Tag Archives: sports

Time For The Tour de France

It’s that time again — the 3 weeks of each year when my husband’s concentration is fixed on the Tour de France. Unfortunately we aren’t in France this year — we’re back in Melbourne, Australia.

Mark saw the Tour live in Normandy in 2011 when we were living there — and then he saw the Tour live again last year in the South of France when we lived in the Midi-Pyrenees. Ah well — television coverage will have to do for this year.

But you DO know that your sweetie is a ‘cycling tragic’ (fanatic) when he decorates his hard hat from work with Polka Dot Jersey red dots!

An homage to the Polka Dot Jersey in the Tour de France on Mark’s hardhat

Back soon!

Farewell To The Festival

The 4 day summer music festival in St. Girons, France has just come to an end and I shall certainly miss the level of activity in town.

Oh wait — ANOTHER TWO multi-day festivals begin this coming weekend!

I’m not quite sure what the next event had to do with this past weekend’s music festival, but it was certainly listed on the official schedule. The petanque tournament was on a very hot and sunny Monday afternoon and when I arrived, I was quite surprised to see about 100 men of all ages participating in what was clearly a multi-generational event.

Men of all ages playing petanque in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France

A tired-looking referee paced up and down the gravel trying to keep an attentive eye on the multiple competition teams that were all playing at the same time.

The referee in a striped shirt tried to manage the multiple petanque games which were all played at the same time in St. Girons, France.

And there were the occasional ‘debates’ about the just-completed toss.

A friendly discussion about a just completed game of petanque in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France

As I passed the old riverside chateau, the Palais des Viscomtes, I could see that the scaffolding crew were busy disassembling the large framework that had supported the lights, speakers, and cameras during the weekend music festival.

Workers removing the scaffolding used for lights, speakers, & cameras at a music festival in St. Girons, France

The concluding event was a fireworks display to be set off from the gardens of the old chateau which are just a few blocks from our apartment here in St. Girons. We had been rather disappointed at the level of fireworks on Bastille Day, so we didn’t walk down to the park for the fireworks which were meant to start at 10:30 PM. But at 11:00 PM, the sky erupted and the fireworks went on for at least 20-30 minutes. It was immediately clear that the festival committee had splashed out with the fireworks budget because what we were seeing was nothing like the subdued pop-pop-pop of the Bastille Day fireworks.

Fireworks in St. Girons, France

They were splendid! And we had a wonderful view from the balcony of our apartment. I probably got much clearer photographs from that elevated position than I would have from a standing position under the trees of the chateau’s garden.

Fireworks in St. Girons, France

Relaxing on a Tour De France Sunday

How to spend a gloomy and gray Sunday in St. Girons in the South of France? Sit alongside a very happy husband watching the live coverage on television.

Live Tour de France coverage on television

Can you see what’s on the console in front of the flatscreen TV? Those little pieces of sculpture are two cyclists that we bought in a shop in St. Lo up in Normandy. And the red and white polka dot hat is a souvenir from a previous Tour de France.

More soon!

A Glimpse of Cycling Heaven in the Midi-Pyrenees

Almost a year ago, Mark got a chance to fulfil a long-held dream and go to see the Tour de France during one of the stages in Normandy. Little did we know back then that we would end up living in France and Mark would get to immerse himself in Cycling Heaven here in Europe.

It has been a rainy weekend — gray, yucky, not a good set of circumstances for walking around with expensive camera gear — so we’ve just stayed snuggled up in the house. And Mark has been rather run down with a bad case of bronchitis that, in spite of the meds that our new doctor gave him, he’s fighting to shake off.

But what excitement there was in his voice when he got up from watching a movie yesterday afternoon because he heard a lot of honking and noise coming through our teeny-tiny-village and then I hear him say excitedly, “Here they come!” Something made me grab my camera as I raced to the kitchen window at the front of the house and arrived just as the first cyclists were going by.

Here come the lead cyclists as they race through Engomer in the Midi-Pyrenees of France

Zoom! The cluster of men on bicycles was a blur — literally! You can see the sign on the other side of the road that states Salle des Fetes and Tennis Court quite clearly, but the cyclists themselves were a true example of ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ action.

A blur of cyclists pass the front of our house in the Midi-Pyrenees of France

They were followed by more police and ambulance services and several support vehicles with spare bikes on top. Then the clump of people and vehicles in this organised racing event wove their way through the valley and were gone in less than a minute.

We’re just entering the beginning of the cycling season and there will be a lot more such events, not to mention the Tour de France, in the coming months. What fun this is for a diehard cycle nut like my darling husband!

Photo Of The Day: Guess What Is Coming To Town?

This may not get everyone’s blood pumping, but my cycle-mad husband was quite excited when he figured out what the sign said that I was photographing. This sign was on the sidewalk in Mortain in Normandy, northern France. Just a few more weeks to go!

Signs announcing the imminent arrival of the Tour de France

A Wanderful Life

The Neverending Journey