Monday, July 26
Our last full day in France. :(
Left the hotel by 8:30 am, heading for Rue Cler for breakfast with my unused ladder in hand. The store wasn't open when we arrived so we went to the Cafe Marche for coffee, juice, and tartines. After breakfast the store was open, but they would only give me credit which was pretty much useless since they had absolutely nothing we could use or home. There was a woman and her. Young son in the store, so I gave her my store credit and told her to buy a toy for her son. She was near nears,so it completely took the sting out of losing money.
We walked toward Les Invalides where we could get a cab, grabbing an almond croissant and a cinnamon & raisin sweet roll along the way. We took the cab to a toy store to buy some cycling figures that we had seen last night, but the store was closed until 1 pm, so we then walked over to the Isle de la Cite, the larger of the two islands in the Seine where Notre Dame is located. Listening to a Rick Steves podcast on my iPhone, we followed his historic tour of Paris in reverse order, stopping at the Conciergerie prison where 3000 people waited to be guillotined during the French Revolution. Our tour included Saint Chapelle, the oldest clock in Paris, a flower market Which wasn't operating, Place St. Michel, St. Severin church, the Shakespeare book store, and of course, Notre Dame. We had a wonderful lunch in a small restaurant on Isle St. Louis, which is the smaller, more residential of the two Seine islands. Joni and I had the same meals, onion soup, penne pasts with vegetables, and a 1/2 bottle of a Cote du Rhone red wine.
We stopped for an ice cream, considered a speciality item on the Isle St. Louis, along the way to the toy store, and then took a cab back to our hotel, arriving around 4 pm, exhausted and with very sore feet. Siesta time.
Our final evening was perfect. For our last dinner in Paris we chose the Cafe Bousquet which is on Avenue Bousquet, about a ten minute walk from our hotel. Joni and I chose the same menu: escargots, chateaubriand with bernaise, green beans, fries and a cheese plate. Our waiter was very friendly and even helped me understand the difference between "etre termine" and "avoir termine" when you want to say "we are done with our meal". We even discussed cycling with me and the importance of making an attempt to speak the language when in another country.
After our fabulous dinner' we strolled down the Rue Cler one final time and stopped at Amorino for ice cream and coffee. We got back at the hotel in time for the 11 pm light show at the Tour Eiffel, a true marvel every time we saw it.
So that ends our vacation narrative, Tuesday we travel, hopefully arriving in Boston around 4 pm, we could not have had a better trip and a can't say enough about Joni's research, it made the 16 days perfect!
Oh, la, la!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Sunday, July 25
Sunday, July 25
After leaving our breakfast cafe we walked toward Les Invalides searching for a specific boulangerie which we found, but it was closed. We hailed a cab for l'Eglise St. Eutache, which is located on the right bank in the 1st arrondissement, no too far from where we had lunch yesterday. The driver, who had moved to Paris from Morocco 4 years ago, was very friendly and spoke English. He didn't know the city that well and had trouble finding the church. In fact we passed by the same spot twice, before he was certain we were close enough.
The church was not anything exceptional on the outside, and many buildings were jammed right next to it, but the inside was decided to replicate Notre Dame. It had high gothic arches, some nice stained glasses, a beautiful organ, and a very unusual sculpture of everyday people at an outdoor market.
After leaving the church we walked to a nearby boulangerie that was reputed by RS to have the best croissants in Paris. We bought two and then sat at a cafe across the street and sipped coffee at a cafe. I used the bathroom at this cafe, and it was my first "hole with two footprints toilette". When you pull the chain to flush the whole floor gets doused in water. Yuck!! I chose not to alert Joni to this special feature. If she didn't need to use this facility, why disgust her with such details.
From here, we took a cab to Place Vendome. I wanted to see the Ritz where my family spent thier first few weeks back in 1957. We walked in and start thru the lobby before we were asked to leave. I told the bouncer I just wanted to take a look, but he wasn't very accommodating. They won't get my business in the future.
We strolled by all the ritzy stores in Place Vendome, which were closed, passed down Rue Castiglione, which leads into PV and was the the location of the Hotel Intercontinental, which is now the Westin. My family stayed at this hotel in 1966. That was the last time I ate liver. It was part of the mixed grille that I ordered for lunch and my sister, Wendy, told me it was steak. I've never trusted her since.
Rue Castiglione intersects the arcaded Rio Rivoli. RR was packed with people who were already finding seats to watch the Tour which will pass along this street 8 times. We purchased a few more gifts and then crossed the street via an underground walkway which comes out on the outside of the Place de la Concorde. Along the walls of this ara are the graves of many French Resistance fighters who were killed on August. 25, 1944, when Paris was liberated from the Nazis. I had remembered his place from our 1966 visit; it was a place I wanted to revisit.
We were still making our way back to our hotel to get our step ladder as we walked across the Tuileries, past a huge fountain near L'Orangerie, the museum which was built just to display Monet's water lilies paintings. As we walked between the museum and the Seine we realized that this would be a great viewing area for the Tour. We noticed that people were moving chairs from the Tuileries to this area and we decided to do the same. Although the racers are probably 4 hours away, this area was not too crowded, it overlooked the Seine, and it provided a great viewing area raised up about 10 feet from street level. I relaxed in my comfortable arm chair, and guarded Joni's, as she searched for use toilette and perhaps some food for our unscheduled picnic. Hopefully I can return the step ladder tomorrow; it's still in its plastic wrapping. Unfortunately we don't have our flags to wave at t he riders, but this spot was too good to pass up.
During her search for a toilette Joni decided to buy a ticket for l'Orangerie. It was a side bonus for being able to use their facilities. She had a wonderful visit, bought some postcards and a beautiful tie for me in the gift shop. When she returned I went looking for food and didn't have to go too far. I picked up ice cream and diet cokes for us at stand in the Tuileries which was only about 200 yards from our viewing spot.
The caravan arrived right on schedule at 2 pm. It seemed like there were many more vehicles for each of the 200+ sponsors that we had seen while watching the other stages. I'm guessing they have several fleets of caravans that hopscotch from one stowage to another, and then for the last day the combine their fleets. Eventhough this was our 4th stowage it was still exciting to seem them, and the people on each vehicle seemed as enthusiastic as ever.
The peloton didn't arrive in Paris until 4:36 pm, which was later then scheduled (probably too many champagne toasts for Alberto as they rode to Paris) As is customary on the first lap the team of the yellow jersey rides in as a group in front of all the other riders. This would actually be Contador's victory lap, so all the crowd cheered and applauded him. After that it's dog eat dog as everyone jockey for position for the last stowage victory. A proximately every 7 1/2 minutes the riders completed a lap, so it was neat to get to seem they 8 times rather than just the once that. You do one a regular stage. A group of about six riders created a breakaway which increased it's lead for each lap, but then was caught by the peloton on the last lap. mark Cavendish stayed at the front of the peloton for each lap, and just as he. Has do so often, he sprinted to victory, beating Alesandro Pittacchi and Julian Dean by a good ten yards.
We counted the laps and headed back to hotel after the last one. mistakengly, we miscalculated, so as we walked over the bridge on the Seine, the riders passed for one final time. We weren't that upset, we've seen a lot of the Tour. Joni was in search of another bathroom, so we stopped in a brasserie, and watched the finish on TV and then toasted the Tour with a Panis.
We've now returned to our new room, which is slightly bigger than our first one, but more importantly has two balconies, both of which offer a full view of the Eiffel Tower!!(You can actually lie in bed and see it) It will be fantastic to see it at night. Can't wait.
But it's time to get clean and head out for dinner, I think we're on a hunt for escargots!
We found them! After a false start, the nearby restaurant we had chosen was closed on Sundays, we took a cab to "Au Pied du Cuchon" (at the foot of the pig). Not a very alluring name for a restaurant, but Joni's research said this was a Parisian institution. It was right next to St. Eutache, where we had been this morning. This cab driver got us here in half the time, but he wasn't as friendly. In addition to the snails, I had steak tartar and Joni had steak au poivre. they were both great and very filling, so we decided to h ave desist and coffee later. We walked to the Louvre to see t he glass pyramid light up at night, it was now about 11 pm. It was spectacular, not crowded due to the time, and such a contrast to the surrounding ornate architecture of Louis XIV's palace which was the original purpose for the Louvre. We then seached for a cab. Home, since we were still not hungry. Our walk took us all the way to the Boulevard St. Michel. At this point we LSAT at a cafe and waited for a waiter for five minutes. Before deciding to csll it s nit and return to our hotel. Once back in our new room we we treated to the hourly light show on the Tour Eiffel before quickly falling asleep.
After leaving our breakfast cafe we walked toward Les Invalides searching for a specific boulangerie which we found, but it was closed. We hailed a cab for l'Eglise St. Eutache, which is located on the right bank in the 1st arrondissement, no too far from where we had lunch yesterday. The driver, who had moved to Paris from Morocco 4 years ago, was very friendly and spoke English. He didn't know the city that well and had trouble finding the church. In fact we passed by the same spot twice, before he was certain we were close enough.
The church was not anything exceptional on the outside, and many buildings were jammed right next to it, but the inside was decided to replicate Notre Dame. It had high gothic arches, some nice stained glasses, a beautiful organ, and a very unusual sculpture of everyday people at an outdoor market.
