Going to the horse race...
I woke up this morning excitedly preparing myself to go to the
Horse Race at Longchamp for the very first time. I
left the house at 12 noon and took the metro to Port Maillot.
There was a free bus "navette" if you take exit out to "rue
André Maurois", but I did not know so I went on foot for about few minutes before I
stopped a nice Frenchman to ask for directions. Well, he said
that the track is about 30 min. on foot thus he advised me to take
bus 244.
Alors, I got up the bus, validated a ticket then asked the driver if he
goes to the track. He said yes but pointed to the bus just in
front and said, "La navette juste par la est pour aller au
Longchamp". Oh well... c'etait un peu trop tard (too late)
maintenant.
I finally met up with the group at 1:30 p.m. on the tribune of "Tour 9", second
floor. We waited for almost 2 hours and nothing happened. You
know what? The horses and their owners and all the
staff were on STRIKE! (ah oui, c'est la vie
des francais)
However, I was very impressed with the Hippodrome. You can
bring your whole family here to do a daylong picnic on its
beautiful green grass (something that is very hard to find in
Paris!). In this open-air area, the adults can watch the horses
and the race up-close, as the children can amuse themselves with
interesting and fun games such as the Hippomobiles,
ponyrides... plus many others. BBQ foods are sold on
place.
And if you want to enjoy a more VIP and
panoramic view of the race track, have a nice lunch at one of
the classy restaurants. Otherwise, there are plenty of snack bars, tea salons, boutiques, ATM machines, and
children favorites like popcorn, cotton candies and
playgrounds. It is definitely a place for all ages--from the
very young to the oldest. You name it, you got it!
Learning how to bet...
There are 3 types of placing your bets on one, two or three
horses. The first is "Win On" and the easiest way to
bet. You choose a horse and you bet on it either to WIN
or to PLACE. If you choose to WIN, the horse you
choose must come in first to receive the WIN payoff. If
you bet to PLACE, the horse you choose must finish in
the top three (or in the top two if only 4 to 7
horses are racing) to receive the PLACE payoff. At the
ticket window, say: "(number of the horse) GAGNANT" or
"(the number of the horse) PLACÉ".
The second is "Win Forecast" where you pick two
horses. You win if the two horses finish in the first two
spots, regardless of their order--except for races with 4 to 7
horses, the order of finish must be exact. It will be
indicated in the program leaflet. At the ticket window, say: "(numbers
of the two horses) COUPLE".
Another one of this type is "Place Forecast" where
place dual forecast are accepted on all races with a minimum
of 8 runners. You win when the two selected horses finish as
follows: 1st & 2nd, 1st & 3rd, or 2nd & 3rd. At the ticket
window, say: "COUPLE PLACÉ (numbers of the two horses)".
The third is "Tri-cast" where you pick the three
horses that will finish in the first three spots, regardless
of the order of finish. It will be indicated as "tricast bets"
in the program leaflet. At the ticket window, say: "(numbers
of the three horses) TRIO".
Some words of advice: Don't wait for the last minute
to place your bets. Best is to bet early but wait for the
official payoff announcement before throwing away your
tickets. Et voila...good luck on your bets, admire the horses
and enjoy the race!
Cozying along the Canal...
At around 3:30 pm we left the race track, took the metro back to Le Marais...walked
around and visited some nice places, bars and cafes. Then we
met up with another group at Canal St. Martin
pour une fête du pique-nique...mais on y a ete trop tard
(too late). In place, we strolled along the canal, crossed a
few bridges then stopped at a small friendly bar nearby for
some cafes, cold beers and drinks. We took our drinks outside
and sat on the banks chatting until the night came--the weather was cool and
cozy--très agreeable indeed.
Et voila...a full Sunday that nothing worked!!! But
I have met many super sympa people from different countries
and backgrounds.
See more photos.
We will meet again for fête de la musique at Canal St. Martin in June.
Love Me Paris...
