Hello,
I am in Murren, Switzerland, in the Alps, a very cool 40-
50 degrees, as opposed the the 100 degree heat yesterday
in Paris.
Vive Lance!
Since we last spoke, I have visited several towns and
cities. Here's the recap.
Monday in Siena I visited a couple of sites, a duomo and
a cathedral museum, then camped out in the piazza all
day drinking beer and eating pizza.
On Tuesday, I headed to the Cinque Terra, Italy's
Riviera. It consists of 5 fishing villages, that are now
a national park and is being newly discovered by
tourists more and more. People can hike from town to
town in a full day, camp out at beaches and take a boat
or train from town to town.
It took me 4 trains to get there and I arrived at 5:30,
my phone card wouldn't work and I walked up a huge hill
to my hotel. Had a good dinner nearby, though. I decided
to do the hike the next day. I stayed in town number 1,
Riomaggiore, hiked 10 minutes to the next town and
discovered the trail to town #3 was closed. The only way
to get there was to take the very high mountainous path.
It was very strenuous and went through vineyards and had
spectacular views. I decided when I got to town #3,
Cornigla, the hike would end and I hung out at
the "beach" for a while. Took the train to town #4,
Vernazza and decided it was not worth it so I went back
to my home base for pizza and wine on the rocky beach
for a sunset, sea-swept dinner. Each of the beaches on
the towns are different, but the water is crystal clear.
I jumped in the water and quickly was reminded that this
is a sea—salt water. You get fooled by the clear water.
In retrospect, I didn't really do the Cinque
Terre correctly. The views were great and it was fun going
through the vineyards (and I bought some wine), and I
love just sitting at the beach watching the water smash
against the rocky coast, but my ankles and calves were
screaming "you idiot! what were you thinking!" I'd skip
the hike next time, and just hang out at the beaches
(take the train or boat to the towns).
The Travel Day Disaster and Triumph.
Italy must be the least advanced and most inefficient of
the developed European countries. Here' my story. Went
to the train station for the 9:30 train to Genova for my
connecting 11:43 train to Torino (using Italian city
names here for Genoa and Turin). The 9:30 train never
came, but there is a 10:02 train that will arrive in
Genova at 11:30, still enough time for the connection.
The 10:02 train comes in at 10:25. Then on the train at
a stop, there was a huge commotion and argument between
some gypsies and the conductor. Apparently they didn't
have tickets or had the wrong ones and he was throwing
them off. The gypsy woman, while holding the baby,
started throwing rocks at the conductor onto the train.
So there was another 15 minute delay. 11:43 connection
went bye-bye. The good thing is, I have a 2 hour layover
in Torino for the connection to Lyon at 3:00. I catch
the next train from Geneva to Torino that will arrive at
2:50, close but do-able. Wrong. That train left on time,
but I was 25 minutes late getting to Torino. We slowed
down several times in the middle of nowhere. It was
maddening! So, in the Torino station I was in, there are
no more trains to Lyon for the day. I had to take a
train to another Torino station, take a TGV high speed
train to Chambery, France, change trains to Lyon. It
turned out to be the best part of the trip to date. The
train went through the French Alps. It was some of the
most spectacular scenery I have ever seen. I was
listening to Dvorak's New World Symphony (#9) and just
seemed like I had a religious experience with the
Movement #2, Largo, one of the most beautiful pieces of
music ever written. It was magical. The majestic alps
can have amazing affects on you. It changed my entire
day into a triumph.
Le Tour de France.
What an extraordinary three days. I'm still recovering
from the emotional high. Friday I met with the LAF gang
(co-workers, family and friends) for the stage in Bourg-
en-Bresse. What an atmosphere. Nothing really happens
except parades until the cyclists come in, then it's
over in seconds. We climbed a building in front of the
podium past the finish line, watched the guys fly by,
then got pix of Lance in Yellow on the podium.
That night at dinner we met more and more friends and
coworkers. We were a very popular table at that
restaurant, with new people coming by every few minutes.
It was the best meal and day of the trip. I walked to
the hotel with a huge smile on my face all the way.
Saturday was the time trial. A bit more interesting
because riders go one at a time and so there is
something to see every 2-3 minutes waiting for Lance to
come (the Yellow jersey goes last at time trials). I
took an hour getting the feel for catching the cyclists
with the camera, both stills and videos. The crowds are
awesome. The cheer and bang on the barriers along the
side of the route for every single rider that comes in.
Time for Lance to come, I've decided to use the video.
I'm getting very nervous because I don't want to blow
the shot. First, there's Rumsas, then Beloki (the 2 guys
who went out before Lance, each starting 3 minutes
apart). Beloki goes by, I got the video, then less than
a minute later here come the motorcycles leading the
last rider. I'm sweating bullets, Lance is absolutely
flying, having almost made up the 3 minute difference on
Biloki. I leaned over the barrier and shot and screamed
Go Lance! I ran over to the sidewalk to checkout the
replay...I got him. You'll see the video when I put
together the website. It's awesome.
Paris. Champs Elysees. We have bleacher seats 150 meters
from the finish. The cyclists come in from outside
Paris, meander through the city, then get to the Champs,
make 10 loops from Arc de Triomphe to just past the
Place de la Concorde. The team of the Yellow Jersey
traditionally lead the way in. I used the speed shooting
capability of the camera and got pics of US Postal Team
leading the pack down the Champs Elysees. The stage is
kind of inconsequential because the Yellow is already
decided, but it's fun watching them do the loops. The
stage winner actually won the Green Jersey with goes to
the best Sprinter of the Tour. Afterwards all the teams
parade down the street. Got most of them, and got really
good ones of Lance (easy when they go very slowly).
I wore my yellow Vive Lance t-shirt, the Texas flag
draped around my back, and my LAF cap. Lots of people
liked it. One Frenchman loved it so much that he asked
for a picture of with me and him together on his camera.
Daniela and I were interviewed by French TV early in the
day (she did more of the talking, as her French is
better than mine-she didn't speak in French, but she
understood the questions better). Then after the finish,
another (supposedly) French TV reporter interviewed me.
I of course talked about the Foundation as well as being
a Lance fan. Then a camera crew from ABC TV saw us and
asked us to yell and scream for Lance, waving our US
Flag and Texas Flag. This time it was me and a new
friend Michelle. Other people just wanted pictures of us
in the yellow shirts and flags. A lot of Parisiens don't
like Lance, but there are also a lot that do like him.
It was an amazing day.
So that was the tour. In Paris for dinner our contingent
of 20 people met for Dinner at a trendy Asian restaurant
called Buddha Bar. We didn't exactly order anything. They just
start bringing out appetizers, then the main courses and
veggies and rice. I actually ate frog legs and sushi. I think one in our contingent ordered it all.
Four hours later and 75 Euros poorer we finished and
began to scatter for various bars and dancing. I got
back to the hotel at 3 am, with a 6:30 wake-up coming
for the trains to Switzerland. It's now 10:00 here, so
time for bed for me. I keep saying on the trip
that "tomorrow I am not walking or hiking anymore!" I
might actually heed it this time (I haven't succeeded
on previous attempts). I plan on taking the Schilthorn
gondola lift to the top of the mountain tomorrow (the
restaurant at the top is the one seen getting blown up
in the James Bond movie, I think it was "Her Majesty's
Secret Service." Then just drink beer and sit in the
revolving restaurant all day. Tomorrow, the same thing,
but at a different lift on a higher mountain, the
Jungfrau, 11,000 feet. Here until Wednesday, then back
to Belgium on Thursday, back home on Friday.
Sorry for the length of the email.
See you soon.
Darryl.
Vive Lance!
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