Saturday & Sunday, 30/31 August

 

Lucy and I (T1 aka Tuno) got picked up by Super Shuttle at 7:20am, 20 minutes before the opening window of pick-up time and before I had a chance to eat my breakfast. We piled all our gear into the van (7 boxes & bags, plus laptop cases, backpacks & water bottles) and squeezed in ... four others were already on board. Ate breakfast on the way to the airport, got there with plenty of time to watch the TSA guerillas disassemble the equipment cases after check-in. The gate agent told us the luggage was checked all the way to Marseilles, but we had to check in at Air France in Chicago.

 

On the ground in Chicago a half hour early, and that was a good thing, because when we got to the Air France counter to check in (in a different terminal), we found out that we didn't have the seat assignments that had been "promised" to me at the My Stuff section of www.orbitz.com. At least they were aisle seats, if not in the same row. Lucy drew the short straw ... in the baby row section behind the second bulkhead. But she did get to stretch out more than me!

 

The flight to Paris was smooth and we landed right on time. We breezed through passport control to the domestic terminal, a long walk, and eventually landed in Marseilles right on time (again) at 12:35pm Sunday. We had our luggage within a half hour, and after getting the keys to the rental car and shaking the change counter down for some cash and the information desk lady for a map and directions, we were on our way to Gap, 185km north and a little east.

 

There is no shortage of roads from Marseilles to Gap. As instructed we followed the signs to Sisteron and Gap via highway A-51, but what we didn't know was that A-51 is a toll road and along most stretches at least one other well-marked highway provides a toll-free alternative, which we availed ourselves of unintentionally. Well, at least the weather was passable ... 70 degrees and sunny!

 

Our hotel was right on the main road into Gap, but on the way we drove right by the drop zone, so we pulled in to say hi to Patrice "GiGi" Girardin, our gracious customer/host. We couldn't find him so we headed on to the hotel, where they tried to tell us they were full but we got that straightened out and checked in, then drove back to the DZ for more hellos, hugs, beer, etc.

 

We found Patrice and got a quick tour of the facilities. As in 1995, the FFP is pulling all the stops to host the best possible competition. But the judging area won't be ready to set up until Monday afternoon at the earliest.

 

Dinner was wonderful. We ate at the (drum roll please) ... Hotel Arizona!!! A wonderful pate fois gras followed by duck breast for me and veal for Lucy.

 

Monday, 1 September

 

With nothing else to do, we drove back in the direction of Marseilles to visit the town of Aix en Provence, where I stayed as a guest one night in 1998 on my way from Arezzo, Italy to Rodez, France, and have wanted to visit again ever since. After somehow finding a place to park, we strolled around town for an hour or so and then had pizza for lunch. I absolutely love the Mediterranean/Southern-European style of pizza ... thin crust, wonderful cheeses and fresh tasty toppings. I was not disappointed!

Above: a public square in Aix, with one of its many famous fountains. Right: Aix's cathedral, which featured two very large pipe organs. (The second is opposite and facing the one you see.)

We left Aix around 1:30pm and headed back north to Gap, but took the exit about halfway to visit the Canyon du Verdon, known as the "Grand Canyon" of southern France (and marked as such on the maps). On the way to there we stopped for coffee in one of the most beautiful and interesting little towns I've ever seen, a 1500-year-old hamlet by the name of Moustiers Sainte-Marie, built (literally) in a gorge over a waterfall.

Moustiers Sainte-Marie as seen from below. A famous image in France, the gorge above Moustiers; you can just see the star hanging on a rope across the gorge. Standing on the main street in Moustiers looking down, in the "up canyon" direction. View from the main street looking away from the gorge. That's the bridge footage on the far right, and it's a looooong way down.

We arrived at the canyon a half hour later and spent an hour or two driving a scenic loop around the "north rim". At one stop I noted that it looked particularly good for a BASE jump -- at least 1800 feet straight down the river, maybe more.

 

The road out of the canyon and back to Gap was as beautiful as it was unsettling. My tummy had begun to get woozy during the scenic loop, and winding along the riverbed north of the Gorge made my head hurt and spin. By the time we got back to the DZ around 7pm I was ready for a cold one or three. For lack of interest in driving any farther than necessary, we ate at the Hotel Arizona again, which is just a quarter mile south of the drop zone. (Bro "Bigwaz" Chris notes: "Oh yes, the Hotel Arizona...  The GK 8-way stayed there during the European Championships in 1990; I remember it well.  Quaint little hotel with a nice restaurant that served the best oven-fired pizzas, along with the wonderful mystery-sauce on the tables made for some of the best pizzas I ever ate!  Boy are the memories coming back...  The "delegation leader" dinner in the mountains (aka "the 10-course goat cheese dinner"), opening low over the hills, Rob asking if I had a handkerchief (ask Craig about that).")

 

So ... in our first two days in France, we ate at the Arizona twice and visited the Grand Canyon!

 

Tuesday, 2 September

 

We played with hardware all day and waited for the Internet to be available.

 

Wednesday, 3 September

 

We played with software all day and waited for the Internet to be available.

 Got teased with several minutes of access on a wireless LAN in the early evening, but only online long enough to get off a short e-mail demanding a T2 update, since I spent the whole day wondering how is ticker tinkering went.

 

Thursday, 4 September

 

I spent the morning wrapping up software changes (2003 rules changes for Artistic Events) while Lucy took the day off and drove to her "home" town of Grenoble, about 100km north of here, where she lived with her family from ages 6 to 9 and a half (and where she learned to parler Francais). And waiting for Internet access. And saying hi to all the judges trickling in and taking the grand tour. And explaining where T2 is and why he isn't here.

 

Early evening now and the 'Net access has been on and off, much more off than on, for several hours now. Was happy to discover that T2 posted his own update to omniskore.com, as well as the short message I got out yesterday. Whew!!!

 

The wireless LAN will be moved out of the building tomorrow, so I'll be having a wire run over to my desk, which will hopefully be a bit more reliable. Until then, I'll get this update on the wire to T2, and hopefully figure out how to get photos and commentary directly to the web page before too long.

 

Official practice and opening ceremony is Saturday, then the meet starts Sunday. This place is beginning to buzz!!!

 

Friday, 5 September

Not much going on today. The judges are doing their seminars and the last of the delegations are trickling in. My 'Net access is much more reliable now that I've got a physical cable running over to the main access point, instead of relying on the wireless, which has now been moved out to the main food tent, much to the delight of a few modern laptop owners who don't have to wait in line for one of the machines at the "Internet Cafe".

And the Mall, as I call it, is receiving its finishing touches: