July 17

Saturday, July 26 - Stage 19 - Pornic to Nantes
We walked a few blocks from our hotel to turn the car key in, then stopped by a bike shop--pretty similar to the ones in the states. After breakfast we went down to the Champ Elysees to scout out our spot for tomorrow, and stopped in the Office of Tourism. We did a little shopping for the folks back home then headed back to the hotel to watch the Time Trial. As much as we like being at the scene to cheer, it sure was nice to be inside and dry since it was raining at the race and in Paris, and we got to know exactly what was going on even if we did miss the commentary by Phil and Paul (it’s all French here!) Lance finished ahead of Jan Ullrich which (barring an accident on the way into Paris) will give him his 5^th consecutive Tour victory! Jerry and I were both thrilled.

Later I called a couple that had gone to church with my family years ago and are currently living in Paris. Holly and Tim invited us over for a drink so we went to their apartment. It was on a very nice street. Their apartment had high ceilings and was beautifully decorated. Tres chic! After a glass of wine we went to this great little Italian restaurant that they obviously frequent because they were greeted warmly. They helped us with what to order and then we talked about their time in Paris and people that we know. The food was fantastic; I ate every bite of my lasagna as Jerry did of his pasta (except the little critter that came with it!). It was so great to be able to have a conversation in English with someone besides Jerry! He and I have been together 24-7 for almost two weeks and only occasionally have found other English speakers to talk with. So it was wonderful to have an actual conversation and catch up with nice people I had not seen in almost 20 years.