Life Around Tour de France – Stage 2
Europe
This is a guest post by Mr.Q, a quizmaster by profession and a foodie!
A Nice stage for the tour…
This part of South France where the race is now on, is usually known more for the sun & beaches, for the holiday spots & the jetset glitterati who sail around on their yachts – Monaco, Nice, Antibes, Cannes…etc.
Having seen the flag off at Monaco, we decided to park ourselves somewhere on the route today to catch the race, and did we have a wonderful time?? Right from the morning, it was very hot and though we don’t sweat very much here, the climate makes you slightly uncomfortable, particularly, if you are inclined to walk around in the sun as we were.
We had chosen Nice as the city to be in to catch the race and the race route was the scenic road which winds around the sea side beaches. The race organisers had put up barricades all along the main road, a herculean task in itself – but impeccably done, and the jeeps announcing the race was moving around almost 3 hours before the cyclists came in.
Nice is a city for those who have the luxury of time on their side. Its very laid back, has a huge tourist population during the summer and has a thriving art industry. The streets are of two types very narrow & very, very wide!! The buildings are all very old, 3-4 storied with over 100 years of history in most cases. The one in which we were staying was over 165 years and to climb to the flat on the top floor to our room was in itself a task. (No lifts are to be found as there is absolutely no space for that in these old buildings)
The kitchen in the flat was the smallest & most compact that we have & will ever see!! It was just a 2 feet space to stand & more like a Godrej Almirah that we all know of!! We were told by the locals that in the olden days all houses had slightly big kitchens but only one common community toilet, as late as the 80’s. Then everyone started modernizing and so the kitchens were converted to baths & a small area in the drawing room was converted to become the kitchen!!!
While we were waiting for the race to come, we decided to check out the beach & found to our surprise that there was not one drop of sand!! It was all pebbles and that’s the specialty of this area, even in Cannes. And the 1000’s of people who come to sunbath themselves & get the perfect tan can be seen from 8.00am till 8.00pm. Yes, you are reading that right, its 8.00pm as in summer the sun sets here after that, quite unsettling for people like us who have never seen sunlight after 7.00pm in our country.
We took a dip in the sea, the water was nippy but very comfortable and once the race caravan moved in we too joined the crowd lined up along the road cheering the various branded vans & cars. The publicity caravans are a huge part of the tour and I will post on them in detail in a later post.
The local Nicites response to the Tour was very lukewarm and there were no bars, pubs, fast food outlets which was offering any special offerings as is the norm when have a cricket match in our city. (I still remember having Sehwag’s Slingshot & Pathan’s knockout with Bhajji ka Bhajji in the Bar followed by Sachin ka dal, Yuvraj ki murgi & Zaheer’s Yorker for desserts when the Indian team came to town!!) Finding a place to see the rest of the race after the cyclists raced through was not possible.
The Race came to town with a breakaway team of 4 trying to get away from the main group. But minutes later the whole of the riders riding as a single group, called otherwise as “peleton” shot past us at such speeds that I could only see three riders – Fabian, Lance & Sastre in person!! (Many others I saw on the photographs later in the day during lunch)
The local market at Nice has a very warm appeal to it. The shopkeepers who erect their stalls & set up their wares are very much conversant in English and used to bargaining. The fruits – cherry, peaches & grapes are excellent & some of the best you can buy. The variety of Olives which you can taste before buying is also a sight.
We later went out and feasted on several Nice specialties – Socca, Salade Nicoise, Pissaladiere, Pistou, …all of which Priya will be detailing in her food blog at www.akshayapatram.com. A must visit place to Nice is the Castle which is right next to Port Micheal by the sea. The panoramic view is simply mind blowing and the cresent shaped beach of Nice can be captured from the top. For those who don’t want to walk the town, as we did, there is the toy train which for a fare of 15 euros will give you a tour of the important sights.
The Race course was 182 kms and ran through the sun kissed parts of South France, known more for its pebbled beaches and holiday spots before turning into the more land locked hills. For the record, Mark Cavendish of British Columbia Team won the Stage, his 5th Stage win in 3 Tours (with 4 of them coming last year!!). Fabian Cancellera of Saxo Bank Team retained the Yellow Jersey. Lance Armstrong, came in 80th – but retained his spot in the Top 10th. (For those who are wondering how this is possible – when the peleton moves as one in order to keep the safety of all the riders, the same time is applied to all riders as the time of the first rider to cross the finish line)
The Race departs from Marsellies for La Grande Motte a distance of 182 kms in Stage III. The route being almost similar like Stage II, the top 10 list should remain the same…
Au revoir…
