French Riviera - Part 2

Bonjour All,

The top 3 photos are of the Gorges du Verdon (as mentioned last time).

Well all of our friends and family have left us now. Mum and Chrisitine left for 2 days in Geneva on Saturday. That morning, Mum, Christine and I went parasailing. Mum had made the comment to me the day before that she thought it might be "a bit tame". I agreed wholeheartedly with this but we thought we would do it anyway. Well as it turns out I found it pretty damn scary! We got off to a good start with our boat driver as he was wearing a NZ cap. We told him we were from NZ which put us on the right foot straight away - we ended up with a 30mins ride instead of the usual 10mins trip! We actually went up pretty high - it sure was a long way down and I didn't feel too secure in my oversized harness. I felt like it would be really easy to climb out of it if I had wanted to. We were taken down and dunked in the water several times (just as an aside, wearing a bikini for this one is not ideal!) which was awesome fun. Mum and Christine were not even slightly concerned about the height and were even taking their hands off to point at things - not me though - my arms were so sore afterwards from hanging on for dare life! Jase took the photos of us above in the boat and in the parasail. Awesome views up there!

Since then we have just really chilled out at the beach. I swam 3.2km in the open water the other day. I look like a bit of a nutter swimming with a pool buoy between my legs but c'est la vie! Jase comes with me for some of it - he generally kicks my butt for 5mins then he's stuffed and can't go on! I think his bike training hasn't translated!

Tomorrow night we will head to Cannes for the fireworks display (let's hope we have gotten the day and time right this time!). On Saturday we head to the Costa Brava.

Au revior pour maintenant
Jeanette

The French Riviera

Bonjour all

We are now down on the French Riviera mixing it with the rich and famous! We have seen plenty of rich but if we have seen anyone famous we don’t know who they are!

Our last night in Bourg was a little sad. We had dinner then went to our favourite café to say goodbye to Marina – the girl who has helped me quite a bit with my French. She gave us a little farewell speech which again almost had Mum in tears! She had also packaged up a little packet of homemade chocolates for me. When we left the café, Mum burst into tears, which then set me off. That night I also said my goodbyes to the old couple Jean and Giselle downstairs. They wanted to know what time we would be leaving and said they would be up to see us off. Sure enough, there they were first thing in the morning waving us goodbye. I have taken their address so I can send them a postcard from home when we are back – that will test my French!

On Sunday we spent the whole day travelling down to Antibes/Juan Les Pins. We took a scenic route (thanks Dean and Sara for the info!) through the Gorges du Verdon – an awesome canyon. We stopped for lunch at a cool little town called Moustiers-Saint-Marie just before the Gorge – definitely worth a look if you ever have time. The temperatures were into the mid-30’s the whole way down, making us very grateful for the air conditioning in the car.

Our apartment room here in Antibes/Juan Les Pins is in the perfect location – we have a supermarket downstairs, our own shopping centre with restaurants etc, and the beach is about 100m away. The whole French Riviera is absolutely beautiful! I wasn’t sure what to expect – I thought all the beaches would be pebbles and that it would be quite dirty, but it is quite the opposite. Our beach is sandy and the water is so warm. We have made a couple of day trips so far – one to Monaco which is an absolutely beautiful place. The views are amazing. We also went to Cannes, which was a cool place – so much to look at. A lot of people (not all) seem to dress up so much to go to the beach (in Cannes) - all the women are caked in makeup and in clothing I would consider suitable to wear to a wedding! We of course rocked on in wearing shorts and singlet tops, but we didn’t care – it was mid-30’s again!

I have been swimming in the sea here instead of the pool. Mum kept encouraging me to do so – think she may have noticed a mood change without the endorphins! It is way different swimming in the open water – I actually felt a little seasick at times when the boat wake hit me. It is certainly a lot easier at sea level than at altitude and I can now go back to breathing both sides every 3 strokes. The water is so salty and buoyant also, and it is a hell of a lot more interesting looking at small fish and rocks etc than the bottom of a pool. I have been swimming about 50 minutes at a time and Christine has been joining me for half of it which is great, especially since we appear to be about the same speed.

Yesterday we had a bit of a blow-out. We headed into Cannes at around 6.30pm to do some shopping, have dinner and then watch a fireworks display. Unfortunately when we got there the shops were all closing, we couldn’t really find a good place for dinner (unless we mortgaged the house!), and the fireworks were actually on the night before!! So we came back here and had dinner on the beach front.

Mum is having a great time here and is doing so well with her French. She managed to order at McD’s all on her own and totally in French – although we did have a laugh when she came back to the table with a Poulet Wrap (she had tried to order a Peche Frappe)! She also had a minor blunder at our apartment when she became confused in the bathroom and let’s just say there was an incident involving the b-day! As Christine is saying ‘what goes on tour stays on tour’ – although please remember to ask her about it – it is hilarious!!

Mum and Christine leave on Sunday for 2 days in Geneva with Pauline and Lex. Jase and I will stay here for another week as we love it here!

J

Parapenting off the Alpe d'Huez!

Bonjour all

Just to reiterate from the last blog - I met Lance! Truly exciting and still keeps me too excited to sleep at night when I think about it!

Anyway...
On Thursday afternoon Jase took Pauline and Lex to Lyon as they were flying to Rome to meet Scott and Nicki the next day. Mum, Christine, Titch and I went to the Vaujany pool in the afternoon so I could do my 1hr swim. The pool was busy for a change and I had to re-employ some of the aggressive passing manoeuvres I had come up with when swimming with the German oldies. Christine advised me that I had no 'pool etiquette' but as I told her I have no plans to become a swimmer so it doesn't matter!

On Friday Titch and Mary hired road bikes and did an Alpe d'Huez TT. The little Irish one surprised all with a pretty racey time and congratulated herself with a nutella crepe at the top! Christine and Jase rode the Col de la Croix de fer - in 35 degrees! Mum and I went to the Vaujany pool as I wanted to say goodbye to the lady who works mornings up there because she is so nice and has really helped me with conversational French. Mum was the only one who became emotional at the farewell, which was interesting as she had never even met the woman before!! I only swam Quatre-vingts lengths (80 - I count my lengths in French as it has helped relieve the boredom of staring at the bottom of the pool, and has helped me learn to count to 100!) as I was tired from swimming the night before. My shoulders and arms have gotten a bit bigger, and my legs are now little sticks - not really the right recipe for biking but hopefully that will change in the future. I have finally accepted that this is the situation and I just have to go with it for now.

Yesterday afternoon Jase, Mum, Christine, Titch and I headed up the Alpe d'Huez to look at the shops. Jase the legend bought me an awesome ski jacket to replace my jacket that was stolen in Australia last year. The winter gear is so cheap here but I guess it is because it is out of season.

This morning the alarms went off at 6am (major shock to the system!). We picked up Titch and Mary at 6.30am and I drove the team up the Alpe d'Huez for an early morning parapente! The four of them absolutely loved it! I stood at a vantage point and got an amazing photo of Mum as the guy with her saw me so came really close. Unfortunately I can't put it on here as we don't have the technology! We will pick up the CD of professional photos soon so will see what I can do (well let's be realistic here... what Jase can do!).

We strolled around the markets this morning and then said our tearful goodbyes to Mary and Titch. COME BACK TO NZ TITCHER!!!!! I have also said my goodbyes to my French helping 'friend' Arnold Gerard, and will say goodbye to our elderly neighbours (Jean and Giselle) soon. They are fantastic - can't believe they are 82 and 80! They now sit outside waiting for us each day so I can tell them in my broken French what we have done that day! Will also head to the local cafe to say 'Au revoir' to our favourite waitress Marina. Very sad, but next time I return it will be even better with my bike!

