Working away here at our spiffy new desk, spiffy, that's right. No more dining room table-PC. We've arrived! And so has Lance -- again. Unless you live sous rock, you know he won the Tour. Seven times. Seven. Into cycling or not, all humans must agree we're seeing something pretty amazing here. Apparently, he calls all autograph seekers "trolls." (Does that mean Akhil's a troll? Does that mean John Kerry's a troll?) Our presence during the early time trials surely brought him luck.

Speaking of amazing, it's been topping 100 degrees all this week and we've got -- that's right -- humidity! Why let the east coast have all the sweaty, frizzy fun. Lots of ponytails this week, lots of laundry. We spent the entire day here in the heat yesterday but today we got smart. Manhattan Beach reminds us of the goodness that is/well, can be, L.A. every time, and bonus: We literally stumbled into the Hermosa Beach Open volleyball tournament, only to get front-row bleacher seats for the semi-final with Athens gold-medalists Misty May and Kerri Walsh playing, and winning, against Elaine Youngs and Holly McPeak.

Vive le Lance! Et la France!


We're back with somewhat of an inside scoop on the Tour de France: it's easier than you'd think to see all the action up close! Evidence? Pics like these, taken from five feet away from the man himself. Our ten days began with a Sunday, July 3 arrival at CDG in Paris, taking the TGV to Tours, and checking in to our hotel on Avenue Grammont, the very street upon which the Tour de France teams were to arrive Monday, and depart Tuesday afternoon. Perfect setup.

Seeing the cyclists arrive and depart was easy, as was getting up close to the team busses near the starting line on Tuesday - NO security. None. Simply some steel rails to keep people out of the roads.

Place Plumereau in Tours is quintessential French - 16th century buildings bordering a square filled with outdoor cafes and bistros -- that's where we dined our first night. The Loire runs north of town, and the shopping is decent! From Tours we moved on to Amboise, and from there to Nancy, and over the course of the week we also saw the Tour depart from Chambord -- with the chateau as an unbelieveable backdrop, then the departure from Troyes, and of course we took in the most impressive chateaux, prioritized perfectly, I thought: Chenenceaux, Villandry, and the incredible Chambord:

Chenenceaux:

Villandry:

Chambord:

The departure at Troyes:

Our final Tour experience was the arrival in Nancy on Thursday. The six-hour drive from Amboise was worth it -- and the chance to see it all again after more than a decade was surreal. Ah, the good old days... and they truly were! ICN (my school), St. Epevre, Place Stanislas, even the "Made in France" sandwich place -- still intact, still perfectly beautiful.

We stayed in the Latin Quarter in Paris, just around the corner from Akhil's old digs at College of Pierre et Marie Curie, and by the end of the weekend, we'd become way too attached to the place -- sat by the Seine behind Notre Dame on Sunday night, watching the sun set, well after 10 p.m.



And then suddenly, Monday again. Sadly. France is to SoCal as silk is to cardboard. The people seemed friendlier this time, the wine tastier, the food more indulgent -- although we're off cheese and andouille sausage for a while (okay, maybe forever on that one). Recommended: the Clos d'Amboise, tartes framboises, Hotel Monge and Air France. Not recommended: Delta Song, French-cut boxer shorts and losing your luggage.

See more photos if you're interested here.