Thursday, June 29, 2006

At The Track


Gare du Nord Station

Ernest and Hadley used to go to the horse track at Auteuil to relax and possibly make some money. They would leave from the Gare du Nord train station and go "through the dirtiest and saddest part of town and walked from the siding to the oasis of the track." They enjoyed that patch of greenery that the track provided just outside the middle of urban Paris.
Ernest found it to be hard work, as he put it; learning about the horses, the odds, jockeys, owners and track conditions. Hadley would bet on the long shots, with little study, and often with good results.
Eventually, Hemingway found that he was spending too much time and money at the track and gave it up as a bad habit. The End of an Avocation, is the name of the chapter in "A Moveable Feast."
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3 comments:

Carlos said...

I'm also a great admirer of Hemingway. I've just watched Michael Pallins "Hemingway Adventure" last week, and guess what... next saturday I'll fly to Paris to spend a week. I was planning to visit Hemingways spots when I found your blog.
GREAT!!!!

Carlos (from Portugal)

Nikon said...

Hello Carlos,
I'm jealous! I have been to Italy (loved it) but didn't have the money to get to France. I was around the mountains that Hemingway drove ambulances in, in World War I.
I love Hemingway, too- I hope that you have a great time.
I love Michael Palin's work - right back to Monty Python. He is very good as a travel writer.
Lots of Portugese people in my state of Rhode Island and my own neighborhood - I think mostly from The Azores - San Miguel.
Have a great time Carlos.
Best,
Paul

Meg said...

Yay, Paul, I now witnessed the meeting of the minds!