Madelyn's Blog

The Tour de France experience was wonderful! I think Kelsey, Jameel, Heather, Carolyn, Caroline and I were the first ones there (at about 9:30am)…except for a few American tourists. I learned that patriotism sometimes comes dressed in an American flag biker vest and cut-off Wrangler jeans. A midst the cobblestone boulevards and the 18th century French architecture, it wasn’t hard to spot a fellow Amurrican.  After stopping for a piece of pain au chocolate we made our way down the Boulevard des Pyrenees to the starting line which was surrounded by sponsor tents and merchandise vans. W e got our souvenirs (and some really stylish free hats) and staked out a spot on the street to watch the caravan come through. The caravan is basically a pre-race parade in which all the Tour de France sponsors throw hats and little snacks and samples of fabric softener at you. Cultural note: there are two main differences in this French style of parade and the traditional American parade. One: In France, very little candy is thrown. Instead, I was thrown hats, pens, laundry detergent, and packaged sausage samples. Two: In America, we gently toss the goodies underhandedly to the crowd of waiting, eager children. I wondered why there were so few children near the street for the caravan…that is until I experienced the first bombardment of sponsor gifts. The French people on the floats take a much more serious approach to doling out their cadeaux. They lock in on a target, wind up, and pitch the tiny projectiles as hard and as fast as they can at the unknowing crowd member. Some of the members of our group (cough KELSEY cough :] ) were a little overzealous about getting the treats that were thrown at us, which added to the danger of the whole experience. When the racers finally came past, we were all very happy to see them as we had been standing in the sun for several hours waiting. I had no idea there were so many racers in the Tour de France! The tour headed off into the mountains, and we headed to a kabob restaurant for lunch on the recommendation of some of our Spanish classmates. It was delicious and very inexpensive and we promised the owners we would return soon. After the tour I came home and took a nap, then had a very late dinner with my family and went to bed.

This morning I got up and went to the market in the center of town. Monday-Friday there is a market where vendors sell all kinds of fresh produce and meat, but on Saturday another part of the building is opened up to local farmers and gardeners. I bought fresh bananas, peaches, and a baguette, and then walked around that part of town for half an hour or so before coming home. I just got in from reading on the deck and sunbathing. I am getting quite a tan being here in the sun every day.  My host parents left this morning and won’t be back until tomorrow, so I am fending for myself tonight. Luckily Jeanne Marie baked some sort of ham and olive loaf and left it on the stove so I won’t starve to death in my new-found domestic helplessness.

Ciao!