Over the years, Dennis and I have managed to stay in contact with our friends Daryl and Annette. Dennis and Daryl worked together at West Publishing in Minnesota before we moved to Chicago in 1997. We went on vacation together to Hawaii and then to Europe in 2001. Since then, we’ve visited then in San Francisco a couple times and we even met up once in Arizona. As Dual-Income-No-Kids couples, we still have a lot in common that time and distance can’t change.
Of course, when we moved to the Netherlands, we invited Daryl and Annette to visit anytime. We were only a little surprised when Annette said she signed up for Ironman France in Nice to celebrate her 40th birthday. Dennis and I decided that it was worth a trip to Nice to see Annette race and do a little sight-seeing on the side. After the race, they would travel to the Netherlands to watch the first stage of the Tour de France. Plans were made, airline tickets were purchased, and soon we were basking in the warm Mediterranean sunshine.
We flew into Nice on a Friday night after work. On Saturday morning, we met up with Daryl and Annette. Annette was racing with two of her friends, Misha and Akiko. The three couples had rented a vacation house. Misha’s parents were also in town for the race, so it was a nice size group. The girls were very nervous on the day before their race. They had to check in and drop off their bikes and special needs bags, but otherwise were trying to stay off their feet. The rest of us went on a walking tour of Nice. We saw the Ironman Expo (not as good as you might think) and the farmer’s market (just as good as you would expect in the south of France).
Dennis and I continued walking and window shopping. One window had really shiny looking orange balls stacked in a beautiful display. We couldn’t figure out what they were, so we had to go in and see. It turned out that they were conserved mandarin oranges. The shop had a little tour where they told us that the oranges soak in sugar syrup for 40 days – skin and all. They also use the same treatment on other fruits and flowers! The shop was beautiful and we naturally had to buy some of the oranges. They are just as sugary/syrupy as you might imagine. The skin is like candied orange peel with very little bitterness. They are very good chopped and served over vanilla ice cream (with a bit of chocolate sauce for good measure).
We had dinner with the group who were not racing in the morning. The racing girls wanted to stay in and eat rather plain food that would not cause tummy trouble the next day. The rest of us worked on our race viewing strategy.
The first step of the strategy was to meet at 6:00 am for the swim start. It was very crowded already and hard to find a good spot to watch. Dennis and I stood right on the beach. At this point, it’s fair to mention that the beaches in Nice suck. There is no sand, just small rocks. The rocks are smooth, but still very painful to walk on. I’m not sure how the racers did it! From where we stood, I couldn’t see much until the swimmers were in the water. At an Ironman event, all the racers start at once which makes it very chaotic. All of a sudden, the water started to churn like a giant feeding frenzy. We would see the swarm of swimmers moving out, but it was hard to see which buoy they were aiming for. Finally, we saw the lead swimmers turn the corner and come back toward the beach. The swimmers had to get out of the water and run over the timing pad before getting back in the water for their second lap. It was complete pandemonium and we were unable to see anyone faces or numbers.
When we figured they were about done, we went up to the bike area. We couldn’t see the transition area – where they remove their wetsuits and get ready for the biking – so we just watched the bikers leaving for their 112 mile ride through the mountains. We managed to see Akiko and Misha, but we missed Annette. With so many riders going by at the same time, it was a miracle to recognize anyone! At this point, we had plenty of time to do some sightseeing and take a nap. We figured they wouldn’t be back for another 6 hours or more.
Dennis and I took the opportunity to see the Chagall Museum. Chagall did a lot modern-style religious art that was interesting, but not really to our taste. The museum was rather small though, so we were able to enjoy his work without feeling tortured. A leisurely lunch, long nap, and then we headed back out to the race course for the marathon section.
