Le Tour part one: le set-up

Last Friday, the Tour de France bicycle race came perilously close to us. So close, in fact, that it ran right by the summer house of some American friends of ours. They happened to be here, so we planned a day at their place to eat, drink, and watch the spectacle.

Our little group set up at the end of the driveway. Left to right: H, J, K, Callie and Ken, and A.

H & A's house is in the middle of some fields where wheat, barley, sunflowers, or colza is grown, depending on the year. This year I think it was barley. The grain was recently harvested, leaving fields of stubble all around. The house is about a quarter mile (maybe less) down a dirt road from the paved road where the Tour would be going by.

A glimpse of our friends' house next to the field of freshly harvested barley.

We got there early because the road itself closed at noon. We spent a couple of hours eating and drinking before gathering up our lawn chairs and heading down to watch the Tour. Ken and I made Greek-style chicken wings, some carrot sticks with blue cheese dressing, and took along some wine. Other friends, K & J, brought pressed sandwiches on baguettes with grilled garden vegetables and meats along with a blueberry and peach crumble and freshly picked Sologne blueberries. We enjoyed it all!

This is a view of the (harvested) barley field from where we were sitting at the side of the road.

After the meal we took our folding chairs and headed down to the end of the driveway and set ourselves up to watch the Tour. First up was what they call the caravane, a parade of Tour sponsors that drives by tossing goodies to people on the side of the road.