Thursday 20 June 2013

jeudi de paris

My two daughters could not be more different than chalk and cheese.  Anaïs loves her bath hot, Téa likes hers cool.  Anaïs loves durian.  Téa  hates it.  Téa  loves cheese.  Anaïs hates it.  Anaïs is creative.  Téa  is pretty straightforward.  Téa  is a tidy-er. Anaïs is not.  Anaïs is an introvert.  Téa, needless to say if you already know her, is clearly an extrovert.  Anaïs is a dancer. Téa  is a runner. 

I could not get any good photos of the ballet concert they were in last Sunday.  So I'm posting some photos of the mini marathon that Téa  took part in two weeks ago.  She had already won the cross country race in her school in KL last year, and she knew it was no easy feat.  The mini marathon was organised by the town hall.  There were some 'entertainment' for the afternoon, and a prize giving tea party scheduled for after the race. A multi-talented talking/singing giraffe was the emcee/cheerleader/entertainer of the day.


This is our quartier, at Place du Panthéon, two minutes from our house; in the background you can see the Bibliotheque St Genevieve where the young and studious come to do their research and on the left is the law faculty.

The Panthéon was orgininally a church built by King Louis XV in the 18th century in dedication to St Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris.  Over time, its use and function has evolved.  Soon after its completion, it was turned into a mausoleum for the internment of great Frenchmen (and women).  It was also where physicist Léon Foucault conducted his experiment to demonstrate the rotation of the earth by constructing a 67-meter pendulum beneath the central dome.  In the early 1900s, Rodin's first large scale bronze casting of The Thinker sat contemplating in front of the Panthéon.  Although it has reverted to being a church a couple of times, today the Panthéon  is a very distinct monument of the city and serves as a mausoleum (the other bring Les Invalides for historical military leaders like Napoléon), restricted to "National Heroes" like Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Marie Curie, Louis Braille, amongst others.  The inscription above the entrance reads "AUX GRANDS HOMMES LA PATRIE RECONNAISSANTE"(translation: "To the great men, the grateful homeland").


Anaïs was celebrating the moment, quite happy to cheer her sister on and let her take all the limelight.



Téa ran in the 7 to 9-year old category.  Here she is trying hard not to be intimidated by the bigger, taller kids...


Can hardly see her above the fence!



But I can see her super fast feet peeping out from underneath, ready to fly!


I'm small, but strong and determined...


Nearing the finish line, she gives her all.


She comes in third happily, and is asked to go onstage with the very musically-inclined giraffe.


Smiles all around, third place is not a bad place to be, it means you have something to aim towards to next year!


At the prize-giving, she meets the son of the mayor.


It was a perfect day; the sun was out, the race well run and at the tea party, there were cakes and lollies.  On top of that, there was a medal to bring home!

4 comments:

  1. Wow! Congratulations Tea :) way to go!

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    1. guess who she takes after...impatient, speedy, sporty

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