Stayed Tuned

Stayed tuned for the rest of the trip. The boys are giving me tips and coaching on what I should write about and how I should write it.

In the meantime, a few pictures from Paris...

Switzerland and the Tour de France

Squeal!

As if travelling to Europe wasn't enough to fulfill the "someday dream", David researched where the Tour was going to be and then planned our trip to fulfill the dream of watching a stage of the Tour de France. Once we actually made it to the Tour area, it was AMAZING!

We woke up the morning of July 8th to heavy dark clouds and pouring down rain. But the clouds couldn't dampen our enthusiam (although they did increase my anxiety about driving), so we set off with our picnic lunch, Google map directions, and plastic garbage sacks swiped from the hotel room's garbage cans.

Google maps were spot on for about 70 kilometers of the 180 kilometer trip. And then it all went to pot. At one point in time the directions told us to turn left to stay on a certain highway, but the highway directional sign pointed to the right. Since the directions had been correct up to this point, we followed what the directions said until we lost our nerve, which was all of about 5 minutes. Then we turned around and went back to the intersection and tried the other direction until we lost our nerve again. This time we had driven for about 10 minutes. We turned around again to head back to the intersection. Once we got back to the starting point, we decided to see if there was anyone around who could give us directions (we were in a small town). Yeah, well when you are in a small village in south-eastern France the chance of finding someone who speaks English is almost zero. And since I don't speak French, this was almost an effort in futility. I say almost because I did find a bakery owner and a customer who spoke enough English (this was the second bakery I went into) to know that I was trying to get to the Tour and they could give me some town names to watch for. Yipee! We are back on our way after a half hour delay.

It was smooth sailing for about 10 miles until we missed a left-hand turn we were supposed to make. How did we know we missed the turn? Well, we were sort of following the Google maps directions again since the directions we had received from the nice bakery owner seemed to line-up with the Google directions. So we turned around again and took the left-hand turn. We eventually arrived in Lucelle, one of the towns on the list given to me by the bakery lady. We were so excited, but the excitement was short-lived because in Lucelle there was another fork in the road and no signs to direct us. We thought we would be able to ask a border-crossing guard since Lucelle is on the border of France and Switzerland, but guess what! There was NO ONE at the booth. It was all closed up and the border gate up.

What to do now? Well, fortunately I had printed off the map for Stage 8 and it showed most of the roads, although anyone over 50 wouldn't have been able to read the small, fuzzy words (good thing no one in our party was over 50). So we found Lucelle on the map, oriented ourselves and headed in the direction of the Tour, praying the whole way that we were on the right road. Well I was praying. Carson was chirping in my ear about "why don't I just follow the directions." Really son, what do you think I was trying to do? The directions from Google were wrong. Dave was steady-eddy like he always is and just kept driving. Miraculously, and it really was a God-given miracle, we stumbled upon the yellow directional arrows for the Tour. We followed them right to the col de la Croix.

Because I had made sure we left early enough to give us "get lost time", we arrived at the col right on time. We were able to find a parking place and a great place to watch the race. Actually, there was a bit of a disagreement as to where we should watch the race, but it was eventually settled. The atmosphere was just what I thought it would be...CRAZY and incredible amount of fun. When the riders came by they were RIGHT THERE. I could have patted Mark Cavendish on the back as he went by if I was that kind of spectator. Oh it was fabulous.

Now for some pictures...

Maybe he should have purchased some of their polka dot sunglasses and he could have received a kiss on each cheek for the picture.

Almost at the summit of the climb. This area was packed! once the riders came by. We did not stay here.

Looking up the hill from our watching location.

He waved the flag when the riders went by and got on the Eurosport race feed.

Kessikov--the stage leader for the day. He was caught by Pinot shortly after he passed us.

Look how close they are!

Wish I could identify the riders.

I think this was my favorite part of the whole European trip...even with getting lost. Fortunately the return trip back to the hotel was completely uneventful and David actually got to enjoy driving 160 kph on the Autobahn (yes, France has their own version of the Autobahn.) I am glad I had no idea how fast he was driving!

Still reading? Well here are some tips for watching a stage of the Tour de France live and in person...

