Pictures From France...

This is ground breaking for me, two posts in the same calendar year!! As I seem to be attempting to play catch up in the blogging world, & since I've been on north american soil for a month now, its time to get the pics from France up!













Top: early spring vinyards & me just outside of my new hometown L: Jazy-J, one of my kiwi flat-mates at the top of Col de Festes
Below: jeepers its cooooold here!! Where are the leaves?














The Kiwi contingent: from left to right, Cam, Jas, Erica. The 2nd week in Limoux saw the annual wine festival, a full weekend of drinking bubbly in the streets! The population swells from 10000 to 50000!!

More festivities. Carnival for all ages in the square!










Mirpoix Market: every Monday a 36 km drive away was a half day super cool market (much larger than the weekly Limoux market). From far left: a popular squash that I didn't ever knowingly try; dried fruit; a homeless man who employed a donkey to transport his belongings rather than a shopping cart. Serious!

More market wares (look close, there are plastic figurs of the animals the sausage is made of on top of each type! Now there's creative translation!
Gargoyle faces carved into the outward facing beam ends of a building bordering the square.... someone had some extra time!



Roof tops....






The road to somewhere...?









Buildings in neighbouring town



Chilly morning in the square....









LET THE RACING BEGIN!
Below: start of the first French Cup, Pujols, France. Burrrr!









Lip bite'n time on the climb... Camping anyone?
Race terrain of the next French Cup. Northern France, flat!!! (ish)







My first truely enjoyable cup of french coffee, three qurters of the way through my 9 week stay!!

An unwanted house guest, ick!









Attempts at being artistic....



Churches & fences....










Trees & woodpiles.....












Whose idea was it to build a road here anyway??

100km ride to the beach with te team Swift girls and Chris.... & the beach!

Pic de Noir, one of the first warm days... And another castle on anther hill... racing the dark home.

Rooflines in northern france markedly similar to those in Belgium.











And now for some pictures of Switzerland! Kidding, Chambrey. But this was as close to Switzerland as I got on this trip. Chambrey was the site of my last race with Chris and the girls in France, an absolutely beautiful place and home turf of the legend herself, Jeannie Longo. My moments of glory in this race came when I got myself into a break with Jeannie; it didn't last, but while it did, it was painful and sweet!

Thanks for lookin'!

Moriah