Day 04 – Montelimar to Monte Carlo
Welcome once again to all of you who are kind enough to make the time to read this website. You will be delighted to know that you join us in Monte Carlo on Day 4 of the Tour de La Liberation 2005, an annual trip whose sole purpose is to raise as much money as possible in aid of the Bush Hospital Foundation.
Along the way we are forced to drive through treacherous yet beautiful countryside, sometimes at speeds in excess of 40mph, and most of the time on the wrong side of the road, but we put aside our own personal safety all in the name of charity!
We're pleased to inform you that everyone who entered this years tour has made it safely to the end (some later than others) and all are safe and sound. No speeding tickets have been picked up on the way, although one suspects that may be more luck than judgement!
So back to the tour..
The day began properly at 9am (sharp) in the examination hall (well, in the courtyard of the hotel to be precise) with a quiz.
The task was to fill in as many States as possible in the correct places on a blank map of America. Easy.. Not! I knew I should have paid more attention in Geography lessons. I can barely name all 12 Parishes of Jersey! Mikes knowledge was better than mine however, which is exactly the reason why I do the driving and he does the Navigating!
But under the watchful eye of the adjudicator…
…the 5 minute time limit flew by far too quickly, and we managed a pitiful 14! Although this was by no means the worst score!
So onwards to the days locations… (don't worry, there are only 3 today! )
Vaison-la-Romaine (Confused Avonis dashes to the Roman) found us looking for the answer to "In the house of the silver tits, what can you do in room number 8". We found our way to the ruined remains of a Roman City, and soon stumbled over La Maison du Buste en Argent.. but what can you do in room number 8?
After coffee in a local bar, and a quick visit to the Boulangerie for some cakes, we made our way back to the car and began the drive to the next location of Sault (You get amongst this condiment).
The drive there took us up and down some fantastic mountain roads, most with sheer drop offs either side, so a "big thankyou" goes out to Yokohama for their part in our survival today!
A safe arrival at the town, and we were pleased to find nearly everyone was still here, so we're not too far behind today! So far.
After a lunch break, we began our search for "See eccle. If you were an ace what city would you be next to?" An hour later, the answer was found in the corner of Bar Siecle in the form of some kind of games machine
We had earlier had a message from Chip to say that he had cancelled Clue 3, so most people at this point would have been heading straight for Monte. However being the fools that we are, we thought we'd have a go at cracking the final clue regardless of its pointlessness! We succeeded with our mission with-in about 45minutes of arrival at the cancelled destination, and plotted a route for DC's hotel in Monte Carlo.
A quick pit stop at a local supermarket presented us with the trips first real problem; no Smarties. We considered our options carefully, and fortunately a suitable alternative was found. We filled the car's sweet dispenser and headed on out.
We had to contend with plenty of traffic on the motorways, but we finally rolled up at the Hotel Columbus at around 7.15pm; just enough time to be ready for drinks on the terrace at 7.45pm!
We unloaded our bags and a man kindly took them to our room. And what a room!
I say he took them kindly to our room; I think payment for his services may actually have been in the form of my car, as he took the keys and drove off with it, but as long as he returns it cleaned by the morning, I'll not worry too much.
The view from our room was stunning, but we have had little time to admire it yet, so perhaps you could do it for us, whilst we go and have dinner.
Dinner was a suitably pleasant affair, and before long it was time to hear our fate!
A full list of the standings now follows.
Final Standings – Tour de Le Liberation 2005
12th Place Ian Sweeting & Sara Gasgoine 256points
Here they are proudly displaying their prize!
11th Place Ian Quenault & Nick Lane 276points
They were presented with 2 Maps of France. It was suggested that they had obviously lost the one they were given at the start of the tour! Harsh!
10th Place Alan Donald & Jackie Blackman 355points
Here are the 103 pair at the ruins!
9th Place Jennifer Bridge & Ann Forbes 361points
8th Place Robert Jones & Ben Warner 366points
7th Place Martin & Amber Chinnery 367points
6th Place Peter Crespel & Chris Evans 392points
5th Place Paul Fox & Nicky Ward 394points
4th Place Garry Taylor & Mike Nolan 420points
Shortly after the results were announced, we decided to take up a new hobby with some friends we made earlier in the day
3rd Place Matt & Steve Barnes 423points
2nd Place Guy Le Sueur & Ed Bennett 424points
1st Place Jock Taylor & Frank Le Maistre 429points
We took this pic of the boys earlier in the day. Confidence must have been running high even then!
So the Darts were right; we peaked too early! The much beloved Dart Trophy will not be brightening up the mantle piece this year. But looking on the bright side, its one less thing for me not to dust! And besides, I have no mantle piece!
We will return into hibernation for another year and have a long hard look at ourselves and see where we went wrong. (Well, I guess its easy to work that out.. we got a question wrong!). But fear not, we will return next year to try and get back that much coveted trophy, in what will be the 10th Anniversary of the Trip (our 9th)
We would all like to say a big thankyou to the Marshalls, Dr Mike Marks and "Arthur", who can be seen below working hard, doing what they do best!
And of course, it goes without saying, none of this would be possible without Chip and Heidi – thank you both for once again organising a great Tour! Please don't ever stop!
This may be the final day of the official Tour de la liberation, however tomorrow is the start of "Mike and Garry's unofficial tour of Europe"; we'll be departing Monaco and the plan is to head north north north until we fall off the end of Europe. Well, until we hit the Arctic Circle at any rate!
We will continue to update anyone who is interested of our progress (internet connection permitting!), but if you'd like to be removed from our distribution list, please email us to let us know.
That just leaves us to say thanks for reading, PLEASE continue to leave feedback in the Guest Book
Day 4's route now follows – our total mileage down to Monte Carlo was 863miles – although our route may have been different to others!
Just one complaint if someone could forward it on to DC – no wireless Internet access. All those stars, and no wifi. What ever next!
Goodnight from Mike, and goodnight from me!
