A Quiet Day

After our day at le Tour, Peter and I had to regroup.

Then dinner in the square, with an over-enthusiastic singer/dancer with aspirations beyond his abilities. Still, un litre de cidre helped.

Breakfast Friday morning, and the best pain au raisin we've found so far.

In some Roman ruins on the outskirts of St Remy

 

Then a long walk through the surrounding countryside following van Gogh's footsteps and looking at examples of his works. He spent some time in the assylum here in St Remy, and was allowed to wander the countryside, painting. In 1889, he produced over 300 paintings, many of them irises.

The assyluim was built in the Toorak/Vauclause area of St Remy. Very swish.

 

Autumn is coming!

 

 

Back to town, and we managed to distract Anne from this shop.

These are called Nostradamus biscuits. I make no prediction of their effect on our systems!

Ice cream in rue Carnot after dinner

I can't help feeling that the pig might put this guy off his tucker.

Our street

Our street.

Le Tour Part 2

The neutral support car ......

.... and the official moto .....

... and one of about six helicopters.

Here they come!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Middle, left hand side of this photo shows the elbow of the maillot jaune

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then the team support cars. That's Orica Green Edge on the left .....

... and then, as the blue van says, "fin de course"

Three hours of heat, wind and laboured conversations with a friendly French family, and then the peleton was gone in 60 seconds. We came home elated!

Le Tour part 1

We'd been hanging out for the Tour, and finally the day arrived. Stage 6, Thursday 4th July.

No matter what they claim, it was not an Anne-Catherine production

And we had to tell Peter to stop trying to steal the limelight.

We arrived on the road to Les Baux, about 10 km over the range from St Remy,
and our first sight was .....

... a family of cyclists from Phillip Island.

Just after we arrived, the Gendarmerie closed off the road ......

... in both directions.

Typical French road sign. This is on a T-intersection at the junction of the D5 and the D17.

We were parked on this corner, under the tree.

An outrider of le Caravan.

An innocent bystander

Waiting, waiting .......

A Frenchman who owns a restaurant in Avalon, on Sydney's northern beaches, grafitti-ing the road.

A bit of local colour.

Two yellow jerseys!

At last, Le Caravan, which went on for over an hour.

 

 

 

Waiting, waiting ......

 

Waiting, waiting .........