Sunflower Fields Forever

It was hard to leave Narbonne and the Mediterranean Sea behind, but Pau, the Gateway to the Pyrenees was calling our name. Time to rejoin Le Tour for the final stages! So we packed up our things and drove a few hours west. Through the small castle tourist town of Carcassone (we did a drive by photo shooting) along miles and miles of sunflower fields along the highway.

Just in time for a late lunch, we parked in Pau, which was bustling with activity. It was a rest day for the riders, and so it was also a rest day for the spectators. The Lonely Planet doesn't say much about Pau, so we are rather certain we dined in a tourist trap, but since the food was good and the price was right, we will not complain.

Too tired to even wander around town much, we headed out of Pau and into the mountains where we would spend the night at La Ferme Dague,  a cute little inn we found in one of our Michelin travel books. Located in the sleeper town of Lasseube outside of Pau, there really isn't anything to do in Lasseube except sleep. Had it not rained, we probably could have taken a cool bike ride or hike, but instead, it POURED. In all honesty, it was a welcome respite from the heat of Nice, Mougins, and Narbonne, especially because we got to wear jeans! Hooray for pants!

Unfortunately, though, the rain was pretty bad. So bad that in conjunction with Le Tour passing through the area, roads into the mountains were closed. If we wanted to see the riders climb Le Col du Tourmalet, we were out of luck. Jeremy and I tried to drive around a little to find an alternate route to the top, but it wasn't possible. Sadly, we admitted defeat, and vowed to make the best of things watching Le Tour at our next destination, Bordeaux. I'm sure a bottle of wine will dull the pain, right?

2010.07.21 - Pau