We see the Tour de France.
We blinked and they were gone.
Except for those bloodied and bruised ones..at the back of the peloton.
But let's not rush ahead of our day. The Sunday markets at La Batte along the river, where there are waffles, waffles, baguettes, cheese,strawberries, saucisson and way too many cheap import stalls of socks, shirts, phone cases, underwear and waffles.
Did we mention waffles, sucre waffles, crunchy thick waffles wrapped in paper?. Oh la la. We might have also found space for churros as well. Ed was desperate to buy a fidget spinner. I was a little confused as Margaret had bought him 3 for his birthday and was not sure that he needed more. I started a new mantra when they wanted to buy junk... "WWGB" "what would grandma buy". This has seriously deterred them. Except Ed thinks if he asks grandma nicely she would still buy it for him! That's probably true.
Whilst we ate, Mark cycled somewhere in the Ardenne. We have a covenantal approach to food, our family is covered by Mark's cycling. We eat, he burns off the calories. We might also be walking about 10 km per day.
Ed, the shopper, loved the markets and bought a belt and the most awesome Belgium tracksuit which you might spot in photos during our holiday.
At lunchtime we drove to find the TDF. Originally, the TDF was meant to finish right near our hotel, but the route was changed so we decided to drive out to a small town to avoid crowds, get as much "booty", and enjoy the sights of Belgium.
We parked our van at Trooz and found a little hill to camp for the afternoon. Lunch was baguette, goats cheese, saussion and veggies. So good.
Kate and Mark were soon a local attraction and tried to conquer the rock in the middle of the roundabout. local press interviewed and random strangers chatted to them. The local constabulary did not approve and promptly kicked them off.
The caravan came and showered local Belgium boy (ed in his new tracksuit) with a lot of free goodies.
The rain came and showered local Belgiums with rain but tourists from Australia stayed dry in their $15 tent and tarps provided by their wise grand mother. Let us add for the record, it is supposedly summer here.. but it is really cold!
The Tour passed, but to be honest, I think I blinked at the time they went by, so missed them. Luckily we have 5 more chances to see the riders.
After a short walk back along a lovely river we were back at the van. 5:30 and the sun started to shine.
Just in case you weren't sure. We are Australians. I heard someone mutter "Vie la'australie" as we walked past. Everyone loves Australians here.
looks fantastic xoxo
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