Jase and Christine have just returned from their last ride here in Bourg. Tomorrow we are driving via the Gorges du Verdon to the French Riviera (Antibes). Mum, Christine, Jase and I will stay there for the week, before Mum and Christine fly to Geneva and Jase and I head to the Costa Brava. We may not have internet access there so please don't be offended if we don't reply to your emails straight away.

Au revoir to Bourg
J

Meeting Lance (!!!!) (and the devil's pitchfork)

Bonjour

Well lets just jump this straight to the tour - the highlight of my trip! On Tuesday morning we all set off over the Col de la Croix de fer to St Jean de Maurienne (the finish of stage 9). It was a super hot day, so we managed to find a good spot in the shade under the big screen. The 'caravan' that arrives and throws out junk prior to the tour kept mum busy for a long time. She was stoked with her 5 tour hats! I joined in to get Lex more junk to take home which he happily stashed away in his bag!

It was a long day in the sun and about 30mins before the riders were due to arrive Jase and I decided we had a big decision to make... do we go to the Radioshack bus and attempt to meet Lance (which the guy at the Livestrong tent told me would be totally impossible) and risk missing the race????... or do we watch the end of the race which was proving to be rather exciting with Schleck and Contador dueling????..... hmmmmmm. We opted for an attempt at meeting Lance so walked about 2.5km to the Radioshack bus - it was parked way further away than all the other buses - probably to keep stalkers like us at bay!

Lance was the first rider to appear after the race. He rode straight to the door of the bus and then straight into the shower. I was not alarmed at missing him as the guys at the door had told me and a Canadian woman and her son that this would be what would happen. He is really small - but I guess they all are. The team mechanic admired my NZ flag as he is a kiwi - this made the Canadian girl next to me nervous that I had the upper hand - but as I told her, she had the child with her which always scores browny points! We then waited patiently as Lance came out and spoke with the reporters. He then signalled for us to come over to him as he was getting into the car. I was the only one who actually got to speak to Lance - he was just signing things for the others. I had planned my vocab in the off-chance I would get to speak to him... I suspected it would be very brief if at all, so I had to really think about what I would say to the biggest legend on the planet.... Here is how it unfolded.....

"Hi Lance"... passed my SportsMed pen and paper over to him... JG: "Lance - you've gotta come to New Zealand"..... LA: "That's what they keep telling me"....JG: "That's because it's a great place - you have to come".... LA: smiled.... JG: "All the best for the tour - thanks so much for your time". Highlight of my day and actually my year! Photos above - me blonde hair - Lance hat on.

We then went to see Fabian - unfortunately just missed him but saw him getting in to the bus. Also missed Jens, but saw some of the other Saxo bank riders. Then went and had a chat to Julian Dean. He came out of the bus especially to speak to us as one of his team had told him the NZ flag was outside. He is so nice and even asked us all about our trip - he looked pretty tired as they all did and said it was a really tough mountain stage and that the pace was on from the start.

The trip home was pretty slow, and it was still in the 30's. As we approached a small river, we saw an older man standing stark naked beside his van. Turns out it was the tour devil - a German guy who dresses up as the devil and follows the entire tour every year... Let's just say I have now seen his pitchfork!! Think I prefer him in his tight lycra costume! We gave him a toot and a cheer and continued on our way!

Yesterday we set off again to watch the tour. Christine and Jase biked over, and Mum, Mary, Titch and I drove. We positioned ourselves about 2km from the summit of the first big climb, and wrote a big "KIWI" on the road in yellow chalk. It was another fun but hot day, and good to see that the riders were actually tired and riding slowly after the day before. We ran into Amanda and Michael from Christchurch. Amanda had been told by a woman in a shop that the temperature had reached 40 degrees!!

Today Pauline and Lex head to Lyon and then tomorrow onto Rome to meet up with Scott and Nicki. The rest of us will head to the pool this afternoon and tomorrow Mum and the girls are parapenting off the Alpe d'Huez.