• Research the tour by visiting the official website as well as www.velowire.com. The official website will provide stage information and maps as well as links to the websites for the start and finish sites websites. I found the Porrentruy website very helpful in planning our trip. Velowire website is run by bike enthusiast. He researchs and follows the Tour quite closely. He has a section on his website where you can ask questions about specific stages. And the nice thing is, he actually answers your questions! He provided us with information on the best way to approach the col de la Croix as well as what time we should plan on being at the col.
• If you want to watch a mountain stage, watch one in Switzerland if possible. It appeared to us, and was confirmed by a couple of different spectators who watch the Tour every year, that the mountain stages in Switzerland are not as popular and the roads stay open longer. Matter of fact, even though there was a barrier up to block the road, cars were still driving up the route when we arrived at 10 a.m...five hours before the expected arrival time of the publicity caravan. In France, the roads are closed by 6 p.m. the night before, if not earlier. I know that sometimes the roads are closed up to a week in advance on some of the French mountain stages.
• If you want to get stuff from the publicity caravan, be in an area that isn't totally crammed with people. And make eye contact with the person distributing the stuff. Oh, and don't be afraid to climb down the hill to get the stuff that might have overshot the mark.
• Want a water bottle? Make sure you are close to the top of the last climb of the day and that there isn't a great distance to the finish line. Then place yourself on the right hand side of the road so you can talk to the mechanic who sits on the passenger side of the team car. Finally, dress in a biking kit and hold up your water bottle to indicate you want a replacement. We, of course, didn't do this but we watched a fellow spectator follow this whole procedure and she successfully received 4 water bottles; 2 each from 2 different team cars.
• Make friends with those sitting around you because you're going to be with them for several hours. The boy in the green shirt behind us in the last picture spoke English and could fill us in on what was happening in the race because he was listening on his iPhone. We also found out he followed Gonzaga basketball because of Rony Tourioff. Small world.

The polka dot jerseys and caps were some of the promotional items distributed by the publicity caravan. So much fun!

Colmar, France

Our visit to Colmar was one afternoon and one morning with a road trip to Switzerland sandwhiched inbetween.

Highlights from Colmar:

Yep, another castle. This one is called Haut-Koenigsbourg Chateau

Looking up to the keep

The original castle well

View from the top watch tower

This castle is perched high on a hill in the Alsace region. The route up to the castle follows the "wine road", so named because of all the vineyards you drive through. You also pass through a quaint little village on the way up. There plenty of places to pull out and have a picnic if you so chose. The castle was restored in the early 20th century and furnished to represent what would have been seen during the 15th and 17th centuries. Our little history buff (Carson) thoroughly enjoyed spending the afternoon there.

We also enjoyed the morning we spent walking through the section of Colmar known as Petite Venice.

There is not a straight street in Colmar and it is very easy to get turned around. Fortunately, there are two churches in the center of town which have very tall steeples and you can use them to navigate by. I admit that we had to do that on more than one or two occasions.

Colmar also is the birthplace of the sculptor who created the Statue of Liberty, Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi. There is a museum in town in his honor, but we didn't make it to that. We did, however, get a picture of replica of the Statue of Liberty that was erected in his honor.

Other memories from Colmar:
"Cabbage or condom?" That was the question a street performer dressed in women's clothing, tiara, and blowing a horn asked me as we were strolling along the streets. He and his entourage were trying to get people to buy either a quarter of a cabbage or a condom. I opted for the cabbage.

"You go to the place where there is something that is round" were the directions we got from a McDonald's worker who was trying to give us directions. She was referring to the traffic circle we needed to get to. Those traffic circles and no straight streets caused a few "Griswold" moments and a couple of irrate drivers.

"I don't know how you pay with cash" was the answer we received when we asked the hotel clerk how to pay cash at the petrol station. We even rephrased the question and asked how to pay with euros just to make sure that phrasology wasn't the issue. The hotel clerk said everyone just pays with credit at the particular petrol station she suggested we use. The problem is we had tried the night before to fill up the rental car at that station and all of our cards were rejected. We did find another station that had an attendant so we could pay with euros.

Travelling tips:

Even though the Rick Steves' France guidebook says the Unterlinden Museum ticket also gets you into the Dominican church it is not the case. The Dominican Church still wants their 1.50 euro admission, but I'm not sure it is worth it. The Unterlinden Museum, however, is worth the 8 euro admission price. The artwork in there is phenomenal and they provide you with a free audiotour.

The food from this region is quite tasty and heavily influenced by their German roots. David had an Alsatian dish that I wish I could remember the name of, but was quite tasty. It was a pork roast baked inside bread and at some point soaked in wine--I think prior to baking. I would highly recommend the little restraunt we ate at in Colmar. It is family-owned and kitty-corner from the Unterlinden museum.

Auf Wiedersehen, Heidelberg

All the hydrangeas I saw were this vibrant pink

We finished up our visit to Heidelberg by touring some of the beautiful churches in the area and taking the Philosophers' Walk--a winding walk up the hillside across the Rhine river from Old Heidelberg.

I was unprepared for the feelings that were felt as I gazed upon some of the crucifixes in the churches. There was one in particular that was so graphic with its depiction of the blood coming from Christ's hands, feet, and head and the wound in his side with the flesh ripped back. Our Mormon culture does not really focus much on the cross or the suffering that occurred on the cross so seeing those images displayed in the Catholic cathedrals was a little disconcerting quite uncomfortable for me. Nevertheless, there was also a feeling of reverance and appreciation for Christ and His suffering for me.

The Philosophers' Walk, so named because of the philosophers that were said to regularly make this walk and mediate along the route, was beautiful as it wound us up through the hillside and old orchards and vineyards. There was a beautiful view from the top even though I neglected to take any photos.

On the Philosophers' Walk trail

I realized that looking at these pictures might make it seem like we wore the same clothes 2 days in a row, but we toured the castle and the Philosophers' Walk on the same day even though that's not how I blogged about it.

After the walk, we strolled back through the old town once more and stumbled upon this group of street performers.

They were quite a lively bunch and it was fun to watch them perform. The music and singing weren't half bad either...much better than the singing we heard every night after the pubs had closed.

One final picture from Heidelberg...

And a travelling tip...
Don't make the same mistake I did and order a sausage salad thinking you will get a regular salad with some sausage on it because that is not what you will get. Not. At. All. What you will get will look like a big pile of noodles, but is actually a big pile of shredded sausage with some pickles and pickled peppers mixed in. Fortunately, I like sausage and this was a mild sausage (probably a wurst of some kind) and since that was my dinner, I had to eat it. Still, it took me a couple of seconds to summon up enough courage to try it.

Heidelberg, Germany

Castle that sits on the hill above Heidelberg

Thoughts and impressions:

It seems impossible that I'm really here was the first thought that went through my head. I've been dreaming of visiting Europe for so long and now here it is. I know I should be more excited, and maybe even a little goose-pimply, to be surrounded by buildings that were built even before the USA was established, but truth be told I'm having trouble feeling the excitement. I am too worried that perhaps this trip is too much, too extravagant, that maybe we should be using the money spent on this trip feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. It took me a day or two and several prayers to not feel guilty and relax enough to enjoy the trip.

Old Heidelberg, where we stayed, is a beautiful village that still has a very much "old world" feel with cobblestone streets and old timbered buildings. Our hotel looked over the old town hall and town square. There was a fountain in the middle of square where the night watchman would start his town tour every night.

The night watchman

The square stayed busy all night long. And I mean all night. Because our hotel did not have air-conditioning and we had to leave the windows open, we were quite aware of how busy it stayed. Dave and I both were awakened both nights we stayed in Heidelberg to the boisterous singing of drunk Germans. They sang from 2 a.m. to about 5 a.m. in the town square before stumbling off to their own homes. Carson remained completely unaware of the seranading as he slept like a rock.

I really enjoyed the location of our hotel, but if I were to stay there again, I would bring ear plugs and ask for a fan.

Where we stayed while in Heidelberg

One of the reasons we chose to start our trip in Heidelberg is because of the castle that sits above the town. It did not disappoint.

A picture of the old castle wall

Looking across the courtyard

Wine keg from either the 1500's or 1600's

In the wine cellar

Stayed tune tomorrow for some more pictures and memories of Heidelberg.

Summer Vacation

It's summer time and summer time means a summer vacation. This year's vacation had an interesting genesis.

For Katelyn's high school graduation gift, my parents took her on a river cruise down the Danube River. They then finished up the trip in Paris. I have always wanted to travel to Paris, well actually anywhere in Europe, so Paris was just fine. My parents and Katelyn were only going to be in Paris for 4 days. I was so excited at the thought of meeting them there. David, however, thought it preposterous to spend money on hotel, airfare, and food for only four days so he nixed the idea rather quickly.

I was pretty disappointed but I did understand his reasoning so I adjusted to not going to Paris. Not long after this decision was made, we were watching the movie "Up" (I hadn't ever seen it before, but David had). As we were watching the movie, Dave was busy on the laptop and jotting down notes. After a bit, I asked him what he was doing. He said he was pricing flights to Europe, hotel prices, etc. Basically, he was planning our "great adventure" because he didn't want to be the old guy in the movie.

And that is how our European vacation came to be. And instead of 4 days in Paris, we spent 10 days in Germany, Switzerland, and France. Over the next few days I will share pictures, highlights, and tips gleaned from our vacation.

It Started on Saturday

July's greatest time suck (for me) started on Saturday.

Do you know what it is?

It is the Tour de France.

I love watching the race.

Every morning, after my workout, I'm planted in front of the television until about 9 a.m.

Watching and cheering on my favorite riders.

This year my most favorite rider, Andy Schleck, broke his pelvis and isn't riding in the Tour.

So sad.

Watching the tour, even without Andy riding, makes me want to visit France to watch a stage in person.

Well, maybe someday.

But until then, I will be watching every morning...and not doing much else hence the "time suck" designation.