Le Mans 2006
The Tourists' Story
Friday Evening in Le Mans
There were relatively few people in the ACO's "rotunde" building collecting tickets, so I didn't have to hang around for long. I guess pretty well everyone who had tickets to collect had already got them! But soon I was on my way back down the road towards the garage rouge. As I said previously, we were all due to meet at the cars in the garage rouge at 5.30 but I found the other five all there waiting for me when I got there. I think they were keen to get out of the heat and off to Le Grand Lucé.
I've almost lost count of how long we've been making our Le Mans "camp" at Le Grand Lucé. I believe it was first used by Ian, Carol and Martyn in 1993 and I first went there a year later. I think we've been there every year since, with the exception of 1998 when just Peter and I went to Le Mans. In just over half an hour or so we were back at the Hotel Restaurant Le Cheval Blanc , where the bedroom lottery was settled very quickly....the queue for the showers was rather longer though.....
We actually had a lot of time in hand. We weren't due back in Le Mans for dinner until 8.30 so there was ample opportunity to enjoy a glorious June evening. As Madame was out, we couldn't have a drink at the bar in the hotel, so we wandered up the road to another bar for an aperitif. Why is it that French cider always tastes so good on a Le Mans trip!
After the cider it was time to head off into Le Mans town for our evening meal. As most of you will already know, there's a big driver parade on the Friday evening in the town when the drivers are driven around, usually in suitable Le Mans-related machinery, to meet the fans, sign autographs and pose for photos. It's the closest that most of the fans are likely to get to the drivers throughout the weekend.The fact that so many people were in town for the parade meant that we had great trouble finding anywhere to park and eventually found spots for the two cars some distance apart and about 15 minutes walk from the restaurant.
In fact, those in Martyn's car had a worrying moment as, while he expertly manoevered into a very tight parking space, a warning lamp came on in his BMW. We had to leave the car hoping for the best.....
As we walked to the restaurant, the realisation dawned that the driver parade hadn't quite finished. In 20 years of going to Le Mans, I've never managed to watch the parade as we're normally travelling to our venue for dinner, so it came as a delightful surprise as we were on route to the Restaurant Le 1930 to simply happen upon the tail end of the parade as it passed underneath us. Of course, out came the camera to capture the moment!
It was a terrific Le Mans moment, proving that there can still be 'firsts', even when you've been going to the race for 21 years! It was also a splendid vantage point - I only wished I'd been there for the whole of the parade.
But it was time to eat. Most of us had eaten nothing all day aside from a few frites, so we were looking forward to a good meal - and what a good meal it proved to be!
We had 'chosen' the Restaurant Le 1930 purely by luck as the one which could offer us a table, but we were impressed by the menu (below) and even more so by the food when it arrived. I'm more than happy to rate it as one of the best meals I've had on a Le Mans trip. Of course, finding foie gras on the menu helped a lot..... I followed that up with an excellent filet de boeuf done in the local Sarthois manner and then the most delicious little goats cheese tartlet. Having begun the meal with my favourite starter, I finished likewise with crème brûlée! Magnificent!
After the meal we wandered back through the now somewhat less crowded streets to the cars and were pleased to find that Martyn's car was displaying no ill effects after all. It was back to Le Grand Lucé for some shuteye, ready for the rigours of the race weekend itself!
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