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By Jamie McAllen - Guest blogger traveling in Paris
Of course, besides history one also should take in contemporary France. I am doing that by following the Tour de France, the cycling race that goes all through France (and usually a couple of neighboring countries) over a period of 23 days. I have to say I don't care two bits about cycling, but I do love to watch the Tour ('Le Tour' with capitals of course) because of the great landscapes. Therefore, the days in the Alps are my favourites! Le Tour is a pretty major event here, and there are spectators all along the route, and the actual cyclists are preceded by a large caravan of promotional vehicles giving out freebies. So whenever I want to take a break (from shopping, sightseeing or sometimes even studying) I sit down at a cafe to have a "cafe" and I can practice my French by asking the Garson how L'etappe is going. Yes, there are scandals going on involving alleged use of doping, but for the moment we collectively try to ignore that and enjoy this traditional event. I just wish the French cyclists were performing a bit better...
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