Today,
Sunday, July 22nd, the Tour de France concluded with a triumphant seven laps
through the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs Élysées. We were front and center when Wiggins, trailed closely by a
horde of muscular calves, sped by over and over again. We captured it on film,
but that will have to wait for our return to be posted.
At the
same time, we were remembering with a ceremony earlier this week, the rounding
up of over 4,000 French Jews on June 16, 1942. Mainly children, they were dragged from their homes by the
French police in cooperation with the German government who, although they had
taken Paris, did not participate in the round-up. This was strictly a French action, though the reasons have
never been made clear. President Hollande, in remarks while laying a wreath at
the site of the former Velidrome a
few days ago (where they were taken and held for ten days, in the heat, with no
toilet facilities and little water before being transported to the death
camps), repeated President Mitterand's apology of 1996, by taking responsibly
on behalf of France.
Reportedly, less then 100 survived the camps.
I report
this because I find it so ironic that this took place in an arena that was
built for indoor bicycle racing and was, from the turn of the twentieth century
until the 1960's, a place of pride for Parisian cyclists and fans. Yes, they resumed using the Velidrome
after the war. It has been since
torn down and only a small plaque marks its original spot in the Fifteenth
Arrondissement. For more
information, read the fictional but historically accurate novel, Sarah's
Key.
Let's
see, how to end this post on an upbeat note. Oh, after falling four times over the course of this
trip, my knees-already mush to begin with-have not given out completely. But the local meds aren't worth the
euros you pay for them, either.
Oops, not a Happy conclusion.
Tomorrow
we go to the exposition center at the Porte de Versailles to see the Tut
exhibit. 12.90e on Mondays, 15.90e
every other day. Now that's good news!
6 comments:
I read the novel. A book that for sure impressed me.
Me, too, Mym. And surprised me, as well. Mel
Check out the movie! Have you been to the Shoah Memorial? It is heartbreaking but really worth a visit!
Hi, Jody. Went to the Shoah a few years ago when they were doing a retrospective on Irene Nimokovsky (have you read Suite Francais?)
The movie of Sarah's Key was good, but the book was better, IMHO.
Mel
Didn't realize Sarah's Key was a movie yet. That book still haunts me. And, because I have faithfully watched cycling for more than 17 years (sometimes against my will), I have to correct your Bradley Wiggins comment. He's no TDF rookie; he rode his first one in 2006. And here's a bit of comical trivia for you on another Brit cyclist: Mark Cavendish's significant other is a former Page Three Girl.
Ah, thanks for the correction. I heard that on French radio and probably missed something in the translation :) Mel
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