Tour de France

Bonjour, family and friends,
I managed to exhaust myself sightseeing in order to keep me from getting bored. I've taken a trip some where everyday. Had a full day yesterday. Took a ten hour tour that included a train ride thru the Swiss Alps. Amazing. Went to Gruyeres. Did cheese and wine tasting. Then, we hit the Chocolate capital of the world. Which by the way Nestle has managed to get involved in. Free chocolate!!! Can you imagine?? And, I only tasted three.

I switched hotels. And met up with my tour leader. Guess what ?? Only one other guy joining us. He is from New Zealand.

Today we traveled to the Les Rousses stage. Crossed into France side of Swiss Alps. We got on our bikes and rode to Les Rousses first then came down and back up the other side to Le Ceure. By then it was getting so busy. We called it a day and went to wait for the tour to go by. It was an awesome day. Wish some of the friends back home were here to enjoy this.

Ps: My suitcase arrived 2 days later. Broken handle, no cute colorful luggage tags and the pull handle is wobbly. (Did I mention my bike bag also has a tear on it and a bent skewer, which the boys fixed) But boy, was I glad to have different shoes and clothes. The hotel I booked was not the cute little quaint hotel on the website. The theme was Hollywood and, their were tacky statues , etc... And their was a night club next to lobby. People smoking everywhere. Yuk !!

Le Tour is even more exciting than I had remembered. I am so blessed to have the opportunity to be here enjoying this beautiful country and this amazing event.

Thanks for all the nice notes Dear Friends.

Life is Good, Mairie (I'm french right now, remember ?)

Tour de France/Les Alps

Hello friends and family,
Yes, I am at it again. On another cycling trip. Minus my partner in crime Lola. I arrived in Geneva Switzerland on Wed. the 7th of July. The Bike trip does not start until Friday night. I arrived without luggage and even worse than that. Without BIKE!!! I immediately went to work on exploring Geneva and forget my sweaty sorrows. Its sooo warm and humid, clothes are pasted on. And I traveled in jeans. Took a tour around the city, I had already familiarized myself with the city centre. I am smack in the middle.
Geneva has alot of very interesting political importance. Awake 28 hours at this point. I am delerious and exhausted.
Found the nearest expensive, inexpensive store. Bought a fresh blouse and undies. And planned my day for thursday. My bike came in at midnight. Had to get out of bed and to the lobby to identify it. Yup, it was my bike.

Thursday, I got up and decided I would take another tour. I have walked around so much I think I have seen Geneva in 1 day and not 2, like they say you can do. I went to a medieval village, Yvoire, France. It was enchanting and beautiful. Full of color and life. Met a young woman from Sweden, she also alone. We quickly became friends and explored the entire village on the edge of Lake Geneva. Even dipped our toes in the water.

Tomorrow, I am taking a trip to Gruyeres, Monteaux and Chamonix part by coach and part by train. It will be a long and exciting day. After that, I will switch hotels and join Sport Tours for the TDF.

There is a fellow here from Phoenix, on his first cycling trip to Europe. He is also alone. So, he is anxious to talk to me about cycling when re run into each other in the lobby. He is joining another tour company tomorrow. But, he went out riding thru Geneva and into France. He just told me he was scared for his life today. Did I mention there are lots and lots of cars and traffic ? Mazzerati, Ferrari, Rolls Royce.

Well, have I said enough ? Geneva is home of Rolex, Baume Mercier, Patek Phillipe, all the pricey watch makers. And oh yeah,,,CooCoo Clocks everywhere. There is lots of mula is Geneva. I know they already have lots of mine.

AuRevoir,

MyRree (I am french right now)