Travel another way

Today is the 8th day of the Tour de France!

I’ve just got back from France and I can tell you the attraction for the Tour is still great in the country. Even though I love the event because it brings back memories of hours spent in the heat with my parents or friends, frying in the July sun after a picnic of cantaloupe, saucisson, cheese and bread, I personally cannot understand how people can spend a whole afternoon watching cyclists racing on TV. But I must admit it: it is addictive.

I joined my father for a while and after the second day, I couldn’t wait to know who was wearing the yellow jersey, the polka dot one or the green one. I felt I was accepted in this weird cult where only a few know the meaning of all the different colored jerseys, the names of all the teams and the nationality of any racer (all the little flags next to their names helped a lot). My father allowed me (I had to promise to put it back where “it belonged every day” ) to look up in his precious guide pulled from a local newspaper , I which I could be initiated to the keys of the race.

I’ll let you know more about it soon, but today I must tell you that the day stage of the Tour will end in Toulouse, where I was a few days ago. And you could already see road sign about parking restrictions, cleaning trucks were working their best to turn the “Route d’ Albi” into a kind of Elysian Fields for Saturday’s event.

But more than the race itself, people are mainly looking forward to seeing the Tour de France Trailer: it lasts for a good couple of hours before the race arrives . Big companies such as Michelin, Perrier, Orangina, etc … have floats that drive by with people sending samples and gifts (tee-shirts, hats,…).

That’s the main reason why my nieces Lea and Lucie will be standing there, safely behind the fence, hoping to grab some of the precious Tour de France souvenirs! The race itself will only be a secondary joy for all the kids on the side of the road!

Valerie

map  from http://www.letour.fr/2008/TDF/COURSE/us/le_parcours.html