After leaving the church we walked to a nearby boulangerie that was reputed by RS to have the best croissants in Paris. We bought two and then sat at a cafe across the street and sipped coffee at a cafe. I used the bathroom at this cafe, and it was my first "hole with two footprints toilette". When you pull the chain to flush the whole floor gets doused in water. Yuck!! I chose not to alert Joni to this special feature. If she didn't need to use this facility, why disgust her with such details.
From here, we took a cab to Place Vendome. I wanted to see the Ritz where my family spent thier first few weeks back in 1957. We walked in and start thru the lobby before we were asked to leave. I told the bouncer I just wanted to take a look, but he wasn't very accommodating. They won't get my business in the future.
We strolled by all the ritzy stores in Place Vendome, which were closed, passed down Rue Castiglione, which leads into PV and was the the location of the Hotel Intercontinental, which is now the Westin. My family stayed at this hotel in 1966. That was the last time I ate liver. It was part of the mixed grille that I ordered for lunch and my sister, Wendy, told me it was steak. I've never trusted her since.
Rue Castiglione intersects the arcaded Rio Rivoli. RR was packed with people who were already finding seats to watch the Tour which will pass along this street 8 times. We purchased a few more gifts and then crossed the street via an underground walkway which comes out on the outside of the Place de la Concorde. Along the walls of this ara are the graves of many French Resistance fighters who were killed on August. 25, 1944, when Paris was liberated from the Nazis. I had remembered his place from our 1966 visit; it was a place I wanted to revisit.
We were still making our way back to our hotel to get our step ladder as we walked across the Tuileries, past a huge fountain near L'Orangerie, the museum which was built just to display Monet's water lilies paintings. As we walked between the museum and the Seine we realized that this would be a great viewing area for the Tour. We noticed that people were moving chairs from the Tuileries to this area and we decided to do the same. Although the racers are probably 4 hours away, this area was not too crowded, it overlooked the Seine, and it provided a great viewing area raised up about 10 feet from street level. I relaxed in my comfortable arm chair, and guarded Joni's, as she searched for use toilette and perhaps some food for our unscheduled picnic. Hopefully I can return the step ladder tomorrow; it's still in its plastic wrapping. Unfortunately we don't have our flags to wave at t he riders, but this spot was too good to pass up.
During her search for a toilette Joni decided to buy a ticket for l'Orangerie. It was a side bonus for being able to use their facilities. She had a wonderful visit, bought some postcards and a beautiful tie for me in the gift shop. When she returned I went looking for food and didn't have to go too far. I picked up ice cream and diet cokes for us at stand in the Tuileries which was only about 200 yards from our viewing spot.
The caravan arrived right on schedule at 2 pm. It seemed like there were many more vehicles for each of the 200+ sponsors that we had seen while watching the other stages. I'm guessing they have several fleets of caravans that hopscotch from one stowage to another, and then for the last day the combine their fleets. Eventhough this was our 4th stowage it was still exciting to seem them, and the people on each vehicle seemed as enthusiastic as ever.
The peloton didn't arrive in Paris until 4:36 pm, which was later then scheduled (probably too many champagne toasts for Alberto as they rode to Paris) As is customary on the first lap the team of the yellow jersey rides in as a group in front of all the other riders. This would actually be Contador's victory lap, so all the crowd cheered and applauded him. After that it's dog eat dog as everyone jockey for position for the last stowage victory. A proximately every 7 1/2 minutes the riders completed a lap, so it was neat to get to seem they 8 times rather than just the once that. You do one a regular stage. A group of about six riders created a breakaway which increased it's lead for each lap, but then was caught by the peloton on the last lap. mark Cavendish stayed at the front of the peloton for each lap, and just as he. Has do so often, he sprinted to victory, beating Alesandro Pittacchi and Julian Dean by a good ten yards.
We counted the laps and headed back to hotel after the last one. mistakengly, we miscalculated, so as we walked over the bridge on the Seine, the riders passed for one final time. We weren't that upset, we've seen a lot of the Tour. Joni was in search of another bathroom, so we stopped in a brasserie, and watched the finish on TV and then toasted the Tour with a Panis.
We've now returned to our new room, which is slightly bigger than our first one, but more importantly has two balconies, both of which offer a full view of the Eiffel Tower!!(You can actually lie in bed and see it) It will be fantastic to see it at night. Can't wait.
But it's time to get clean and head out for dinner, I think we're on a hunt for escargots!
We found them! After a false start, the nearby restaurant we had chosen was closed on Sundays, we took a cab to "Au Pied du Cuchon" (at the foot of the pig). Not a very alluring name for a restaurant, but Joni's research said this was a Parisian institution. It was right next to St. Eutache, where we had been this morning. This cab driver got us here in half the time, but he wasn't as friendly. In addition to the snails, I had steak tartar and Joni had steak au poivre. they were both great and very filling, so we decided to h ave desist and coffee later. We walked to the Louvre to see t he glass pyramid light up at night, it was now about 11 pm. It was spectacular, not crowded due to the time, and such a contrast to the surrounding ornate architecture of Louis XIV's palace which was the original purpose for the Louvre. We then seached for a cab. Home, since we were still not hungry. Our walk took us all the way to the Boulevard St. Michel. At this point we LSAT at a cafe and waited for a waiter for five minutes. Before deciding to csll it s nit and return to our hotel. Once back in our new room we we treated to the hourly light show on the Tour Eiffel before quickly falling asleep.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Friday & Saturday, July 23 & 24
Finally WiFi for my iPad! Hee's an update since we left the Pyrenees
Friday, July 23
Today was our last morning in Arreau, so we were up around 6:30 AM, showered, dressed, and headed out for newspapers and a hot croissant from a nearby boulangerie. Talked to Heinz and the American couple from Connecticut that he was travelling with. We exchanged email adresses, I invited Heinz to visit us. We checked out and were on our way toward the Toulouse airport by 8:40. The 150 km ride took us about 90 minutes, the car return went quickly as did our check-in at Air France. The security check was very simple despite my metal knees; they merely gave me a pat down. Our flight boarded on time and there were plenty of empty seats so we weren't crowded and had no problem finding overhead storage space for our back pack and suitcase. In general I would say the French were less strict about security and how many bags you can carry on.
Everything continued to go smoothly. Our plane arrived early, we got our bags quickly, too a cab to our hotel for only 24€ (it would have cost us 36€) to take a bus to just a central location!). When we checked into the hotel the friendly clerk told us that they made a booking error and we would have to change rooms after two days. That was the bad news...the good news was that they would give us "the best room in the hotel for the other two days.". No big deal. As it turned out our room does have a partial view of the Eiffel Tour as is. The hotel is very nice. It is very elegant, and although a room is very small, we won't we spending a lot of timeworn in it. WiFi is not free, in fact they want 8€/hour so I'll only be using the computer in the lobby. That one's free.
After unpacking we walked to Rue Cler, only 4 blocks from our hotel, and had a late lunch at Cafe Tribeca, and then walked for about 25 minutes to the Musee Orsay, which is the main Impressionist museum in Paris. We visited this museum two years ago but I really wanted to see the Van Gogh's again. A wise decision they were amazing! We also saw a lot of Monet, Manet, Cezanne, Renoir, Degas, Latrec, and Rodin...but my favorites were Van Gogh's.
We were tired at this point, so we took a cab back to the hotel, unpacked, and napped until 8:30 pm, then walked to a nearby restaurant, la Fountain de Mars. President Obama ate here last year and in fact Joni and I both had the same meal he did, filet mignon with bernaise sauce and fries. We sat outside at a tiny table on the sidewalk. The president ate in a private room on the second floor. The waiter told us there were lots of secret service men. Oh yeah, the food was great; Joni's research again pays off.
We stopped at another cafe on Rue Cler for coffee and split a dessert before returning to our hotel. It's thrilling to be in Paris. The buildings are so beautiful, the Eifel Tour and the dome of Les Invalides, where Napoleon is buried, are both lit up at night and visible from our room's balcony. Oh la la!
Tomorrow we'll visit the Monet museum near the Bois de Boulonge, check out possible viewing spots for Sunday's last stage of the Tour, and visit my old Parisian apartment at 54 Rue de la Tour. LIFE IS GOOD.
As I predicted Mark Cavendish won today's 18th stage on the Tour...everyone else probably predicted it too. Contador kept his 8 second lead over Schleck, no surprise there either. Tomorrow the time trial. Contador needs to beat Schleck by over 40 seconds in order to quiet those who criticized him for not waiting for Schleck when his chosen broke. GO ANDY!
Good night.
Saturday, July 24
Out of bed by 7 and on the streets by 8 we headed for the Rue Cler for a leisurely breakfast at the Cafe Marche. We had our 1st breakfast there two years ago, so we thought we'd duplicate the experience. The Rue Cler is filled with cafes and outdoor outdoor fruit, vegetable, meat, and every other conceivable food markets. It is located in Paris' wealthiest arrondisement, the 7th. This one of Rick Steve's two favorite areas of Paris, and his recommendations are usually right on the money for us. Amusingly, you'll notice a lot of other tourists toting his book around, so many others share our confidence in. His advice.
After breakfast we walked up and down the street, i bought my a croissant, many shops were just opening, and some still closed. I love this time of the day before things get to busy and crowded. We then took a cab to do a walk by my old apartment, and from Rue de la Tour we went to Trocadero for an other coffee. When I lived in Paris my sister and I waited for our school bus everyday at a cafe here. The big rotary has a huge statue of Marshall Foch on horseback, he was one of France's WWI heroes.
We took a taxi to the Monet museum which is in a wealthy residential area on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne. This museum was created by Monet's son who donated all of his father's paintings that he possessed. Many of the classic Monet paintings are here plus a few from the other impressionists. The museum itself is a beautiful private home of a very wealthy family. The floors were all parquet, ceilings very tall, and windows and doorways enormous.
Fortunately there was a bus stop right in front of the museum so we took it instead of a cab and made our way to the Champs Elysees. It was packed with tourists eating at cares, people watching, or visiting the high end shops like Cartier and Luis Vuitton. Each of th see s hops is more of a showcase were everyday people shop. We walked up to the Arch de Triomphe and down thru the Place de la Concorde, scop ing out possible viewing areas for tomorrow's Tour. It will be a very different experience than the Pyrenees. I don't think we'll make eye contact with any of the riders! Near the Place de la Concorde we saw the celebrity viewing ares which are shaded grandstands including the presidential box for Sarkoczy. We then walked down the Rue de Rivoli, an arcade designed by Napoleon as a background for triumphant marches, which first was filled with many high end clothing shops which eventually get replaced by souvenir shops the closer to the Louvre.
We had lunch at the Cafe Numours which is overlies Place Colette. La Comedie Francaise, the national comedy theatre, is on this square. As we dined we listened to a ten piece string group, what a wonderful setting...and our quiche, salad, ride wine, and bread hit the spot. Again, thank you Rick Steves!
After lunch, we strolled through two nearby shopping arcades, the Gallerie Viviene, and the Gallerie Colbert, high end shopping centers that the word "mall" just doesn't apply. It was amazing how quickly you could get to a serene setting after just being in a very hectic spot.
Time for a taxi, our bodies and feet especially were hurting. We returned to the Rue Cler for ice cream, I returned to the hotel to watch the Tour on TV, after buying a step ladder as a viewing aid for Sunday. Joni remained on the Rue Cler to explore more shops, although here shopping bag appeared empty when she joined me.
We watched today's time trial, Contador secured his victory, leaving tomorrow's suspense solely focusing on the Green Jersey competition between Cavendish, Petachi, and Hushvold. We napped and showered too and are now refreshed and ready for a Saturday night in Paris.
We had another fabulous meal at a nearby restaurant recommended by Rick Steeves. I had salad with shrimp, then s fish and mussel stew, and simply vanilla icream for desseqrt. Joni ordered salad with eggplant fritters, chicken, and vanilla ice cram too. These sound like simple items, but if I accurately described the sauces and presentation you'd start salivating.
Time for bed. Bon nuit.
Friday, July 23
Today was our last morning in Arreau, so we were up around 6:30 AM, showered, dressed, and headed out for newspapers and a hot croissant from a nearby boulangerie. Talked to Heinz and the American couple from Connecticut that he was travelling with. We exchanged email adresses, I invited Heinz to visit us. We checked out and were on our way toward the Toulouse airport by 8:40. The 150 km ride took us about 90 minutes, the car return went quickly as did our check-in at Air France. The security check was very simple despite my metal knees; they merely gave me a pat down. Our flight boarded on time and there were plenty of empty seats so we weren't crowded and had no problem finding overhead storage space for our back pack and suitcase. In general I would say the French were less strict about security and how many bags you can carry on.
Everything continued to go smoothly. Our plane arrived early, we got our bags quickly, too a cab to our hotel for only 24€ (it would have cost us 36€) to take a bus to just a central location!). When we checked into the hotel the friendly clerk told us that they made a booking error and we would have to change rooms after two days. That was the bad news...the good news was that they would give us "the best room in the hotel for the other two days.". No big deal. As it turned out our room does have a partial view of the Eiffel Tour as is. The hotel is very nice. It is very elegant, and although a room is very small, we won't we spending a lot of timeworn in it. WiFi is not free, in fact they want 8€/hour so I'll only be using the computer in the lobby. That one's free.
After unpacking we walked to Rue Cler, only 4 blocks from our hotel, and had a late lunch at Cafe Tribeca, and then walked for about 25 minutes to the Musee Orsay, which is the main Impressionist museum in Paris. We visited this museum two years ago but I really wanted to see the Van Gogh's again. A wise decision they were amazing! We also saw a lot of Monet, Manet, Cezanne, Renoir, Degas, Latrec, and Rodin...but my favorites were Van Gogh's.
We were tired at this point, so we took a cab back to the hotel, unpacked, and napped until 8:30 pm, then walked to a nearby restaurant, la Fountain de Mars. President Obama ate here last year and in fact Joni and I both had the same meal he did, filet mignon with bernaise sauce and fries. We sat outside at a tiny table on the sidewalk. The president ate in a private room on the second floor. The waiter told us there were lots of secret service men. Oh yeah, the food was great; Joni's research again pays off.
We stopped at another cafe on Rue Cler for coffee and split a dessert before returning to our hotel. It's thrilling to be in Paris. The buildings are so beautiful, the Eifel Tour and the dome of Les Invalides, where Napoleon is buried, are both lit up at night and visible from our room's balcony. Oh la la!
Tomorrow we'll visit the Monet museum near the Bois de Boulonge, check out possible viewing spots for Sunday's last stage of the Tour, and visit my old Parisian apartment at 54 Rue de la Tour. LIFE IS GOOD.
As I predicted Mark Cavendish won today's 18th stage on the Tour...everyone else probably predicted it too. Contador kept his 8 second lead over Schleck, no surprise there either. Tomorrow the time trial. Contador needs to beat Schleck by over 40 seconds in order to quiet those who criticized him for not waiting for Schleck when his chosen broke. GO ANDY!
Good night.
Saturday, July 24
Out of bed by 7 and on the streets by 8 we headed for the Rue Cler for a leisurely breakfast at the Cafe Marche. We had our 1st breakfast there two years ago, so we thought we'd duplicate the experience. The Rue Cler is filled with cafes and outdoor outdoor fruit, vegetable, meat, and every other conceivable food markets. It is located in Paris' wealthiest arrondisement, the 7th. This one of Rick Steve's two favorite areas of Paris, and his recommendations are usually right on the money for us. Amusingly, you'll notice a lot of other tourists toting his book around, so many others share our confidence in. His advice.
After breakfast we walked up and down the street, i bought my a croissant, many shops were just opening, and some still closed. I love this time of the day before things get to busy and crowded. We then took a cab to do a walk by my old apartment, and from Rue de la Tour we went to Trocadero for an other coffee. When I lived in Paris my sister and I waited for our school bus everyday at a cafe here. The big rotary has a huge statue of Marshall Foch on horseback, he was one of France's WWI heroes.
We took a taxi to the Monet museum which is in a wealthy residential area on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne. This museum was created by Monet's son who donated all of his father's paintings that he possessed. Many of the classic Monet paintings are here plus a few from the other impressionists. The museum itself is a beautiful private home of a very wealthy family. The floors were all parquet, ceilings very tall, and windows and doorways enormous.
Fortunately there was a bus stop right in front of the museum so we took it instead of a cab and made our way to the Champs Elysees. It was packed with tourists eating at cares, people watching, or visiting the high end shops like Cartier and Luis Vuitton. Each of th see s hops is more of a showcase were everyday people shop. We walked up to the Arch de Triomphe and down thru the Place de la Concorde, scop ing out possible viewing areas for tomorrow's Tour. It will be a very different experience than the Pyrenees. I don't think we'll make eye contact with any of the riders! Near the Place de la Concorde we saw the celebrity viewing ares which are shaded grandstands including the presidential box for Sarkoczy. We then walked down the Rue de Rivoli, an arcade designed by Napoleon as a background for triumphant marches, which first was filled with many high end clothing shops which eventually get replaced by souvenir shops the closer to the Louvre.
We had lunch at the Cafe Numours which is overlies Place Colette. La Comedie Francaise, the national comedy theatre, is on this square. As we dined we listened to a ten piece string group, what a wonderful setting...and our quiche, salad, ride wine, and bread hit the spot. Again, thank you Rick Steves!
After lunch, we strolled through two nearby shopping arcades, the Gallerie Viviene, and the Gallerie Colbert, high end shopping centers that the word "mall" just doesn't apply. It was amazing how quickly you could get to a serene setting after just being in a very hectic spot.
Time for a taxi, our bodies and feet especially were hurting. We returned to the Rue Cler for ice cream, I returned to the hotel to watch the Tour on TV, after buying a step ladder as a viewing aid for Sunday. Joni remained on the Rue Cler to explore more shops, although here shopping bag appeared empty when she joined me.
We watched today's time trial, Contador secured his victory, leaving tomorrow's suspense solely focusing on the Green Jersey competition between Cavendish, Petachi, and Hushvold. We napped and showered too and are now refreshed and ready for a Saturday night in Paris.
We had another fabulous meal at a nearby restaurant recommended by Rick Steeves. I had salad with shrimp, then s fish and mussel stew, and simply vanilla icream for desseqrt. Joni ordered salad with eggplant fritters, chicken, and vanilla ice cram too. These sound like simple items, but if I accurately described the sauces and presentation you'd start salivating.
Time for bed. Bon nuit.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Thursday, July 22
A few comments about last night's dinner. As usual it was great: rose wine (which were really starting to enjoy) pea soup, white fish, local cheese, and a peach tart. As we ate we eaves-dropped on the Aussie cycling group that has been here for several nights. Thye were having a lot of fun. Each night they hold an auction for their group, bidding on which team will win the next day's stage. Winning bids rarely topped 10€, but with 21teams the winner probablygot a nice payoff. The guy running the auction also recited a couple of poems, one of which was "The Geebung Polo Club". It had a lot of Aussie idioms that we couldn't decipher, but it sounded a lot like "Casey at the Bat" in both it's meter and content. After dinner we were talking to some of the Aussie's in the lounge. They were very friendly, a national trait, and I shared "Casey..." with the guy who recited the poems. He acknowledged the similarities and we discovd on Google that "Casey..." was the older poem.
Thursday morning we were on the road by 9:30. It rained very hard all night and continued as we drove to our Tour viewing spot, just south of the village of Asson, which was the mid-point of today's stage. The area was beautiful rolling farm country,and we were surrounded b cornfields. Luckily, we were able to park right along the Tour's route., so we could stay right in the car, staying nice and dry. We arrived there around 11:30, the caravan arrived a little after 1pm, and the lead riders arrived at 2:45. We displayed our big US flag across the windshield, and held our smaller US & Texas flags. There were very few other spectators in this area due to both it's isolation and the weather, and very few Americans. The clouds, rain, and fog probably made helicopters unsafe to fly so we had litle notice when the lead riders came upon us. Fortunately our viewing spot was so good that we could see nearly 300 yards down the road, and I was able to make good use of the binoculars. The lead group contained about six riders, none we contenders, then Carlos Sastre by himself, and finally the Peloton which included Contador, Schleck, Lance, and all at the others. Since the area was flat, they moved much faster past us in comparison to their pace on the mountain climbs, but it was still a thrill to be so closer to them. I got a lot of good pix; I just let the shutter run on the continuous ode in order to maximize the number of shots I got. Fabian Cancellara, aka "Spartacus" was at the rear of the group,not a regular place for the man who wore the yellow jersey for several of the opening stages. All in all, all the riders were past us within 16 minutes and we were heading back to the hotel by 3:05 pm.
We were back in our hotel in time to watch the final 20 km of the stage. It was an exciting finish with Schleck winning, but I have to wonder if he was disappointed that he just couldn't shake Contador. The weather for the riders was treacherous, the fog on the slopes of the Tourmalet made it very difficult to see and apparently on the climb up the Col de Souloir there were sheep in the road that really caused some problems. There area three stages left, but I have to think that Contador is in the driver's seat. It really seemed like Schleck couldn't shake him, and when they get to the time trial on Saturday, Contador has historically done much better than Schleck. The finish in Paris could be an amazing one, anything can happen when there is only an 8 second lead.
Tomorrow we fly to Paris, arriving around 2 pm. We'll miss the beauty and serenity of the Pyrenees, but we're anxious to get to Paris too!
Thursday morning we were on the road by 9:30. It rained very hard all night and continued as we drove to our Tour viewing spot, just south of the village of Asson, which was the mid-point of today's stage. The area was beautiful rolling farm country,and we were surrounded b cornfields. Luckily, we were able to park right along the Tour's route., so we could stay right in the car, staying nice and dry. We arrived there around 11:30, the caravan arrived a little after 1pm, and the lead riders arrived at 2:45. We displayed our big US flag across the windshield, and held our smaller US & Texas flags. There were very few other spectators in this area due to both it's isolation and the weather, and very few Americans. The clouds, rain, and fog probably made helicopters unsafe to fly so we had litle notice when the lead riders came upon us. Fortunately our viewing spot was so good that we could see nearly 300 yards down the road, and I was able to make good use of the binoculars. The lead group contained about six riders, none we contenders, then Carlos Sastre by himself, and finally the Peloton which included Contador, Schleck, Lance, and all at the others. Since the area was flat, they moved much faster past us in comparison to their pace on the mountain climbs, but it was still a thrill to be so closer to them. I got a lot of good pix; I just let the shutter run on the continuous ode in order to maximize the number of shots I got. Fabian Cancellara, aka "Spartacus" was at the rear of the group,not a regular place for the man who wore the yellow jersey for several of the opening stages. All in all, all the riders were past us within 16 minutes and we were heading back to the hotel by 3:05 pm.
We were back in our hotel in time to watch the final 20 km of the stage. It was an exciting finish with Schleck winning, but I have to wonder if he was disappointed that he just couldn't shake Contador. The weather for the riders was treacherous, the fog on the slopes of the Tourmalet made it very difficult to see and apparently on the climb up the Col de Souloir there were sheep in the road that really caused some problems. There area three stages left, but I have to think that Contador is in the driver's seat. It really seemed like Schleck couldn't shake him, and when they get to the time trial on Saturday, Contador has historically done much better than Schleck. The finish in Paris could be an amazing one, anything can happen when there is only an 8 second lead.
Tomorrow we fly to Paris, arriving around 2 pm. We'll miss the beauty and serenity of the Pyrenees, but we're anxious to get to Paris too!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Wednesday, July 21
Today was a rest day for the Tour riders, but fours, we had to scout out viewing spot for tomorrow, which will be the last stage in the Pyrenees, and very likely the deciding stage for this year's overall winner.
After a leisurely breakfast and conversation with my new BFF, Heinz, we browsed the shops in Arreau and mailed a box to the US for 20€. By the way Heinz' brother is the head dude for Head Skis in Austria and Italy, so Heinz had plenty to say about Bode. Hewasn't surprised Bode was returning to the World Cup, and commented that Bode has the most raw talent of any skier in the last decade or so. He saw Bode was enormously popular in Europe, but had an obvious reputation for partying. Duh!
It was very overcast and foggy as we left Arreau, we could see nothing as we drove over the Col d'Aspin. There were tons of cyclists on the route, so the driving was especially slow, and the fog even made it hard to see them the higher we got.
When we arrived at Marie le Campan, which is the beginning of the ascent up the Tourmalet, we were overwhelmed by the army of cyclists. Eversince the Tour routes were announced in October, cycling tour groups have planned to make the same climb as the TdF riders during the rest day, so despite the threatening skis, anyone who was physically able was heading up the Tourmalet. We were doing it too, but in our Citroen Picasso.
The drive was very slow, and passing the cyclists made it even more so and even more nerve racking. As we approach La Mongie, which is a ski resort about 6 km from the summit it was obvious that attempting to repeat this drive tomorrow would be impossible. There were so many campers already parked along the road that by tomorrow AM, we would be walking 8 km to get to the summit. The crowds in La Mongie were reminiscent of what you see sound Fenway Park immediately before or after a game. We looked vainly for a place to park in order to check out the town and buy some souvenirs, but it was quickly apparent that it was a foolish hope.
We continued to drive thru La.Mongie, but were stopped by a police roadblock about 5km from the summit. So we started to develop "plan b" foe tomorrow's viewing. Plan B brought us to the other side of the Tourmalet, a drive of nearly 60 km. This drive took us through the city of Lourdes, which is really pretty ugly and would never be visited by any tourists were it not for it's religious importance. The drive was slow, lots of traffic, and lots of cyclists, but we actually got to the mountain top village of Viscos, where Joni had planned for us to have lunch. According to Joni's research this was the best restaurant throughout this area, and it definitely lived up to it's reputation. Joni had trout and I had Garbour, a local dishwh cih combiners duck, pork, and a variety of vegetables. The meal was fantastic, and the hotel attached to restaurant was equally charming as was the village. We both said we could spend a week there.
We left Viscos around 3:30 and continued up the western slope of the Tourmalet, stopping in Luz San Sauveur, a resort town with thousands of cyclists on every road and cafe. We bought some gifts, and had a coffee just as the rain began. I really felt sorry for all the cyclists who still had a ride to finish. After my crash in the rain on Cape Cod in 2006 I'm terrified by wet roads. At this point it was 5:15 pm, and we headed by to Arreau, via the highway, which as actually much further but much quicker despite the traffic. We arrived back at our hotel around 7:30 and plan to eat between 8:30 and 9:00. I'm sipping a Leffe as I write, it's a Belgium beer. Very tasty.
After a leisurely breakfast and conversation with my new BFF, Heinz, we browsed the shops in Arreau and mailed a box to the US for 20€. By the way Heinz' brother is the head dude for Head Skis in Austria and Italy, so Heinz had plenty to say about Bode. Hewasn't surprised Bode was returning to the World Cup, and commented that Bode has the most raw talent of any skier in the last decade or so. He saw Bode was enormously popular in Europe, but had an obvious reputation for partying. Duh!
It was very overcast and foggy as we left Arreau, we could see nothing as we drove over the Col d'Aspin. There were tons of cyclists on the route, so the driving was especially slow, and the fog even made it hard to see them the higher we got.
When we arrived at Marie le Campan, which is the beginning of the ascent up the Tourmalet, we were overwhelmed by the army of cyclists. Eversince the Tour routes were announced in October, cycling tour groups have planned to make the same climb as the TdF riders during the rest day, so despite the threatening skis, anyone who was physically able was heading up the Tourmalet. We were doing it too, but in our Citroen Picasso.
The drive was very slow, and passing the cyclists made it even more so and even more nerve racking. As we approach La Mongie, which is a ski resort about 6 km from the summit it was obvious that attempting to repeat this drive tomorrow would be impossible. There were so many campers already parked along the road that by tomorrow AM, we would be walking 8 km to get to the summit. The crowds in La Mongie were reminiscent of what you see sound Fenway Park immediately before or after a game. We looked vainly for a place to park in order to check out the town and buy some souvenirs, but it was quickly apparent that it was a foolish hope.
We continued to drive thru La.Mongie, but were stopped by a police roadblock about 5km from the summit. So we started to develop "plan b" foe tomorrow's viewing. Plan B brought us to the other side of the Tourmalet, a drive of nearly 60 km. This drive took us through the city of Lourdes, which is really pretty ugly and would never be visited by any tourists were it not for it's religious importance. The drive was slow, lots of traffic, and lots of cyclists, but we actually got to the mountain top village of Viscos, where Joni had planned for us to have lunch. According to Joni's research this was the best restaurant throughout this area, and it definitely lived up to it's reputation. Joni had trout and I had Garbour, a local dishwh cih combiners duck, pork, and a variety of vegetables. The meal was fantastic, and the hotel attached to restaurant was equally charming as was the village. We both said we could spend a week there.
We left Viscos around 3:30 and continued up the western slope of the Tourmalet, stopping in Luz San Sauveur, a resort town with thousands of cyclists on every road and cafe. We bought some gifts, and had a coffee just as the rain began. I really felt sorry for all the cyclists who still had a ride to finish. After my crash in the rain on Cape Cod in 2006 I'm terrified by wet roads. At this point it was 5:15 pm, and we headed by to Arreau, via the highway, which as actually much further but much quicker despite the traffic. We arrived back at our hotel around 7:30 and plan to eat between 8:30 and 9:00. I'm sipping a Leffe as I write, it's a Belgium beer. Very tasty.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Tuesday, July 20
Today was perfect. Outstanding breakfast; in addition to the croissants, baguette with butter (which I'm starting to like more than croissants) we got our own pot of coffee and a pitcher of steamed milk. Left the hotel by 9:45, stopped in the local Casino, which a chain of small grocery stores throughout France, bought bread, camembert cheese, and some dried fruits, and by 10:00 we were starting our walk up the Col d'Aspin. We walked for about an hour, the crowds were heavier than last year, and there werefar fewer Americans today than yesterday. Around 11:00 we found a place that was relatively flat for our chairs and gave us a view of well below us.
As we set up our stuff (flags, chairs, etc) the first vehicles in the caravan started arriving. We couldn't resist begging for some of the handouts and we scored another Caisse d'Epargne jersey, and a yellow baseball cap.
Around 12:15 the helicopters started arriving, and soon lead group of about ten riders appeared below. The Dutch man and his son who were next to us informed us that Lance was leading the breakaway, and sure enough when the reached us, there he was. He passed within inches of me as I cheered him on. I could even say we made eye contact. Today's groups were much more spread out than yesterday's even though this was only the second of four huge climbs in today's stage. Contador was in the second group, about 3:30 behind Lance's. Contador looked like he was struggling, whereas Lance looked confident. I focused less on getting photos and more on watching the riders who all passed within inches of us. I never saw Andy Schleck, but the Dutch guy next to me was very knowledgable, and continually pointed out who passed. Jens Voigt was last rider and he was bleeding and shorts and jersey were ripped. He must have fallen. Sprinter Robbie McEwan was next to last, and he also looked liked he'd fallen. All in all it took over 3o minutes for everyone to get by.
As we descended back to our hotel in Arreau we heard that Lance was the first over the Col d'Aspin and the Tourmalet.* Lance was back!!!! He stayed in the lead group for the final 100 km to Pau, but he could hold off Frenchman Pierrick Rodrigo who caught him during the final sprint. But on what will probably be considered the toughest stage this year's Tour, Lance held his own and challenged for the whole race.
When we got back to our hotel we cooled off in the bar and watched the race for a while, then we drove to the village of Soulan St. Lary, which is a lot like Lake Placid. We walked the streets and window shopped, but also watched the race in a bar.
After the race we drove south to a beautiful ski area just above the Spanish border. The area is known for its controversial modern architecture which reminded me of a resort in Argentina that is often written about in ski magazines. We liked the architectural style, but the buildings were in terrible condition and even had graffiti on them. I kept thinking how disappointed someone might be if they booked a week in this place without seeing it first. The scenery was spectacular, with many of the mountains going straight up. Must be fantastic for rock climbing. The slopes also were covered in a velvet like vegetation. I've never seen prettier mountains.
We returned to Arreau, I went for a quick swim, and then we showered and went to dinner. Another delicious meal, I'll skip the details.
I love everything about this place. It was a perfect day.
*PS according to Wednesday's L'Equipe, Lance wasn't 1st over either of those cols. However, in the minds of his fans he always will be!
As we set up our stuff (flags, chairs, etc) the first vehicles in the caravan started arriving. We couldn't resist begging for some of the handouts and we scored another Caisse d'Epargne jersey, and a yellow baseball cap.
Around 12:15 the helicopters started arriving, and soon lead group of about ten riders appeared below. The Dutch man and his son who were next to us informed us that Lance was leading the breakaway, and sure enough when the reached us, there he was. He passed within inches of me as I cheered him on. I could even say we made eye contact. Today's groups were much more spread out than yesterday's even though this was only the second of four huge climbs in today's stage. Contador was in the second group, about 3:30 behind Lance's. Contador looked like he was struggling, whereas Lance looked confident. I focused less on getting photos and more on watching the riders who all passed within inches of us. I never saw Andy Schleck, but the Dutch guy next to me was very knowledgable, and continually pointed out who passed. Jens Voigt was last rider and he was bleeding and shorts and jersey were ripped. He must have fallen. Sprinter Robbie McEwan was next to last, and he also looked liked he'd fallen. All in all it took over 3o minutes for everyone to get by.
As we descended back to our hotel in Arreau we heard that Lance was the first over the Col d'Aspin and the Tourmalet.* Lance was back!!!! He stayed in the lead group for the final 100 km to Pau, but he could hold off Frenchman Pierrick Rodrigo who caught him during the final sprint. But on what will probably be considered the toughest stage this year's Tour, Lance held his own and challenged for the whole race.
When we got back to our hotel we cooled off in the bar and watched the race for a while, then we drove to the village of Soulan St. Lary, which is a lot like Lake Placid. We walked the streets and window shopped, but also watched the race in a bar.
After the race we drove south to a beautiful ski area just above the Spanish border. The area is known for its controversial modern architecture which reminded me of a resort in Argentina that is often written about in ski magazines. We liked the architectural style, but the buildings were in terrible condition and even had graffiti on them. I kept thinking how disappointed someone might be if they booked a week in this place without seeing it first. The scenery was spectacular, with many of the mountains going straight up. Must be fantastic for rock climbing. The slopes also were covered in a velvet like vegetation. I've never seen prettier mountains.
We returned to Arreau, I went for a quick swim, and then we showered and went to dinner. Another delicious meal, I'll skip the details.
I love everything about this place. It was a perfect day.
*PS according to Wednesday's L'Equipe, Lance wasn't 1st over either of those cols. However, in the minds of his fans he always will be!
July 11-19, Week 1
France 2010
Sunday, July 11
left the Cape around 7:45 AM, hung out at Caffe Paradiso until 11, drove to the bus station in Concord, taking a 1 pm bus to Logan which arrived around 2:30. After checking our bags, and paying $50 extra for our 3rd piece, we went through security and then had a late lunch in the only restaurant/bar, which was packed with World Cup fans. We could get a seat close enough to see the game so I followed the updates on my iPad. Spain finally scored during extra time just before we boarded the plane.
Left Boston on Aerlingus around 6pm, landing in Dublin five hours later after a bumpy flight around 5 AM, Dublin time. The temp was 11C, a pleasant change from the 90+F of Boston.
Monday, July 12
It took about 45 minutes to get through customs. The airport was was surprisingly busy. We found some comfortable chairs near Starbucks, and rested until 7 AM, when we went for a "full Irish breakfast" for 10€ each. After scouting out the airport and finally locating a newspaper we sat for a while in a quieter section of the airport and read about the World Cup final and the TdF in the Irish independent, a tabloid. We then relocated to the comfy chairs near Starbucks and napped until 10 AM, before taking the long walk to our departure gate. Our flight to Nice was late in departing, but we didn't care, we knew we were getting very close to France. We both catnapped during the two hour flight, which touched down around 3:00 PM local time, 6 hours ahead of EST.
After a short wait to get thru customs and an even short wait for our bags we were in a taxi, heading for the Hotel Vendome on Rue Pascarelli. My rusty French worked well enough to help the drive who wasn't familiar with the street, and as we pulled into the driveway of our hotel, there was Anne Toole waiting for us.
We checked in,unloaded our bags and headed out to old Nice for our a quick snack and some sight seeing. Anne wanted us to meet in the lobby by 7 pm, where we would meet up with several others including three other teachers from Massachusetts. We tried to find Theresa's "sopas cart"' but it wasn't where Rick Steves said it was, probably since it was now after 4 pm. So we found a cafe and had wonderful salads, Joni drank a Perrier and I a Pastis. We then browsed the market area, bought a beret for a friend and headed to the beach where I took a quick dip in the Mediterranean, my first swim in those waters since I was 7. The water seemed saltier thanCape Cod, and it was my first time swimming since my knee surgery, so my knees felt vey strange.
We then returned to the hotel via a special route thru old Nice that Joni had selected. Her research paid off as usual as she read many fascinating details about the buildings and streets we passed.
Back in our hotel room by 6 pm, we both showered and were in the lobby by 7. Our dinner party included:
Anne Toole, French teacher at BMS
Annmarie Breakey, English teacher at BHS
Cathy Garry, a former Title 1 teacher from BMS
Madeline, a friend of Cathy who works for the MA DOE
Nancy Lewis, friend of Anne's and former elementary teacher in Barnstable
Rita Jones, a friend of Nancy & Anne's
Our group of 8 walked back to the market area of old Nice, which is transformed into continual dinning spaces in front of every cafe along Cours Salaya. We had a wonderful dinner, most of us choosing seafood and lots of wine. I had probably not talked to Cathy Garry in nearly 20 years, so it was a lot of fun catching up with her. This was her first trip to France, she was visiting her daughter who spent a year in Paris as an au pair, and was now remaining for an other year to take courses at the Sorbonne.
After truly overeating we walked along the Promenade des Anglais before returning to our hotel. Joni and I had truly hit the wall, and sleep came quickly.
Tuesday, July 13
Wake up call at 6:30 was a shock to our systems, but we wanted to get an early start, so we all gathered on the terrace of the Vendome for our first breakfast. Although they had eggs and sausage, I stuck to the croissants and a tartine with butter. Magnifique. We checked out by 8 saying goodbye to Nancy & Rita who were flying home, and headed to Ville Franche sur Mer, where Anne attended "the Instituit"' and where "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" was filmed. VF is a spectacular town with a harbor filled with yachts of the rich and famous. (Bono, Keith Richard, Bill Gates, etc). Joni again provided many anecdotes about VF, but she was topped by Anne whose three months of residency filled her w ith even more tidbits. Before leaving we stopped at a cafe overlooking the harbor for a cold Perrier and then headed north on our 4 hour trip to Mazan. Around noon we stopped at a rest area on the A7 and had a wonderful lunch, what an improvement over all t he food stops on the US interstates.
Our first first stop Provence was at the grocery store, Intermarche in Pernes. Then we headed for the bike shop but were disappointed to be met with "we have no bike for you here" even though my email from Hubert clearly stated otherwise. We were directed to drive to Luberon Biking's shop in Velleron, which we eventually found after two phone calls, one by the police, and several attempts to ask people on the street where the shop was located. One of the men be asked, mumbled something that we eventually understood as " i can't speak, i just had a root canal."
Turns out Hubert believed I was not arriving until late in the afternoon so he had not delivered the bike to the other shop in Pernes. The Trek Madone I was promised turned out to be too small a frame, so Hubert gave me a carbon fiber LaPierre, French bike that I do like. Hubert shared that he was the coach of the French Olympic mountain bike team, and a guitar player who had a large Marshall amp in his shop.
Despite the 100 F heat that turned parts of the road into sticky tar, I was thrilled to ride the 18 KM to Mazan. I was just excited to be riding in France again.
After the ride I continued to sweat for another hour before taking a shower and going out to dinner at the pizzeria in Mazan. We've eaten at the pizzeria before, and we all enjoyed our meal which lasted the usual 2-3 hours.
Again, sleep came quickly when we returned to the farmhouse. Nick called around 11:45 pm response to an accidental pocket call that I made to him several hours earlier. We only talked for a few minutes; I was worried about how much the call would cost and I was out of it since I was sound asleep when the phone rang.
Wednesday, July 14, Bastille Day
Another early rising, Anne wanted to leave the house by 7 am so we could get a parking place at the market in Sault. We stopped at the boulangerie for croissants and
up the Herald Tribune and L'Equipe, which is France's daily sports paper which has super detailed coverage of the Tour. The Tour was originally created as a publicity stunt to increase circulation of this paper!
Sault is a beautiful town in the lavender belt of Provence. It is probably one of the most photographed spots in France. The ride from Mazan to Sault covers about 40 KM including a long stretch through the switchbacks and hairpins of the Gorges de la Nesque, A small version of the Grand Canyon. The scenery is breathtaking, but equally scary. My sister would never take this route.
Upon arriving in Sault, we found a cafe and had another round of coffee and croissants. Thad were the best croissants I've had in 12 months! We then agreed to split up and pbrowse the market stalls 'till11 am. Joni bought material, lavender, and spoons, I bought a wide brimmed Panama hat for protection from the sun.
We then drive to Simeone la Rotonde, another tiny picturesque village with a great potttery shop. We all bought additional pieces to add to the collection that we started two years ago. We then lunched at La Palette, an outdoor bistrot located in the village's 17th century covered market. The owner, Monsieur Erik Roger, greeted Ann like an old relative and even acknowledged that he remembered Joni and me from previous summers. After lunch we browsed the Tea Room gift shop in Simeone and then headed back to Mazan via a less treacherous route. as we drove through the village of Pernes les Fountaines, we noticed they were having their annual melon festival. So we parked the carl and walked through the festival area, again browsing the many tables of foods and crafts. It was another 95F scorcher, so we had cold drinks at a makeshift cafe. As we sat we were lucky enough to catch the parade, which consisted of approximately 20 older men and women dressed in traditional Provencal clothing. They must have been dying in the heat with the multi-layered outfits.
Returning to the farmhouse at 5 pm we all relaxed before our 8 pm dinner reservation. I watched the end of the Tour on French TV which inspired me to go for a bike ride. The heat inspired me to keep the ride short, about 10 km, and I perspires profusely.
Dinner was outdoors in St. Didier, a small village only 6km to the east. Although we had eaten there before, there were new owners, and very new waiters who were very friendly but still mastering their obviously new profession. The food was good but the timing of courses was way off, and Joni's main dish never arrived. Still, we had fun...we're on vacation in France!
Thursday, June 15
Out of bed at 6:30 and on my bike by 7:00, I rode to Crillon le Brave, Bedoin, and back. A wonderful ride, it was only 70F, mostly smooth pavement, little traffic, and plenty of vineyards, olive trees, and farms. Le Mont Ventoux was visible throughout the ride. Saw. Lots of fellow cyclists...clearly a great area for rides.
Returned to the farmhouse for breakfast, coffee, croissants, tartine, and apricot juice. Time to relax and read the paper. This is why we came, life IS good!
We took to the car by 10:30, driving through several of the small villages around Crillon, St. Pierre de Vassols, Modene, & Caromb. All very picturesque. In Crillon we stopped at the only cafe in the village for Perrier, coffee, and postcards. Everything was very nice and very expensive. Rooms at the hotel start at 366€ per night.
We then drove back through Mazan to Isle Sur la Sorgue for lunch and a crafts market. We dined at the Cafe Bellevue, which was right along the canal and had a delicious meal, although way too big compared to my typical fruit salad. After Lunch the ladies went shopping and I searched out an ATM and another ice cream to escape the heat. It was 39 C, way to hot to really do anything. We stopped by the wine Co-Op in Mazan and purchased a few items before returning to the farmhouse at 5 pm.
I watched the end of the 11th stage of the Tour on TV, Mark Cavendish sprinted to his 3rd victory, and the ladies napped.
For dinner we had wine,cheese, fruit, and chocolate at the farmhouse, and for dessert we went to the home of Slyvie & Michel, friends that Anne has made in Mazan. They also invited another local couple, Jean-Luc & Anne Marie. JL is a winemaker in Mazan. We had a fascinating evening exchanging perceptions about each other's culture.
Friday, July 16
Up at 5:30 and on my bike by 5:50. Rode for 50 minutes, watching the sunrise over Le Mont Ventoux.
By 7:15 we were on our way to Avignon. Breakfast at Lou Mistrau wheee we were seated by 8:15. After brief shopping, I picked up a book on sports cars, I found a cafe with WiFi and where I watched a continual parade of tourists and theater promoters who perform mini scenes from the 400+ shows that are in Avignon for their month long festival. Many of the performers remind me of the Cirque de Soliel in terms of their costumes and creativity.
At noon we met at Simple Simon's tearoom, where we had our best meal to date. After lunch we visited a museum that displayed the only Van Gogh in Provence, and saw some Picasso's, Degas', and a Siscely too.
The temp had risen to a sweltering 40C, that's over 100F!!!!
We picked up our car from Avis, a black (great color for a desert climate) Citroen Picasso, and followed Anne and Annemarie back toward Mazan. However, we took a side trip to Venasque, a very small and picturesque hill top village that included a 13th century church, a few shops, a cafe, and a hotel. An amazing place, could definitely spend a few days there...and it's very close to Mazan.
Returned to the farmhouse by 6 pm, dinner was cheese, fruit, nuts, chocolate, wine & conversation. Had a great evening.
Saturday, June 17
On my bike by 6:55 am, rode to Bedoin via Mormoiron, 10.8 km. The route between Mormoiron and Bedoin was on last year's Tour so there were some faintly painted riders' names still visible on the pavement including a Texas flag. This route winds through vineyards and along the base of Mont Ventoux. Along the way I stopped to take a few pix and then in Bedoin I bought L'Equipe and had a cafe au lait & a croissant before reversing my route back to the farmhouse. On this ride I hit a max speed of 53.4 km/hr, my fastest of the four days. I really like the carbon fiber frame, you could really feel the difference when accelerating.
Joni, Annmarie, and left the farmhouse to Anne, and headed for a tour of the smaller villages of wine country. We returned my bike to Hubert at Lubreron Biking in Velleron, and then drove thru Mazan & Bedoin, taking a mountain route with a lot of hairpins to Malaucene. We stopped in Suzette for lunch at an outdoor cafe with a beautiful view of the Dentelles, a small range that reminded us of the Tetons. From there we drove through the villages of ______, before stopping in Gigondas, a village that produces 63 different variations of their local wine which is considered by some to be better than Chagteau Neuf du Pape. We tried only 4 varieties, before selecting one of which we purchased two bottles @16€ each. You would probably pay 2 or 3 times as much in the US.
