July 23 & 24 Annemasse is the unknown French border town that abuts Geneva. Everything is half the price it is in Geneva, including hotels, so we stayed there. Also, Annemasse was the Tour's start town the day we were there, so we got to see the start of the race in the rain. Geneva is exactly as you'd imagine … [Read more...]
Day 13. Le Grand Bornand & The Alps
July 22 Ahhhh. The day before was spent hiking up a mountain then standing on it for hours to watch the Tour de France time trial. As if that weren't enough, we then had to deal with a traffic and crazy roads through the Alps to get to the ski resort town of Le Grand Bornand - site of the next day's Tour finish. … [Read more...]
Day 12: L’Alpe d’Huez, France (TdF)
July 20 We made it! The famous 2004 individual time trial stage straight up L'Alpe d'Huez. It's is referenced to this day as one of the largest crowds ever for a sporting event - they like to say there were one million people on L'Alpe that day. Who knows... We woke up pre-dawn, took one of the thousands of … [Read more...]
Days 10 & 11: Carcassonne & Grenoble
July 19 and 20 I was told by a friend that we should avoid Carcassonne on our trip. We did avoid staying there - or even really staying too long there - as it's basically a tourist trap. A really, really cool tourist trap. We went to the city's famous fort and then pretty much got out of there and over to Grenoble … [Read more...]
Days 8 & 9: Cauterets & Toulouse
July 17 & 18 There are towns in France you've never heard of in which you'd be more than happy to spend a week. Cauterets in the high Pyrenees on the Spanish border is one such town. It's ridiculously beatiful and the odd Basque/Spanish/French mix of foods and cultures makes it a fascinating place. It's also … [Read more...]
Day 7, La Mongie, France (TdF)
July 16 The Tour de France is massive. It's the Super Bowl on wheels for three weeks across 2,000 miles. It's insane. Planning to see some stages, notably mountaintop finish stages, requires a lot of planning, a lot of effort and a even more patience. About 8 months before the Tour's route is announced, strong … [Read more...]
Day 6, Foix & Cauterets, France
July 15 After the Bastille Day carousing, we got a late start on this, essentially a travel day down to the Pyrenees. I was excited to drive some of the famous Tour de France mountains (called "cols" down here) just to get a taste of how they truly were by way of the little town called Foix. Holy crap. They … [Read more...]
Day 5, Sête, France
July 14 (Bastille Day) I'd guess that anywhere in France on Bastille Day is fun. But spending it in the charming completely non-touristy little seaside village of Sête was simply awesome. THIS is the way to spend a holiday in France; in La Petite Venise du Languedoc. Sête, like Venice, has an extensive network of … [Read more...]
Day 4: Aix-en-Provence, France
July 13 As if Nice hadn't already done so, Aix was the town that convinced us we wouldn't mind living in Provence. It's a young vibrant university town with the most beautiful people in the world who have the pleasure of eating some of the best food on the planet. We walked up and down the The Cours Mirabeau and … [Read more...]
Days 2 & 3: Monaco & Nice, France
July 11 We hopped on a train in Nice that took us over to Monte Carlo so we could do some cheap shopping. Ha. In reality, we hoofed it up the steep hill overlooking town to the Monaco exotic garden and cave. While this isn't on most Monte Carlo itineraries, it should be as it was awesome. Here's a video of the … [Read more...]