Sunday is race day in France. I am guessing this to be true, since we have stumbled onto little local foot races on almost every Sunday since we arrived. The first was in our neighborhood. We were so surprised to see our fellow Parisians out running! There are very few runners on the streets of Paris. But on that first Sunday morning, they were everywhere! All wearing tournament t-shirts that designated age, category, etc. The races started early with the youngest children and went on for most of the day. The bus schedule got totally screwed up – normally not a big deal for us, as we ride the Metro, but it was such a sunny day we thought it would be fun to take our favorite bus #64 back to the old neighborhood near Cimetière du Père-Lachaise and find our favorite little Chinese take-out vendor. Bad idea on race day....
A short time later, we happened upon another race, this time in Bayeux France, as we were walking down to the market square on Sunday morning.
The young girls category was starting. I managed to snap a few photos and when I looked at them later, I noticed that hardly any of their feet were touching the ground! It was as if all the little girls of the area were flying!
We have noticed that in Paris, as in much of Europe, Sundays are generally spent with family. When we are in Paris on a Sunday, we have embraced this cultural norm, and we often spend our Sundays just walking through the parks in our neighborhood or cheering on the locals when the streets close for a race.
We returned from our week in Provence late on a Saturday night. Sunday morning we were surprised at how quiet the neighborhood was - no sirens, no cars, not even a scooter. Just as we were about to become truly alarmed, a band started playing Eye of the Tiger. From our balcony we could just make out a full musical ensemble at the end of our street, complete with a drummer ("and every horn but a French Horn" Ron noted). We suspected there was another foot race, and walked down to the corner to investigate.
It was the Paris Marathon! For the next 4 hours, the band played, the people cheered, and 45,000 runners, including some of the most elite athletes in the World, ran right through our neighborhood.
Maybe life has always been this way, and I have just missed it. Je ne sais pas - I don't know. But today, It feels good to be here, wherever "here" is in the grand scheme.
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