I have ever heard in my life. I think that's why our bags were delayed, because by time the bomb squad was finished blowing up stuff, we were quite late checking in.

We were in Paris for the end of the Tour de France, so we went to see the race on the Champs-Elysees. We didn't know exactly when the cyclists would be passing by, and we ended up getting there a bit early. About an hour or two before the bikes arrive, there's a huge parade of vehicles (race sponsors mostly) of all sizes and shapes. Cars shaped like tires, water bottles, sausages...it's pretty fun. Semi trucks decorated with the sponsors' logos weave down the street from side to side blasting their horns. Lots of music and people talking on loudspeakers. We all were pretty tired after 2 hours of waiting, so we went back to the hotel before the cyclists ever showed up. Frankly the pre-race stuff is more exciting anyway.

At the top of the Champs-Elysees, with the Arc de Triomphe in the background.

Zari enjoying the festivities.
Somehow she managed to fall asleep despite all the noise.
A few more pictures of our last days in France:

At church in the Marais (Jewish quarter), about a half block from the Pompidou center.

And finally, the obligatory visit to the Eiffel Tower: