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Published: July 21st 2005
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And the race is on...
I'll try to post a picture of Lance if someone else got one. They went by so fast! This past weekend I went with Lenny, Brian, Meredith, Mike, Dylan and Hunter to southern France. The plan was to catch a train on Friday and ride through the night to Agde, the small town in which the Tour de France was taking place. After much debate, we determined that it would be more cost effective to take a taxi for 5 and a half hours to Nice instead, before heading to Agde. Now that's riding in style! (We still had to take the night train on to Agde, but it was alright.)
Had a great time in Agde. Arrived around 6 a.m. and were the second group of people to line up to watch the race. Grabbed a quick breakfast at a nearby cafe and waited for the race to begin, beer in hand. Before the race, the crowd really picked up. Had a great time watching the "parade" (sadly, no pomped floats, for you Greek kids out there) and getting free stuff (hence the hats featured below). When the Tour finally came through, Lance and company flew through sooooo fast! It was really hard to take pictures, but everyone was cheering on the cyclists. As team Discovery came
through, our American flag was a big hit--unfortunately this did not seem to be the case with some of the parade participants, but oh well, no hard feelings on my part.
After the race went through, we headed back to Nice to get to our hotel and check out the sites (about a 5 hour train ride). Turns out that the hotel was not directly in Old Nice, the unofficial capital of the French Riviera, but it worked out for the best (a big thank you to Lenny and his reservation skills--awesome hotel). We were in an area called Saint Laurent du Var at the Novotel across from Cap 3000, the nicest shopping mall in the area. The hotel was a three-star and was somewhere between a Holiday Inn and Embassy Suites. I recommend it to anyone wanting to visit the Riviera. It was also within walking distance to the beach, seaside restaurants and boutiques. Old Nice was about a 10-minute train ride away.
After a day and a half without access to a shower, the hotel shower was unreal. In fact it was the best one that I have had since I've been abroad. Unfortunately, it was
With French Policeman
This was before he asked if we were American, said "I'm sorry" in French, and stopped talking to me. all ruined by the bird that relieved itself on my head on our walk to dinner (picture below, courtesy of the guys who insisted on a photo for posterity). We had a wonderful dinner at a seaside cafe called Le Cabane--delicious salads, seafood, wine and desserts...not to be missed.
Sunday (after a much needed and luxurious sleep) we headed to the beach. It was great to see palm trees. In this part of the Riviera, the beach has no natural sand. Instead it is composed of large pebbles. This doesn't seem to bother the French, who simply laid down a towel and began to work on their tans (but then again, they were also comfortable tanning topless). All of us opted to pay the 17 euro to lay out on the beach chairs atop the imported sand. It's interesting how packed together the seating is. They seem to prefer it to spreading out and relaxing privately.
In addition to enjoying the sun, sand and surf, we also went out on the sea on something called the Flying Fish. This is a large yellow raft thing that deceivingly looks like a banana boat. The ride was really awesome! You
Posing in Agde
Brian and I don our new le Tour de France attire. go three at a time, and, more or less, hold on for dear life as the choppy water and the speed boat bounce you around. I was the first one to fall off, which was a little scary, but I absolutely loved it. Mike and Dylan fell off at the same time, while I managed to hang on. All in all, a good time.
That evening we visited Old Nice for dinner and took a little walk afterward. The area was interesting and lighted up nicely at night, but it was a little crowded, noisy, and even "shady" in spots.
Monday was another travel day, as we headed back to Asolo. Side note: on our train rides we passed through numerous towns, such as Marseille, Cannes (home to the famous film festival) and Monte Carlo (in the tiny country of Monaco--would've loved to stop there). Overall, it was a great weekend!
Friday marks the last day of classes (and finals, yikes!). I'll then be heading to Venice for the day before I return to the States on Saturday. It's ending so soon, but it's been amazing!
I'll try to send another update before I go. Til
Dylan and His Very Large Hand
A sampling of the free stuff they gave out in the parade. then...a presto!
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Megan
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I love that you still manage to get a picture with a policeman! nothing's changed!