Theresa Has a Birthday, France Throws a Party

July 1 is Theresa's birthday. This year for her birthday, she got up at 9:00 am and took four folding chairs down to the street. Then she sat on the street in front of our apartment until about 4:00 pm. Before you think her crazy, you need to realize that there were a few hundred thousand other people who did the same thing.

This past Saturday, July 1, was the opening day of the 2006 Tour de France bicycle race. (Actually, opening day is for baseball. For bicycles, they call it the "Grand Départ".) Oddly enough, this year the Grand Départ was in Strasbourg. Odder still, the start / finish of the opening day time-trial was about three blocks from our apartment. The riders all passed down our street and then returned again after making the 7+ kilometer circuit.

The bikes are a big deal, but the really big deal is the "caravane", or the sponsor's parade that starts two hours before the first rider. The caravane includes over 200 vehicles that toss out tons of junk to the crowd. And I do mean tons. If you're not watching, you could get nailed in the head by a single serving package of coffee or a mini-salami. The caravane went on for about 90 minutes. No one can pay attention to flying promotional items for that long.

It was a hot day. Luckily they were giving away hats. I think each of us ended up with 5 or 6. The opening picture is Theresa getting sprayed down by the Aquarel water mobile. That's how she dealt with the heat.