From there we went to the Writers Festival in Sablat. Wouldn't you know, all the books were in French, so we didn't buy any. We drove through another mountaintop village, Segueret, took some pix, and drove thru Vaison le Romaine before stopping for ice cream near Le Crestet.
Returned to Mazan via Malaucene, where we stopped in a great bike shop, and then took the flatter route thru Caromb, skipping Bedoin and Mormoiron.
Dinner on Saturday was at the Chateau du Sade (as in the Marquis de Sade, the father of sadism). Our meals were elegant with lots of extra to ouches...we dropped a bundle.
Sunday, July 18
Every ten years or so Mazan celebrates "Lou Carri", a day long festival commemorating an 18th century revolt of peasants against the lords of Mazan. "Lou Carri" means "the cart" in the Provencal language which is different from rgular French. Apparently carts were a part of the revolt, so the cart has become the symbol of the event.
The festival begins with a long parade involving over 100 horses and 300 people wearing costumes. Other than a 20-30 lords and their familly members everyone else was dressed as a peasant from the era. They were probably dying from the heat, it was another 90 F scorcher despite the strong Mistal winds.
After the parade we walked thru a crafts market. Of course the ladies bought s few item, I resisted. We then walked to the farmhouse and had lunch. Joni and I drove to Bedoin, Malaucene, did some shopping, and then up to Notre Dame de Gerroux to check out an old hexagonal church. We then drove back go the farmhouse, taking a mountainous route that kept Joni screeching,
For dinner we went to the pizzeria in Mazan and were joined by the former owner, Olivier, and his wife, daugter, mother, and Bernhard, Olivier's bestow friend from college, who is a chemical engineering researcher at the university of Nantes. We all had a wonderful evening of conversation, which ended with us watching the folk dancing in the streets in the center of town. The whole town had to there, and Olivier's 6 year old daughter, Charlotte, especially loved dancing with her friends.
Monday, June 19
After 6 wonderful days in Mazan we said au revoir to Anne and Annmarie and got a 7:15. Start on our 500 km drive to the Pyrenees. Despite getting lost on the way to the highway and probably driving 30-40 minute in the wrong direction, we arrive around 1:15 pm in the village of Mauleon-Barouse which at the beginning of the climb up to Port. de Bales. This is the last climb of this stage and it has the hardest possible rating. We had to walk about 2 miles to get to a good vantage point, where we arrived about 2 hours before the riders actually arrived. We set up our spot, displayed our American flags and collected a lot of souvenirs from the Caravan. We especially appeeciated the food since we ha not eaten lunch...not that missing s mesl would hurt either of us after all the fabulous meals we've eaten. The wait went quickly, our flags always cause fellow Americans to say hello and we definitely felt there were many more than the other years. Despite his mediocre performance, Lance was still the most meant rider among the spectators, and all the comments were positive.
The lead group consisted of about ten riders and the peloton was another five or six minutes behind them. My picture taking caused me to not notice who was in the lead group, so when the peloton passed I paid less attention to my camera and more on the riders. I noticed Andy Schleck, Alberto Contador, and Levi Leipheimer. Joni saw Lance, and I also noticed a lot of Radio Shack riders too. There were several smsller groups and individuals behind the peloton,and within 16 minutes all the riders we past us and alal the spectators started heading back to their cars.
The traffic away from the race wasn't as bad as other stages that we've seen and we her checking into the Hotel d'Angleterre in Arreau in an hour.
Sunday, July 11
left the Cape around 7:45 AM, hung out at Caffe Paradiso until 11, drove to the bus station in Concord, taking a 1 pm bus to Logan which arrived around 2:30. After checking our bags, and paying $50 extra for our 3rd piece, we went through security and then had a late lunch in the only restaurant/bar, which was packed with World Cup fans. We could get a seat close enough to see the game so I followed the updates on my iPad. Spain finally scored during extra time just before we boarded the plane.
Left Boston on Aerlingus around 6pm, landing in Dublin five hours later after a bumpy flight around 5 AM, Dublin time. The temp was 11C, a pleasant change from the 90+F of Boston.
Monday, July 12
It took about 45 minutes to get through customs. The airport was was surprisingly busy. We found some comfortable chairs near Starbucks, and rested until 7 AM, when we went for a "full Irish breakfast" for 10€ each. After scouting out the airport and finally locating a newspaper we sat for a while in a quieter section of the airport and read about the World Cup final and the TdF in the Irish independent, a tabloid. We then relocated to the comfy chairs near Starbucks and napped until 10 AM, before taking the long walk to our departure gate. Our flight to Nice was late in departing, but we didn't care, we knew we were getting very close to France. We both catnapped during the two hour flight, which touched down around 3:00 PM local time, 6 hours ahead of EST.
After a short wait to get thru customs and an even short wait for our bags we were in a taxi, heading for the Hotel Vendome on Rue Pascarelli. My rusty French worked well enough to help the drive who wasn't familiar with the street, and as we pulled into the driveway of our hotel, there was Anne Toole waiting for us.
We checked in,unloaded our bags and headed out to old Nice for our a quick snack and some sight seeing. Anne wanted us to meet in the lobby by 7 pm, where we would meet up with several others including three other teachers from Massachusetts. We tried to find Theresa's "sopas cart"' but it wasn't where Rick Steves said it was, probably since it was now after 4 pm. So we found a cafe and had wonderful salads, Joni drank a Perrier and I a Pastis. We then browsed the market area, bought a beret for a friend and headed to the beach where I took a quick dip in the Mediterranean, my first swim in those waters since I was 7. The water seemed saltier thanCape Cod, and it was my first time swimming since my knee surgery, so my knees felt vey strange.
We then returned to the hotel via a special route thru old Nice that Joni had selected. Her research paid off as usual as she read many fascinating details about the buildings and streets we passed.
Back in our hotel room by 6 pm, we both showered and were in the lobby by 7. Our dinner party included:
Anne Toole, French teacher at BMS
Annmarie Breakey, English teacher at BHS
Cathy Garry, a former Title 1 teacher from BMS
Madeline, a friend of Cathy who works for the MA DOE
Nancy Lewis, friend of Anne's and former elementary teacher in Barnstable
Rita Jones, a friend of Nancy & Anne's
Our group of 8 walked back to the market area of old Nice, which is transformed into continual dinning spaces in front of every cafe along Cours Salaya. We had a wonderful dinner, most of us choosing seafood and lots of wine. I had probably not talked to Cathy Garry in nearly 20 years, so it was a lot of fun catching up with her. This was her first trip to France, she was visiting her daughter who spent a year in Paris as an au pair, and was now remaining for an other year to take courses at the Sorbonne.
After truly overeating we walked along the Promenade des Anglais before returning to our hotel. Joni and I had truly hit the wall, and sleep came quickly.
Tuesday, July 13
Wake up call at 6:30 was a shock to our systems, but we wanted to get an early start, so we all gathered on the terrace of the Vendome for our first breakfast. Although they had eggs and sausage, I stuck to the croissants and a tartine with butter. Magnifique. We checked out by 8 saying goodbye to Nancy & Rita who were flying home, and headed to Ville Franche sur Mer, where Anne attended "the Instituit"' and where "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" was filmed. VF is a spectacular town with a harbor filled with yachts of the rich and famous. (Bono, Keith Richard, Bill Gates, etc). Joni again provided many anecdotes about VF, but she was topped by Anne whose three months of residency filled her w ith even more tidbits. Before leaving we stopped at a cafe overlooking the harbor for a cold Perrier and then headed north on our 4 hour trip to Mazan. Around noon we stopped at a rest area on the A7 and had a wonderful lunch, what an improvement over all t he food stops on the US interstates.
Our first first stop Provence was at the grocery store, Intermarche in Pernes. Then we headed for the bike shop but were disappointed to be met with "we have no bike for you here" even though my email from Hubert clearly stated otherwise. We were directed to drive to Luberon Biking's shop in Velleron, which we eventually found after two phone calls, one by the police, and several attempts to ask people on the street where the shop was located. One of the men be asked, mumbled something that we eventually understood as " i can't speak, i just had a root canal."
Turns out Hubert believed I was not arriving until late in the afternoon so he had not delivered the bike to the other shop in Pernes. The Trek Madone I was promised turned out to be too small a frame, so Hubert gave me a carbon fiber LaPierre, French bike that I do like. Hubert shared that he was the coach of the French Olympic mountain bike team, and a guitar player who had a large Marshall amp in his shop.
Despite the 100 F heat that turned parts of the road into sticky tar, I was thrilled to ride the 18 KM to Mazan. I was just excited to be riding in France again.
After the ride I continued to sweat for another hour before taking a shower and going out to dinner at the pizzeria in Mazan. We've eaten at the pizzeria before, and we all enjoyed our meal which lasted the usual 2-3 hours.
Again, sleep came quickly when we returned to the farmhouse. Nick called around 11:45 pm response to an accidental pocket call that I made to him several hours earlier. We only talked for a few minutes; I was worried about how much the call would cost and I was out of it since I was sound asleep when the phone rang.
Wednesday, July 14, Bastille Day
Another early rising, Anne wanted to leave the house by 7 am so we could get a parking place at the market in Sault. We stopped at the boulangerie for croissants and
up the Herald Tribune and L'Equipe, which is France's daily sports paper which has super detailed coverage of the Tour. The Tour was originally created as a publicity stunt to increase circulation of this paper!
