The Final Chapter

Well our second European tour has sadly come to an end. This trip was definitely a lot different than our first, both in terms of places we visited and the pace at which we did it. On our first trip we felt more like residents, staying in one place for a month or more at a time. This trip didn’t allow us the same long stays, but we probably saw more places in a shorter amount of time.

Travel of this magnitude certainly intensifies life and we are so thankful to be able to live out such great family adventures. Every culture we visit has so much to offer, and visiting them helps all of us better understand and appreciate each one. We also got a chance to visit old friends from our last trip and make lots of new ones. The kids missed a little school while we were gone, but more than that, they take with them lessons and experiences that books just can’t teach. After our first trip, one of the questions we were left with was when we could manage to take our next trip. Well we answered that question, but now must pose it again. For now I think we may have satisfied the travel bug, at least until the next travel magazine arrives in the mail.

And finally, in the words of Julie Andrews, "These are a few of our favorite things...".

Favorite Cities…

Bret – Loshausen, Krakow, Monaco

Angie – L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Vienna, Brugges

Cole – L’Isle-sur-ls-Sorgue, Florence

Mia – Paris, Krakow

Ella – Paris, Florence

Top Sights / Experiences…

Bret – World War II Sights, Memorial Day at Henri-Chapelle, Tour de France

Angie – French Flea Markets, Arles Bullfight, Gypsy-made weathervane in Romania

Cole – Siena’s Palio, Ducati Factory Tour, Arles Bullfight

Mia – Disneyworld Paris, Eifel Tower

Ella – Disneyworld Paris, Nego Chin Boats

Favorite Apartment…

Bret – Bad Mergenheim, Germany

Angie – Vienna, Austria

Cole – Buonconvento, Tuscany, Italy

Mia – Castle in Bacharach, Germany

Ella – Prague, Czech Republic

Thanks again to everyone who followed along with us, we hope you enjoyed the journey as well.

- 5 Passports

Bret, Angie, Cole, Mia, and Ella

One last stop in Geneva

After watching the start of the Tour de France in the morning, we still found time to get to Geneva, Switzerland and nose around before our flight home the next morning. Our main destination was CERN, home to the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator. You made have heard of CERN from the movie Angels and Demons. This is where the main character, Robert Langdon, was employed. CERN is a massive facility with over 7000 scientists from around the world under its wing. Using its 17-mile long accelerator, it accelerates particles at near the speed of light and smashes them together creating high-energy conditions similar to those in the first instants of the Universe.

Another breakthrough they’re known for is the invention of the World Wide Web. Tim Berners-Lee created the first www server while working for CERN in 1989. It was originally designed to help particle physicists from around the world to communicate, but its uses have obviously gone well beyond that. After our fill of particle science, most of which was way over my head, we headed for dinner and a quick look in town. After that it was time to return the car and pack the bags for our long flight home.

This giant fountain sits in the Geneva harbor.

This is a map showing the territory the Large Hardon Collider (LHC) occupies. Inside the LHC, protons will make 11,245 revolutions and travel almost 200,000 miles every second.

On display at CERN is the first www server. The document next to it is a copy of “Information Management: A Proposal”, which was Berners-Lee’s original proposal for the World Wide Web.”

le Tour de France

Next we made the short journey to Chambery, a town we picked based on le Tour de France route. Our first day in town we planned to head out on the course to catch part of stage 9. Then on day two, stage 10 would take off right next door to our hotel. Trying to get information about the route and road closures was no easy task, so we made our best guess with the info we had and headed out. On day one we decided on Albertville, host city of the 1992 Winter Olympics. This would be about the midway point for the riders on the hardest mountain stage in the Alps. The twisty stage starts in Morzine and takes them 127 miles over four large mountain passes. Instead of joining the masses in the city, we took the car and followed the route just north of town into the countryside. We knew we had the right route as policemen lined the road waiting for their orders to shut it down. We found a nice spot to pull off and enjoyed about 50 yards of real estate all to ourselves. The first traffic to pass by was the “caravan” of sponsor vehicles. It was a great surprise for the kids as they exclaimed, “This is better than a parade!”. Literally hundreds of decorated cars and trucks go flying by on the twisty mountain road, all throwing goodies with their logo. We got hats, magnets, newspapers, laundry detergent, bandanas, keychains, candy, and even a few sausages. The position of each vehicle in the caravan is logged by GPS from an aircraft and kept on a strict schedule. I read that the caravan stretches over 25km and takes almost an hour to pass by. It’s estimated that over the course of the tour, some 12 million items are thrown to the crowd.

