Aysedasi's Le Mans

Le Mans 2006

The Tourists' Story

Another Le Mans Comes to an End

I guess it's a rather strange way to describe the last page of the 2006 story, starting as it does at about 8.00 am on Sunday with still 9 hours of the race to run! But, as I've said many times before, for me, once the light is up and the night is over, Sunday morning marks the end of the vital part of the race. This is particularly the case when there is no real battle for the lead and its fairly obvious (as it has been in recent years) that Audi have trounced everybody else - again..... The feeling is all the greater as by this time I've had no sleep since waking up on Saturday morning and after a fair bit of walking during the night, I'm feeling pretty done in!

So, as always, I was very grateful to see Ian and to ride in comfort back to Le Grand Lucé where a wash and brush-up, clean clothes and breakfast awaited me. Its surprising just how invigorating a couple of cups of strong French coffee can be! As usual, the six of us assembled in the rear courtyard of Le Cheval Blanc but on this occasion there was no-one to take the team photo for me....

We always seem to reserve our trip out to Arnage and Indianapolis for Sunday lunchtime and 2006 was no exception. It would be quite nice to get there during the night...... (2007, perhaps Ian?). Whilst I enjoy going there - as do many others - the ACO have had to lay on 2 extra overflow car parks in recent years - the view is nothing like what it was in my early years at Le Mans. If you compare my shots in 2006 (and the last few years), which are the best I can do with all the fencing in the way and the loss of vision back to the entry to Indianapolis, with those I took in 1986, you can clearly see how it has deteriorated. It is now almost impossible to get a half-decent photograph from there, so I record my efforts here for posterity rather than photographic excellence......

After lunching as we normally do (such creatures of habit!) on the excellent omelettes, frites and cider at one of the few non-franchised stalls left at Le Mans (you must seek it out if you haven't tried it yet), we decided to make our way back to the main part of the circuit, parking at the bottom of the garage rouge. It was then a case of back into the circuit and a wander down to the Esses to soak up the sun and watch the last few hours.... By this time I was feeling the pace and the heat a bit and decided to give the camera a rest - so not too many pictures between now and the end of the race.

So, Audi had done it again - no surprise there. Pescarolo had failed again - disappointing. And I was incredibly tired! It was off on the road south west to our overnight stop at Nantes (a first time there for me) at the Hotel Pommeraye , which, despite the crumbling balconies (!), was very pleasant.

As is customary for me, I had slept virtually all the way, including being only semi-awake when we made our watering stop at a very picturesque place the name of which (unsurprisingly) escapes me..... Once the hotel was reached, however, a long soak did wonders for my aches and pains and we set off in search of our dinner venue - and what a venue it turned out to be - the superb Brasserie La Cigale.

Unfortunately, I decided not to take my camera with me this evening (for which the Tourists were no doubt very grateful!), but it does mean that I have no pictures of the incredible decor of the brasserie - there is one below that I pinched from the internet.... If you're anywhere nearby, I heartily recommend you give it a try - you'll need to book though! Apparently the place was designated a historic monument in 1964 to safeguard its Art Nouveau interior and 1890s tilework and Jean-Louis Trintignant (the actor and nephew of the racing drivers Louis and Maurice Trintignant (the latter who fittingly won the 24 Heures du Mans in 1954) is said to have described it as 'perhaps the most beautiful brasserie in the world'. I won't disagree with that......

After the gastronomic feast we walked back to the hotel via a bar showing the very disappointing World Cup draw between France and South Korea. Then it was off to bed for me while the others sourced a final beer....

We breakfasted in Nantes, looking everywhere for a suitable place to eat but ending up buying croissants and bread and eating that instead before we set off to meander our way up the coast towards Cherbourg for our crossing back to Poole.

Inevitably, as the time wore on, our thoughts turned to our stomachs and with Mont St Michel shrouded in mist across the bay, we searched for a suitable hostelry.

Eventually we were lucky enough to almost stumble across a smashing place called the Restaurant Bar à l'Abri du Saunier at Saint-Léonard, where we ate extremely well - not for the first time this weekend!

And that was about it. The story tails off in true Python 'Holy Grail' style by saying that after some searching we found a hypermarket to buy some wine and other bits and bobs before heading off to Cherbourg and back to Poole for the journey back to Southampton.

So what do we make of Le Mans 2006? A good trip? No, an excellent trip, in my opinion. Superbly planned as always by Chief Tourist Ian, with a great bunch of Tourists. The highlights? For me, catching the tail end of the driver parade on Friday evening was a real pleasure. The weather was absolutely spot on. And so many good meals!! The only thing that let us down really was the race itself - but that's Le Mans.

Roll on 2007!

Post Script:-

As you will have gathered, there were no pictures of yours truly taken on my camera in 2006. But someone had to spoil things, didn't they Martyn? But I'm actually really grateful for the shot as it proves to Mrs. Aysedasi that I really was there after all and perhaps (just perhaps) I wasn't eating all the time - although my shape might suggest otherwise...... And for those going in 2007 - look out for the white and blue hat!