A Bientot
Lance's bud!

Glacier and Lakes

Bonjour

Well the mad little Irish woman (Titch) has landed as you will see from the photos (when I get around to putting them on...yes me - I can finally almost do it myself!).

Yesterday we all went to La Grave and then up to La Meije glacier via the cable car. It was a beautiful day and the views were amazing. We also went to the under glacier ice sculpture museum which was absolutely awesome.

When we arrived back Jase, Christine and I sat glued to the Tour de France on TV while Mum, Lex and Pauline hired mountain bikes and cruised around the streets of Bourg and up to a waterfall on an 'Off Road" track (!!). I am gutted for Lance - he is my hero and I am so disappointed that he had such a day of bad luck that has cost him any chance in the tour... on the upside he may have more time for PR, so my chances of meeting him may be increased!! Lance stalking begins tomorrow when we head to Saint Jean de Maurienne to watch the end of the 9th stage.

Last night we headed out to 'hissing sid's' (aka La Ramonche) restaurant. I have forgiven the hissing dutchman as his restaurant really is the best in town. I have also buttered him up by ordering wine, and informing him that if Spain won the World Cup, NZ would be the only undefeated team in the competition. He seemed to find this amusing and congratulated us!

The entire restaurant was filled with Dutch supporters, and one poor lone Spanish supporter! It was a pretty good atmosphere and good to see the result of NZ being the only undefeated team (hopefully my facts are right!!).

Today Christine and Jase set off for a ride, and Mum, Lex, Pauline and I headed up to the Vaujany pool for my well needed dose of endorphins. Then this afternoon we all went up the Alpe d'Huez and the beautiful lakes above it. This was followed by a 4 euro coffee (!!) and back to Bourg for Christine's vegetarian cooking. Lex didn't quite know what to make of this, but think he may have been pleasantly surprised that vegetarian food can be ok afterall!

It is super hot tonight, so we all headed out for a walk after dinner and ended up at our favourite cafe. Not sure my waitress friend Marina knew what to expect when 'the circus' arrived! I have also made friends with 'Vegas' - a huge dog who lived just down the road. I have also spoken with the girl who owns him several times, and she has helped with my French. She saw me in town and came over and told me that Vegas died on Saturday - gutted...

If anyone needs to contact me in my cell phone has been returned.

J

Back in the Alpes

Bonjour

Well we had a great time in Paris. On the final day we went to Sacre Coeur, wandered down through the markets, went on a boat ride on the Seine, looked at the shops, and even saw a guy we went to Physed School with 15 years ago when we were under the Eiffel Tour.

On Thursday we all travelled back to the Alpes - it was an experience for the parents who had to contend with some walking with their luggage, 2 Metro rides, and then the TGV to Lyon, and finally 1.30-2hr car journey to our paradise home of Bourg d'Oisans.

It has been so hot the last few days - 30-35 degrees! Yesterday Jase and Christine set off on their bikes to the Galibier, so I drove Mum, Pauline and Lex up there via La Grave, and the Col du Lautaret. Mum was a little nervous on the steep mountain roads, and Lex was told off several times for being a 'front seat driver' but we all coped well! We met the cyclists at the top of the Galibier, then headed down to the Lautaret for some lunch. I practised my French to the waiter and reminded him that last time I was there it was freezing and he had given me a bath robe to keep warm. Mum then tried some of her French on the waiter - she told him the restaurant was very comfortable - he couldn't stop laughing and said that a woman shouldn't say that... we are still unsure why!

Later that afternoon everyone (other than Jase who opted for his 2nd cooking night of the trip!!) came to the Vaujany pool with me. I swam for 1hr, and everytime I swam up the pool and breathed to the right I could see Lex, Pauline, Mum and Christine doing their own water aerobics class in the middle of the pool. Jase would have been relieved he didn't come!