Finally, over an hour after the caravan, you hear the helicopters getting closer and closer. Next thing you know the racers appear in the distance. Standing in one little spot of their 2,200 mile journey makes it a little hard to fully appreciate, but you certainly get caught up in the excitement. As fans around us yelled the racers' names we just followed their lead. The overall planning for this event is was what really amazed me. On TV you watch the lead couple of racers pedaling away, but until you see it in person you have no idea as to the amount of support vehicles and personnel that are part of the action. In trying to compare it to something in the States, I thought about an event like the Indy 500. The Indy 500 has an attendance of about 300,000 whereas the Tour draws well into the millions. Now imagine taking every Indy race car team, equipment and equipment personnel, media personnel (including photographers), TV crews, race officials, scorers, massive amounts of security, medical and safety crews, all the merchandise and salespeople, concessions, staging equipment (for all the start and finish areas plus the winner podiums), hospitality for VIP’s, the sponsors and their vehicles, etc., and make everything and everyone I just mentioned mobile. Then go like crazy from town to town for almost a month, setting up every morning and evening in a new town, all while reporting back to the world. On top of that, they use different towns every year, so you must understand the logistics of each town you arrive in with regards to the layout, police control, barricades, traffic closures, media and hospitality villages, and on and on. Don’t forget to find places for everyone to sleep and get fed. The way they effortlessly move thousands of people and vehicles in such an organized fashion is simply amazing.

These elephants guard a corner of the course in Chambery.

And here comes the caravan...

The water sponsor was Vittel. Their floats provided everybody with some much needed relief from the heat.

Most of the racers spent about 20-30 minutes warming up before the start. Meanwhile Lance was the very last one out of his trailer and arrived just moments before the start.

Andy Schleck with the yellow jersey (designating the overall leader).

Here's Thor Hushovd taking time to sign an autograph for Mia. His green jersey signifies he's the top sprinter in the race.

A few support vehicles lined up and ready to go.

Thor out on the course.

Three crazy fans.

Passing off a much-needed energy bar.

Just like the green jersey signifies the best sprinter, the polka-dot jersey goes to the best mountain rider, aka the "king of the mountain". Notice even his bike has the polka-dots.

Here's a little sample of the caravan and racing action.

Lake Annecy & the Alps

After our week in Provence it was on to Lake Annecy and the French Alps. Annecy is also the name of the town, which is located at the north end of the lake. Surrounded by mountain peaks, the bright blue translucent water paints a beautiful picture. The lakefront was packed with swimmers, paddleboats, sailboats, speedboats and those lining up for a cruise around the lake. In town, several canals branch off from the lake and snake their way through the cobbled pedestrian streets. We expected a little cooler temps up in the mountains, but with more warm weather we spent most of our time just playing at the beach.

The Color Purple

We’d never been to Provence before and didn’t know exactly what to expect. The one thing we did expect was the lavender, and it didn’t disappoint. Provence is the largest lavender growing region in the world producing about 50% of the nation’s crop. Never-ending fields of purple contrast with the golden wheat and green grape vines that blanket the hills. We found that some of the fields at higher elevations were not blooming yet, while those at real low elevations were already being harvested. After harvesting it’s off to the distilleries where we learned how they extract the essential oils. The oil then gets used to make your perfume smell better, cure your headache and spice up your dinner. I don't think there are many uses they haven’t thought of yet. Any flowers that are spared from the distillery then get used to decorate every shop, restaurant, and house in town.

Nego Chin

In an earlier post I mentioned the river in L’Isle–sur-la-Sorgue and how it fueled many industries. One of those popular and important industries was fishing. To navigate the marshy wetlands in the area, the fisherman used a flat-bottom boat called the “Nego Chin”. While fishing no longer has the same importance, the Nego Chin has survived and provides tons of fun for today’s residents. You have to join the Nego Chin Club to participate, but our apartment host was a member and provided us with the necessary passes. With the boats docked just 50 yards from our apartment, we felt compelled to give it a try. The boats themselves are very unstable and to add to the difficulty, the river is full of moving waterwheels and very low overhead bridges. You stand in the back of the boat and then propel it with a long pole called a partégue.

It certainly takes some getting used to and I’ll admit I went overboard a couple of times. The water by the way, although crystal clear, runs a constant 54 degrees all year long. Luckily it was hot out all week because that’s some numbing water. After I got the hang of it I turned the controls over to Mia and Cole. Mia’s turn didn’t last long as the pole and boat were just too big for her to maneuver. Cole on the other hand did great going downstream, but then needed me to help get us back up river. When traveling upstream, it’s easy for the current to catch the front of the boat and spin you around. Nego Chin in English means “drowned dog” and we quickly found out why. Cole almost made it through the week without falling in, until an unsuspecting bump from another boat put him in the river on our last day. Mom always said, “Don’t stand up in the boat”.

They never said this would be easy.

Could his future be in Venice?

Mia's attempt at taking the controls.

Cole shows how it's done.

And finally my attempt at looking like I know what I'm doing.