After the three hours of protecting our groin from 40mph gummi bears and the 20 seconds of watching cyclists, we were thirsty and hungry. So we retired to the patio of Bar L'Avenue in Mezel and got some nourishment. Later that night a band showed up, and we ended up having a lot of fun watching people let loose. And yes, there was another fight in the bar that night.

We started with a nice cool beer to quench our thirst. From what I can tell, this is the Gatorade of Europe.

Other people starting showing up.

And a band arrived and did its sound check. That is Suzanne's mom sitting there, and you can also see Jean-Luc (bartender, bouncer, cook, waiter, and now sound guy!) He is holding a sound meter to make sure the band isn't too loud.

This video is great - it's during the sound check, and it's an Irish song. Suzanne's family is from Ireland and they got a kick out of it, and then some spontaneous dancing broke out. That was enough for us, we decided to stay through dinner and see the show.

We ordered a carafe of rose wine because Suzanne said it went well with tonight's special, which was "lapin avec les pommes des terres."

Rabbit with potatoes. It was really good.

Then the party really started. The accordion player was all wireless and he could roam all over the place and play. It was really fun. The people got into it and sang along, he crossed the street and went into the bar, and a good time was had by everyone.

(this video is huge, so check back to see if i ever get it uploaded...)

Here's the video of him crossing the street...

Then later, when things were winding down, these guys broke out the SKYNYRD!

Thanks for looking!