Sault is a beautiful town in the lavender belt of Provence. It is probably one of the most photographed spots in France. The ride from Mazan to Sault covers about 40 KM including a long stretch through the switchbacks and hairpins of the Gorges de la Nesque, A small version of the Grand Canyon. The scenery is breathtaking, but equally scary. My sister would never take this route.
Upon arriving in Sault, we found a cafe and had another round of coffee and croissants. Thad were the best croissants I've had in 12 months! We then agreed to split up and pbrowse the market stalls 'till11 am. Joni bought material, lavender, and spoons, I bought a wide brimmed Panama hat for protection from the sun.
We then drive to Simeone la Rotonde, another tiny picturesque village with a great potttery shop. We all bought additional pieces to add to the collection that we started two years ago. We then lunched at La Palette, an outdoor bistrot located in the village's 17th century covered market. The owner, Monsieur Erik Roger, greeted Ann like an old relative and even acknowledged that he remembered Joni and me from previous summers. After lunch we browsed the Tea Room gift shop in Simeone and then headed back to Mazan via a less treacherous route. as we drove through the village of Pernes les Fountaines, we noticed they were having their annual melon festival. So we parked the carl and walked through the festival area, again browsing the many tables of foods and crafts. It was another 95F scorcher, so we had cold drinks at a makeshift cafe. As we sat we were lucky enough to catch the parade, which consisted of approximately 20 older men and women dressed in traditional Provencal clothing. They must have been dying in the heat with the multi-layered outfits.
Returning to the farmhouse at 5 pm we all relaxed before our 8 pm dinner reservation. I watched the end of the Tour on French TV which inspired me to go for a bike ride. The heat inspired me to keep the ride short, about 10 km, and I perspires profusely.
Dinner was outdoors in St. Didier, a small village only 6km to the east. Although we had eaten there before, there were new owners, and very new waiters who were very friendly but still mastering their obviously new profession. The food was good but the timing of courses was way off, and Joni's main dish never arrived. Still, we had fun...we're on vacation in France!
Thursday, June 15
Out of bed at 6:30 and on my bike by 7:00, I rode to Crillon le Brave, Bedoin, and back. A wonderful ride, it was only 70F, mostly smooth pavement, little traffic, and plenty of vineyards, olive trees, and farms. Le Mont Ventoux was visible throughout the ride. Saw. Lots of fellow cyclists...clearly a great area for rides.
Returned to the farmhouse for breakfast, coffee, croissants, tartine, and apricot juice. Time to relax and read the paper. This is why we came, life IS good!
We took to the car by 10:30, driving through several of the small villages around Crillon, St. Pierre de Vassols, Modene, & Caromb. All very picturesque. In Crillon we stopped at the only cafe in the village for Perrier, coffee, and postcards. Everything was very nice and very expensive. Rooms at the hotel start at 366€ per night.
We then drove back through Mazan to Isle Sur la Sorgue for lunch and a crafts market. We dined at the Cafe Bellevue, which was right along the canal and had a delicious meal, although way too big compared to my typical fruit salad. After Lunch the ladies went shopping and I searched out an ATM and another ice cream to escape the heat. It was 39 C, way to hot to really do anything. We stopped by the wine Co-Op in Mazan and purchased a few items before returning to the farmhouse at 5 pm.
I watched the end of the 11th stage of the Tour on TV, Mark Cavendish sprinted to his 3rd victory, and the ladies napped.
For dinner we had wine,cheese, fruit, and chocolate at the farmhouse, and for dessert we went to the home of Slyvie & Michel, friends that Anne has made in Mazan. They also invited another local couple, Jean-Luc & Anne Marie. JL is a winemaker in Mazan. We had a fascinating evening exchanging perceptions about each other's culture.
Friday, July 16
Up at 5:30 and on my bike by 5:50. Rode for 50 minutes, watching the sunrise over Le Mont Ventoux.
By 7:15 we were on our way to Avignon. Breakfast at Lou Mistrau wheee we were seated by 8:15. After brief shopping, I picked up a book on sports cars, I found a cafe with WiFi and where I watched a continual parade of tourists and theater promoters who perform mini scenes from the 400+ shows that are in Avignon for their month long festival. Many of the performers remind me of the Cirque de Soliel in terms of their costumes and creativity.
At noon we met at Simple Simon's tearoom, where we had our best meal to date. After lunch we visited a museum that displayed the only Van Gogh in Provence, and saw some Picasso's, Degas', and a Siscely too.
The temp had risen to a sweltering 40C, that's over 100F!!!!
We picked up our car from Avis, a black (great color for a desert climate) Citroen Picasso, and followed Anne and Annemarie back toward Mazan. However, we took a side trip to Venasque, a very small and picturesque hill top village that included a 13th century church, a few shops, a cafe, and a hotel. An amazing place, could definitely spend a few days there...and it's very close to Mazan.
Returned to the farmhouse by 6 pm, dinner was cheese, fruit, nuts, chocolate, wine & conversation. Had a great evening.
Saturday, June 17
On my bike by 6:55 am, rode to Bedoin via Mormoiron, 10.8 km. The route between Mormoiron and Bedoin was on last year's Tour so there were some faintly painted riders' names still visible on the pavement including a Texas flag. This route winds through vineyards and along the base of Mont Ventoux. Along the way I stopped to take a few pix and then in Bedoin I bought L'Equipe and had a cafe au lait & a croissant before reversing my route back to the farmhouse. On this ride I hit a max speed of 53.4 km/hr, my fastest of the four days. I really like the carbon fiber frame, you could really feel the difference when accelerating.
Joni, Annmarie, and left the farmhouse to Anne, and headed for a tour of the smaller villages of wine country. We returned my bike to Hubert at Lubreron Biking in Velleron, and then drove thru Mazan & Bedoin, taking a mountain route with a lot of hairpins to Malaucene. We stopped in Suzette for lunch at an outdoor cafe with a beautiful view of the Dentelles, a small range that reminded us of the Tetons. From there we drove through the villages of ______, before stopping in Gigondas, a village that produces 63 different variations of their local wine which is considered by some to be better than Chagteau Neuf du Pape. We tried only 4 varieties, before selecting one of which we purchased two bottles @16€ each. You would probably pay 2 or 3 times as much in the US.
From there we went to the Writers Festival in Sablat. Wouldn't you know, all the books were in French, so we didn't buy any. We drove through another mountaintop village, Segueret, took some pix, and drove thru Vaison le Romaine before stopping for ice cream near Le Crestet.
Returned to Mazan via Malaucene, where we stopped in a great bike shop, and then took the flatter route thru Caromb, skipping Bedoin and Mormoiron.
Dinner on Saturday was at the Chateau du Sade (as in the Marquis de Sade, the father of sadism). Our meals were elegant with lots of extra to ouches...we dropped a bundle.
Sunday, July 18
Every ten years or so Mazan celebrates "Lou Carri", a day long festival commemorating an 18th century revolt of peasants against the lords of Mazan. "Lou Carri" means "the cart" in the Provencal language which is different from rgular French. Apparently carts were a part of the revolt, so the cart has become the symbol of the event.
The festival begins with a long parade involving over 100 horses and 300 people wearing costumes. Other than a 20-30 lords and their familly members everyone else was dressed as a peasant from the era. They were probably dying from the heat, it was another 90 F scorcher despite the strong Mistal winds.
After the parade we walked thru a crafts market. Of course the ladies bought s few item, I resisted. We then walked to the farmhouse and had lunch. Joni and I drove to Bedoin, Malaucene, did some shopping, and then up to Notre Dame de Gerroux to check out an old hexagonal church. We then drove back go the farmhouse, taking a mountainous route that kept Joni screeching,
For dinner we went to the pizzeria in Mazan and were joined by the former owner, Olivier, and his wife, daugter, mother, and Bernhard, Olivier's bestow friend from college, who is a chemical engineering researcher at the university of Nantes. We all had a wonderful evening of conversation, which ended with us watching the folk dancing in the streets in the center of town. The whole town had to there, and Olivier's 6 year old daughter, Charlotte, especially loved dancing with her friends.
Monday, June 19
After 6 wonderful days in Mazan we said au revoir to Anne and Annmarie and got a 7:15. Start on our 500 km drive to the Pyrenees. Despite getting lost on the way to the highway and probably driving 30-40 minute in the wrong direction, we arrive around 1:15 pm in the village of Mauleon-Barouse which at the beginning of the climb up to Port. de Bales. This is the last climb of this stage and it has the hardest possible rating. We had to walk about 2 miles to get to a good vantage point, where we arrived about 2 hours before the riders actually arrived. We set up our spot, displayed our American flags and collected a lot of souvenirs from the Caravan. We especially appeeciated the food since we ha not eaten lunch...not that missing s mesl would hurt either of us after all the fabulous meals we've eaten. The wait went quickly, our flags always cause fellow Americans to say hello and we definitely felt there were many more than the other years. Despite his mediocre performance, Lance was still the most meant rider among the spectators, and all the comments were positive.
The lead group consisted of about ten riders and the peloton was another five or six minutes behind them. My picture taking caused me to not notice who was in the lead group, so when the peloton passed I paid less attention to my camera and more on the riders. I noticed Andy Schleck, Alberto Contador, and Levi Leipheimer. Joni saw Lance, and I also noticed a lot of Radio Shack riders too. There were several smsller groups and individuals behind the peloton,and within 16 minutes all the riders we past us and alal the spectators started heading back to their cars.
The traffic away from the race wasn't as bad as other stages that we've seen and we her checking into the Hotel d'Angleterre in Arreau in an hour.
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