Roman Holiday: Take Two Part II or Time Trial on Lido

Here we are, finally! On Lido, a barrier island off Venice, at the race, and ready to see some racing! 

There are some photographs that Jeff likes to call, "Pictures of Jeff's Vacation." These are not to be confused with what Jeff calls, "Danielle's Artsy Pictures." I must warn you loyal reader, the pictures that follow mostly fall in the the latter category. There are however, a few rare photographs that can meet the criteria and are BOTH "Pictures of Jeff's Vacation" and "Danielle's Artsy Pictures." I'll let you decide for yourself which ones those are! But, since we are now on Lido and about to watch the opening time trial of the Giro 'd Italia, here is a "Picture of Jeff's Vacation" to start us off:

It turns out that Skoda is a european car manufacturer and one of the major sponsors of the race. Not, as I had previously decided in my own mind, a european chewing tobacco. Team Lotto on the course warming up:

Lance? Lance are you in there? I have to say "Hi" and give you a hug from Susan. Lance?

Lot's of serious faces on trainers warming up. (BTW, if you know who any of these guys are please leave their names in the comment section, thanks!)

There is actually a person, whose job is to prepare the trainers for warm-ups. I'm assuming they have other responsibilities too, but this guys is good!

I heart Christian Vandevelde. I think Levi said today is his birthday. Happy Birthday Christian! (Those are ice pack vests that they wear while they warm-up, ironic, isn't it?)

Heart palpitation. Heart palpitation. Sweet ride!

In this picture, I have actually allowed Jeff to touch the camera and take a picture of some fancy shifter/brake combo thingy. It's all the talk around the water cooler at Performance.

When the teams warm up, they do intervals in unison on their trainers. The sound is similar to that of a jet engine taking off. They probably turn more watts in warm-up than most of us on our best day ever. (Often they have cotton balls stuck in their noses too. I didn't include any pictures because it's not very pretty, and I don't know why. Again, if you know why, please leave a comment.)

This is why I am now the proud owner of my very own aero-helmet: so I can look just like this guy; who appears to be the champion of something in his country (note the green suit even though he is clearly on Team Colombia High Road).

This lesser known european team is waiting behind the starting line for their team time trial.

Team Lotto rider that keeps getting into all my shots, what a camera hog!

Mark Cavendish awaits the other finishers as they determine his fate:

Lance! Lance! Over here! Oh well! I'll catch him next time.

Cavendish wins the time trial, the stage, the pink jersey, and all the other jersey's up for grab!

Ever wondered how they make the winner's jersey's? There's actually a man at the finish line with his iron press, awaiting the results and cranking them out. He's trying to cool this one off, I think, so as not to singe our winner, Cavendish.

Cavendish celebrating his win. He is later accompanied by Dolce and Gabana, who keep walking by our seats and as stupid uncultured Americans, we have no idea who they are.

We finally return to our hotel after an amazing dinner with our new friends. On the way I stop to shoot St. Mark's Cathedral. Next time, I will bring my tripod and sneak it into Jeff's bag, so I can have it, but won't have to carry it.

Piazza San Marco:

It's been a forty hour day and I am ready for bed, but not until after one last shot of the amazing Venetian streets at night!