French Connections

This beautiful postcard and envelope were a great surprise in our mail yesterday! It was from my Blip buddy, ValC, who was in France with her husband, Mr. C, from June 6-30, reveling in the warm weather, delicious food, and wonderful wines.

Val posted wonderful scenes from their holiday, including an evocative market day lunch and a varied array of countryside beauties, two of my favorites. It was a thrill to receive this lovely postcard from her -- thank you, Val!

She also posted a "Fete de la Tour" photo of a group of local cyclists in Vaison, one of the many places the Tour de France will pass through -- in this case, on June 14.

And here is another connection -- my pre-Blip friend and now Blip buddy 5000vines posted a pre-Tour de France blip today, showing preparations in her area, where the riders will be passing through this Friday. "We'll be the ones waving our arms and yelling (just like everyone else) on the bridge in Hérépian," she wrote -- and Phil and I will know exactly where she will be, as we passed through Hérépian many times in our six visits to that area of France.

We're making a new connection here -- Mount Bakery, a family-owned bakery and creperie, hosts a special event throughout the Tour de France each year, opening at 5 a.m. for coffee, offering just-baked croissants and other pastries at 6 a.m., and their full menu at 7 a.m, as well as television coverage throughout. There are loads of keen bikers here, and this is a much-anticipated annual event.

Even though we're going to be up late watching 4th of July fireworks, we're planning to be at Mount Bakery bright and early (and yawning!) to see the Tour riders go past villages we've seen and loved -- and hope to see again one more time.

(July 4 addition: Today I've backblipped a photo taken September 23, 2011, at the end of our time in Paris. It's food-related, of course! Over the next few days I'll backblip the last two images from that trip.)