The run course was set up really well for spectators. The racers had to run out and back along the Promenade Anglais four times. That gave us lots of chances to see our people and give them the encouragement they needed along the way. We found a nice spot in the shade where we could stay cool. A nearby convenience store sold us cold water and Cokes throughout the long afternoon. Every time we started to complain about the heat or how tired we were from standing so long, we laughed because it seemed so minor compared to the people racing. All three ladies looked good on the run. Akiko was about 30 minutes ahead of Annette and an hour ahead of Misha at the beginning of the run. She was able to keep her pace throughout the marathon and finished in 14 hours. Annette was doing a very sensible run-walk, but each lap took a bit longer than the one before. Misha was concerned about the cutoff time, but we assured her that she had plenty of time and could relax a bit. She gladly took the opportunity to walk a bit. By the last lap, Misha was only 10 minutes behind Annette. Of course, they could see each other, too and knew they were close to each other.
For the last lap, we moved to the finish area so we would be able to see them crossing the line. We were amazed how many people were turning around to do yet another lap. Those poor souls would be out there running for another hour at least. You could not tell by looking at people how fast they would be. Some of the guys with guts and stocky women were finishing while some who looked far more athletic were still running. So much of the Ironman is in your head and in the many months of training. The last lap took Annette and Misha a bit longer than we expected, but when we saw them we understood why. They decided to finish together and came running down the finish chute hand in hand in 15 hours and 2 minutes. Both of them looked tired but none the worse for wear. We actually went back to our hotel before they got out of the finish are with all their gear. It was sure tiring to watch!
The next day, Dennis and I went to Monaco because we wanted to cross another country off our list. Monaco is a 15 minute train ride from Nice. It’s as close to Disneyland as you get in Europe. The train station had polished tile floors and was air conditioned. That’s nice for all the high-rollers heading for the Casino – oh never mind, they all get dropped off in their Masserattis. As we left the train station it became clear that Monaco is a mountainous country. All of the exits involved stairs. We went up to enjoy the view, but soon realized how hot it was that day! We went back and headed towards the palace where Grace Kelly used to live. We took the walking tour through the cathedral, botanical garden, and finally Jacque Cousteau’s aquarium. The aquarium was definitely the highlight. For those of you who are too young to know Jacque Cousteau, too bad for you. For the rest of you, the aquarium was much like the TV show and really showed his passion for conservation without being too preachy. Monaco is very small and we had no interest in the casino, so we headed back to Nice to have dinner with the rest of the gang. The racers were walking a bit more slowly than usual, but if it were me, I would not have been able to walk at all! At any rate, we had a really nice dinner with the whole gang and it was really fun.
For Tuesday morning, Annette and Misha wanted to go swimming to help loosen up the muscles. Since it’s silly to go to a beach resort and not go swimming, we decided to join in the fun. There are quite a few public beach areas in addition to the private, rent-a-chair and umbrella places. We went to a public beach since we wanted to swim not lounge around. The rocks on the beach proved very painful, but most of us managed to get into the water. I swam a bit with Annette and Misha while the boys splashed around closer to shore. The water was cool and comfortable, but getting out of the water was difficult. Most of us chose to exit the water by scooting out backwards like a crab. Next time you are on a sandy beach, be sure to appreciate it!
Annette and Misha were stuck at their place for the rest of the day waiting for the bike shop to pick up their bikes for shipping back to the US. They were told the pick-up would be sometime after 12:00, not unlike waiting for the cable guy. So, we took Daryl and went to Ville Franche sur du Mar, a small town between Nice and Monaco. By train, it was only 5 minutes, but a world away in feel. Nice feels like a city – lots of high rise apartment buildings, shops, and restaurants. Villefranche feels like small town that time forgot. The old town has “roads” that are so narrow only three people can walk side by side. I’m not sure you can really call it a road if there are stairs, but they did. We found a little street café to have lunch and the food was so fine, we stayed for 2 hours. We finally had to leave when all the chairs ended up in the sun and we were cooked! We strolled around the citadel and along the waterfront and finally to the beach. Villefranche has a lovely sandy beach only a few minutes walk from the train station. If we had known that a few days ago, we would have hung out here rather than Nice. When I grow up, I want to be rich and have a place in Villefranche.
Wednesday was the day we all left Nice. Dennis and I headed back to Amsterdam – work tomorrow and all that. Daryl, Annette, Misha and Scott headed into Provence for a few days before making the journey to the Netherlands. Our adventures in the Netherlands will be a tale for another day, however.
