Off to the Races

            After 12 hours of sleep, I woke up to an exciting morning in a new city across the globe. In spite of the previous night’s meal still digesting, I scurried downstairs, eager to break bread, literally. Each table in the breakfast room had freshly baked baguettes and croissants for each member of the table. A table in the center of the room had mounds of cheese, fruit, yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, paté, and juices. With little effort, I successfully stuffed myself again, reassuring myself that I would not eat again until dinner.

            In honor of the race, we began our excursion by visiting the Le Mans Miniatures shop we had discovered the night before. The boutique sold model replicas of cars that had raced in the La Mans 24-hour race, and each box listed the car’s results in the race. We even found a couple of model MG’s, the type of car my step dad collects, though both models had had some sort of crash or mechanical failure preventing them from finishing.

            Meanwhile, my mother visited the tourism office to find out the best tourist destinations in the city. Our late start proved troublesome, as we learned that most museums and major tourist attractions close from 12 pm until 2 pm every day for a brief lunch break. I came up with the resourceful solution of doing a self-guided tour of the ancient wall surrounding Le Mans. I had seen a pamphlet the day before explaining the ruins and suggesting a walking path. After a month of deprivation from 80-degree heat, we Minnesotans were dying to spend time outdoors anyway.

The Madeleine Tower on the Le Mans Wall (built in the 3rd century)

The Tucé Tower (built in the 3rd century)

            We spent the early afternoon following the red-brick wall surrounding the city. Because of this wall, Le Mans was nicknamed one of France’s four “Red Cities.” The intricate designs along the wall and the wall’s towers come from Roman influence and strove to detract potential invaders with their decadence. We watched hundreds of children on school trips skip along the wall and eat lunch on the lawn. One young girl ran up to a group of her classmates and tried to take a picture of them. When they shrugged off her attempts and she retreated to her one true friend, my mom and I giggled, realizing that mean girls exist everywhere.

            We followed the wall all around town and ventured into the more modern area of town, where we found beautiful gardens, museums, and cathedrals. We noticed small stages sprining up all over town and learned that France was having a national music festival. In Le Mans alone, nearly 20 stages would assemble with multiple artists performing on each.

Yet another exquisite cathedral.

            Around 2:30 pm, we departed for the race track, hoping to catch the qualifying race at 4:00 pm. Traffic was surprisingly light, possibly because thousands of the spectators had already pitched tents on the race track’s camp grounds. We began exploring each tent, from Michelan to Toyota, until we heard motors revving. We scurried to the race track and saw a line of restored vintage cars queuing up to race. We had not expected to see this event, and for an antique British car collector, this was extremely lucky.

            We sat right behind the pits in the grand stands, that way my step dad could watch the mechanics at work. Not surprisingly, many of the vintage cars sought the pits shortly after the first couple of laps. I decided to help pass the time by flipping through the book of entrants. While I was initially interested in finding the youngest racer (who is a year younger than me), I found myself entertained paging through the multitude of handsome racecar drivers. I was also excited to see two women racecar drivers participating in the event, one which I saw walking onto the track for the qualifier later in the day. Under Porsche’s entrants, I was shocked to see Patrick Dempsey as one of the drivers. I thought I must be confused and that he was actually sponsoring the car, but no! This actor is multitalented! It was his second time racing at Le Mans in fact.

A view from the top of the wall surrounding Le Mans

My favorite vintage car, speeding through the Le Mans track, reliving its glory days. 

Standing next to the winner of the car with the most artistically
designed exterior. This car was covered in mosaic and
pictured in the official poster for Le Mans 2013.

            After an hour of sitting, my mom and I were ready for a snack and change of scenery. We were most thrilled to find a champagne bar, which the few other women attending the event had congregated. In contrast, the Guinness stand was overflowing with belligerent men. We parked ourselves in front of a live band, performing covers including The Killers. When a torrential downpour hit, we preparedly popped our umbrellas open and stayed put, sipping on our glasses of rosé. The people watching was incredible, as people came from all over the world, all age groups, and all interest levels. We enjoyed watching a “group hang” of at least a dozen high school boys, probably locals, simply taking advantage of the spectacular event’s proximity to their homes. Groupies representing all sorts of auto-related businesses lined the event. Even a “Miss Le Mans” walked around in a tiara, offering to take photographs with men.

The winning race car of 1998, displayed proudly at the
Michelan stand.

          When my mother and I returned to the track, the qualifying race had begun. My step dad had met a Norwegian man who lived thirty minutes from the town of Hjelmeland (where my ancestors originate on my mother’s side) and had received his advanced degree in periodontal studies at the University of Minnesota around the same time my step dad was getting his dental science degree. They both were car collectors. What a small world! Though I had begun our trip skeptical of the Le Mans race track, I was really thankful we came. None of my passions or hobbies would have brought me here; I would have preferred camping out at the boutiques and cafés of Paris. However, I had the incredible opportunity of seeing this extremely historic site in which thousands of people from all over the world congregate. Who knew I could meet so many interesting people and learn much about racecars just from one visit to Le Mans. 

Wine with dinner

            Eventually, it came time to leave the track for dinner and enjoy our hotel’s fantastic restaurant. In fact, our hotel only has five rooms and receives the vast majority of its revenue from its meal service. The waiter first brought out bread and a pate, which we quickly devoured. The pre-course, chef’s courtesy, consisted of a broccoli cream sauce that had been puréed. My second dish (appetizer) tasted very similarly, but included crab, and instead of broccoli, the puréed vegetable was asparagus. For the main dish, I ate a special fish from France, which had been cooked in delicious vegetable and cream sauce (there seems to be a pattern). Finally, dessert was so beautifully executed, I had to photograph it. What appeared to be a white chocolate truffle was filled with chopped strawberries. They called this dish a strawberry gazpacho with chocolate. The meal was absolutely delicious, one of the most decadent I had consumed in my life due to the extensive use of cream.

Dessert as delivered

Uncovering the truffle

I had not been that stuffed in a while, so I had to walk off at least a small portion of the calories. My mom and I ventured into the town’s music festival, which had been curate-ing the soundtrack to our dinner. I was surprised to find the crowd around us well past my age group and likely into their mid-thirties, as the artists produced a sound similar to that of Fallout Boy or Paramore. The band had great stage presence, inspiring a couple members of the 200-person audience to crowd surf. Their costumes were incredibly funky, long tuxedo jackets with clown-like pants and high socks. They played until the police told them it was time to shut down. Respectfully, they sang a finale at the end of which, my mom and I retreated to our penthouse. Even without air conditioning on our top-floor suite, our full stomachs promptly settled us into a deep and peaceful slumber.

Even manholes in France are beautifully decorated.