Last night we headed into town for the local 'Cabaret evening' - i.e., some French geezer singing old songs badly (some in French, some in English, and some half and half). Lex is most intrigued by receipts for anything we have done or eaten, and to Pauline's disgust is collecting them all. I find it particularly useful as it is like having a portable rubbish bin with us! I even cleaned out my wallet the other day and he claimed a few things!

This morning Jase and Lex drove Mum, Christine and I to the village of Notre Dame. Poor Mum was beside herself on the drive up - the road is not great to be fair - massive drop offs and a tiny narrow road. I don't think she will be so concerned about the roads in the Sounds any more! Mum, Christine and I then walked along the mountain and then down a bush track from the top back into the village of Bourg.

Now I am off to Grenoble airport to pick up the mad little Irish woman - aka Titch!

Will attach photos soon
J

Paris!

Bonjour all
Well here we are in Paris! Jase and I caught the train up to Paris on Sunday 4th. We met Jase's parents here. It is their first time in Europe, and they are having a ball! Before here they have been in London staying with Jase's mum's brother, and then to Barcelona which they both loved. They had some good stories to tell of their travels - the most amusing being the cell phone story...They bought a new cell phone in Spain but couldn't get it to work, so spent considerable time trying to get it to work, and had to phone us from their hotel - Jase told them to go in to a Vodafone shop to get it sorted. The next day they spent alot of time looking for a vodafone shop and finally found one and went in and explained that the phone wouldn't work - they gave it to the man behind the counter, who took one look at it and then said it may help if they turned it on!!! That is something I would do! Classic!!!

The next day (yesterday) Mum and Christine arrived. Christine has just spent 2 weeks in Corsica with the mad Irish woman (aka Titch). She is so tanned, and has had a great time cycling and sightseeing on the island. This is the first time Mum has been to France, and the first time she has traveled on her own, so a big trip for her. We spent the day showing the parents around the city - we went to the Champs Elysees, Arc De Triumphe, Louvre, StarBucks (!), Hard Rock Cafe (good French cuisine!), and the Galeries Lafayette.

Yesterday I had a terrifying experience - most people know that I hate birds... well lets just say that the bloody pigeons here have faulty radar! Christine and I had just been to the toilet in Mc Donalds, and were about to cross the road to join the others when a damn pigeon flew down and actually hit me on the head!! I was terrified! I spent the the next few hours pretty much jumping out of my skin when I saw any pigeon fly in the vicinity, and embarrassed the others by walking like the hunch back of Notre Dame!

Today we went to the Eiffel tower. Jase and I sat at the bottom whilst the others took the 650 stairs to the first level, then the elevator to the top. They got some great shots of Paris from up there too, and they all agree that it was the highlight of their Paris experience so far. We then walked towards the Notre Dame Cathedal - and stopped for lunch along the way at a Boulangerie Restaurant. Hmmmmm - not a cheap lunch by all accounts - the cokes were 9 Euros each! We were unaware of the cost until we went to pay. Needless to say we are having salad and baguettes at home for dinner tonight! I did buy a new bag - pretty trendy for me, and a good replacement for my skody kathmandu bag that Katrina (S) from work advised me needed replacing a long time ago!

We have checked the Marmotte results - and a quick summary was that all of our 'team' were placed in the top 6 or 700 riders, which is pretty impressive when the field start number was 7000! Meg did exceptionally well placing 5th in her age group for the women!!

Hope you are all well back home. Will attach some photos when we are back in Bourg...
Jeanette

La Marmotte update

Bonjour
Well that was a long and very very hot day! - it was mid 30's up the Alpe d'Huez I reckon, so I hate to think how hot it was in the valleys. The team all did extremely well. I don't have placings but I have times. Will update with placings later, but they were all well up the field!
Matt Jones: 7hrs 42mins
Jason H: 7hrs 53mins
Jason G: 7hrs 59
Megan H: 8hrs 13mins

Both Jason's reckoned they drank around15 bottles!

