Day 15-Saturday

On Saturday the Tour came to Arreau, right through it in fact!  

The Tour de France was started in 1903 by a French newspaper, l'Auto, in order to stimulate circulation.  Bicycling racing was very popular and by sponsoring a race throughout the country, Frenchmen everywhere would want to keep track of its progress.  

When Joni and I walked into town before breakfast to pick up a the modern version of l'Auto, l'Équipe, the village was already alive with a continuous flow of traffic.  The normally empty streets were filled with people and many shops were open much earlier than normal.  Things were buzzing!

Before breakfast, people were already picking their viewing spots.

After breakfast.

We had our normal breakfast, but this time more leisurely since we decided to remain in town and watch the Tour in "our front yard".  After beginning our the repacking of our suitcases, we're going home on Monday, we headed back to the streets to do some shopping and people watching, the village was a carnival. Mardi Gras has come to Arreau!

Clearly it was time to "enjoy the show" as one of our waitresses at the hotel stated.  So we did!

Arreau's answer to Abe Froman, the sausage king of Chicago.  Like the vendors outside Fenway Park, the Tour has them too, and we couldn't resist. . 

Hotel owner, Marie-Hélène enthusiasticly agreed to display our Sepp Kuss banner on the dining room window where it was admired by many.

The arrival of the caravan of sponsors brought the crowd to a heightened sense of frenzy exceeded only by the arrival of the riders.

Some families go to great extents to gain the attention of the sponsors who are tossing out SWAG.

A typical family of three generations only the grand-père exhibits any restraint from begging for SWAG.

Once the last caravan vehicle has passed, the crowd settles down in anticipation of the riders who are not due for nearly 60 minutes.  Many check their cell phones, FOMO or merely checking on the riders progress?

Anticipation

The riders had already endured two huge climbs, the Tourmalet and the Col d'Aspin, so they were spread out when they arrived in Arreau.  We couldn't be more excited, especially when we realized the identify of the riders.

Lenny Martinez, in the polka dot jersey, AKA the King of the Mountains, leads Valentin Paent-Peintre in the blue jersey, Sepp Kuss in the yellow helmet, through Arreau.  Unfortunately the depth of field focus on my lens is very sensitive and therefore easily out of focus.  This was my best photo of this group.  Very sad.

Mathieu van der Poel on the far right.

Sprinter Biniam Girmay from Eretria won three stages in last year's Tour, but he has not won any so far this year.

20 minutes behind the lead group, these riders appear relaxed and content with their slower pace.

Once the last riders past us we simply walked into our hotel and watched the remaining part of the race on television in the bar.  No traffic issues for us today.

Watching this stage in Arreau ended up being one of our best Tour experiences ever.  The carnival atmosphere in the village was so exciting, the crowd was very family oriented, extremely friendly, and shared SWAG with their neighbors.  This was not our original plan for today's Tour viewing, but what we've discovered time and time again, Plan B, often ends up better than Plan A.  

Once the race ended we returned to our room, watched the post race analysis on TV, continued packing our bags, and just simply rested.  The dining room was packed, the busiest it's been during our stay this year, and everyone seemed to be discussing the race.  There were four German journalist sitting next to us, I thought they looked familiar, and Marie-Hélène confirmed that they remembered us.  

Dinner was very good as usual.  

Little Gouaux Goat Cheese with Honey and Thyme served Hot, Salad

Chicken with curry sauce,  roasted potatoes, carrots, & green beans

Vanilla ice cream on a sliced poached peach with strawberries and blueberries. 

Coffee