Tour de France day 1

 7/13: A gorgeous day in Saint Lary Soulon for Stage 14 of the Tour!

The view out our kitchen window

We packed up our layers and our standard picnic in our packs and set out for the town (<5 min walk). We discussed where we should go - if we should try to hike up the mountain to see the riders climb to the finish, or should we stay in town where there was a ton of energy and fun. The kids and I decided to grab a spot on a good section of a round about where there were also spots for us to sit down. Bob wanted to check out the scene up on the mountainside, so he set out on a 2 mile walk with 1000 ft elevation gain. We still had 3+ hours before the riders would arrive, so Quinn and Simone played some chess while I strolled around a bit. 

The view from Bob’s hike

The iconic Tour costumes! And one Badger :-)

Bob came back down and joined us before the riders arrived.

The caravan comes through before the riders. It’s like a parade with an incredible amount of energy!

It’s our coffee maker! These vehicles were hilarious!

We got a bunch of stuff thrown out of the parade cars - including an NA beer for Simone.

Here they come!

King of the Mountain shirt for me!

The little town was PACKED with people, so we strolled around and went back to our place for dinner. There was a line of at least 40 people just to enter the grocery store! Bread shops were sold out of all sandwiches. One thing that amazes me here is people walking around with multiple (sometimes 4-5) baguettes while eating one in their hand. So much bread here! This was definitely the case when the town was sold out of everything except bread! We were glad we had bought enough at the grocery store yesterday for another dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow!