Day 14

 A little elegance always adds to one's enjoyment...

of your surroundings if for only a few hours...

Norwegians love the Tour...and the love to party...eventhough there are only two Norwegians among the 176 riders!  The get our most enthusiastic fans award, hands down.

Belgians also love the Tour, 

and then there are the Americans!

Here comes the leading riders at 1:50 PM

 Julian Alaphilippe, the King of the Mountains, in the polka dot jersey

4 minutes later, the Peloton arrives, lead by Team Sky

8 minutes after the lead riders passed us, the Lanterne Rouge

I wasn't wild about this salad, but I'm sure most loved it.

Duck, roasted fingerling potatoes, and ratatouille

 I don't know what this was called, but it was yummy!

Just an  after dinner walk to the post office!

Day 14

Breakfast around 8:15 AM, loaded our backpacks, picked up some pain au chocolat and sandwiches, and started our 5 km hike to our car at 9:45 AM.  The hike was easier than we anticipated; and despite stopping for a few chats and rests along the way, and we made it to our car at 11:30 AM. 

There we were at 2490', enjoying the good life, and we could even see our hotel if we used our binoculars.

Our car was still there with no one within 300 yards on either side.  There was a good breeze and a few clouds, so we decided not to put up our shade dome.  The riders were due around 2 pm so we really wouldn’t be there that long compared to the other stage viewing days some of which lasted as long as 10 hours.  Our views were spectacular, and there were still no other spectators near us.

The Caravan came by us at noon, and we collected a lot of swag, almost all of which we gave away after the race.

The racers were very bunched together since this was the first climb of the day.  The lead group that included about 30 riders passed us at 1:50 PM, the peloton which included the overall leader Gerraint Thomas passer us at 1:54  PM, and the last rider at 2:08 PM.  

When we left our car yesterday, it was actually stuck.  One of our drive wheels wasn't touching the ground, so we needed help before we could head back to Arreau.

We recruited 4 strong men to help push our front wheel back onto the road surface, and we were rolling by 2:14 PM, and with minimal traffic heading down the mountain, we were in our hotel parking lot by 2:23 PM.

It was a real treat to be back so early, so we dropped our gear off in our room, and headed into town for some ice cream.  We checked out a few shops, but a couple more souvenirs, and returned to the hotel. Joni started packing our clothes since we’re going to Toulouse tomorrow, and I took a quick dip in the pool. Heavenly!

We then joined the Aussies in the hotel bar and watched the last 40 km of today’s stage on TV.

Our last dinner at the Hotel d'Angleterre was terrific.  Duck was the main course and it was incredible!

While we were finishing our dinner a man who was dining at another table came up to us and said, "did you have trouble with your care?"  Suddenly we realized he was one of the five that pushed us out, as were the other gentlemen with whom he was dining!  We thanked them profusely again!  It's a small world, even when you're in France.

Lastly on our way out of the dining room, another couple that we thought we recognized from previous stays here stopped us and said they recognized us from previous summers.  They are Dutch and couldn't be nicer.  We sat down at their table and had a wonderful conversation for another 20 minutes.  They too thing Trump is a clown.