Jeanette - the proud supporter!

The Marmotte is underway!

I am not sure why I am doing this now- I think it is because I am so incredibly nervous!! I have just returned from the Marmotte start - it was amazing seeing 7000 riders all lined up on the narrow streets! I think I am more nervous (or as nervous) when Jase and my friends are racing, than when I am racing myself! I think it's also worse because nothing is in my control - I simply have to wait (7.45 hours +) - aaaaahhhhhhhh!!!

Everyone seemed pretty relaxed down at the start though and all got away smoothly. I did see one of my former patients from Christchurch at the start, which was quite funny in a sea of probably mainly Dutch men, so went up and said hello. I also managed to see 4 girls in total - although I am sure there are more - I am just not impressed by this at all. Where are they?

Well not much more to report - I will send an update sometime after the finish. Jase and I are heading to Paris tomorrow morning for 4 days - to meet the Gerries, Mum, and Christine - so that should be fun.

My cell phone has also been located - Matt had left it in the van of the couple who gave them a lift off the Galibier in the bad weather. The phone is now being sent to the local post office, so I should have it when we are back from Paris if anyone needs to contact me.

Time to twiddle my thumbs...
J

La Meije and more

Bonjour all

Well we still haven't uploaded the photos - they are coming!

Tuesday was a pretty quiet day by all accounts. No-one was moving very fast or very far after the sagas of Monday. We spent a bit of time at the local cafe, and in the afternoon the thunder storms set in. They are so amazing here as we are nestled in among the mountains and the thunder is just so loud!

Wednesday signalled the end of my downhill running unfortunately. I did have a great adventure but it was just too much and how sick I am now feeling after running is just not worth it. The others all went riding, so Jenny and I drove to the top of the Notre Dame road. It is an awesome road, with some long dark tunnels and steep drop offs. Our original plan was to run back down the road through the tunnels with Jase and Meg's head torch, but when we reached the top we saw a sign posted track which looked a little more exciting. Unfortunately some of the run was flat and slightly uphill, and even though I walked these bits, it was too much.

Later that afternoon Meg and I went to the local pool for some sunbathing. It certainly isn't a lane swimming pool - chaos everywhere! Great to cool down at least - the weather here has really improved - we are now in the late 20's-early 30's.

That night our sink wasn't draining. I told the others not to worry because I have done some basic plumbing before, and that if I wasn't a physio, maybe I consider plumbing as I enjoy it (there would be one exception though - no toilets!). It seemed to cause widespread amusement as I sat down on the kitchen floor and proceeded to pull apart all the pipes. Jase G simply left the room, Jenny and Jase H disappeared, Matt got out the camera and started to take photos, the kids thought it was a great joke, and Meg was in histerics when she passed me a bowl to catch the water (and when I said..."ah yes - sometimes I don't fully think things through"). To sum up - they all had absolutely no faith in my plumbing abilities, and 'Voila' I fixed the problem myself!

Yesterday morning we all set off for La Grave. From there we caught a cable car up the mountain to 3200m. It was a beautiful day, and the scenery was absolutely spectacular - although I was initially a little nervous as the cable car crossed the valley - it was fairly high! We took some awesome photos which I (hmmm - actually still Jase!) will attach. In the afternoon we drove up the Alpe d'Huez to the La Marmotte race registration. It was a hugely painless experience given that there are 7000 entrants. I think Meg will be one of maybe 100 females in the event - it is pretty disappointing actually - where are all the girls???

Last night we all headed out to 'Hissing Sid's' restaurant - that is my new name for the grumpy hissing dutchman who owns it. Jenny and I saved us all from the hissing this time as we both ordered a wine, and the kids had a coke. This probably wasn't fully to his liking, but probably partially satisfied him. The food was great though, so I think we will be back!

Well today is the day before the race - everyone is relaxing, and I am doing some last minute physio work on the team. Will let you all know how it all goes!!!

J