The comments expressed in this blog are those of Sally Wallace and in no way represent the opinions of AED, the Fulbright Commission, or the Department of State of the US Government.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Le Musée Olympique - The heart of the games





Bonjour mes amis. Our friends, Lisa & Kris LaMontagne, visited us from Onancock, Virginia for a weekend in the French Alps. Sunday, March 6, we traveled to Lausanne, Switzerland, to explore the Musée Olympique in Lausanne. The exhibits at the Olympic Museum span a range of more than 2,200 years, starting with the ancient Greek games and continuing with the modern Olympic Games from 1896 to present day. There was a complete collection of Olympic Torches and Olympic Medals, which, by the way, were not hung around the necks of winners until the Rome Olympics of 1960. Other interesting items on display included Carl Lewis' "golden shoes" from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and Jean-Claude Killy's skis, boots, goggles, and helmet from the 1968 Winter Games in Grenoble. The museum is situated in the Olympic Park on the shores of Lac Léman in Ouchy, Switzerland. The founder of the museum, Juan Samaranch, wanted to promote and spread the Olympic spirit. The museum shows that "the Olympics is much more than a sporting competition. It is a philosophy of life which includes sport, art and culture as the traditional pillars of the Olympics." After exploring the museum we walked down into the heart of Ouchy and sampled traditional buckwheat crêpes for lunch. Délicieux!

Mme. Wallace

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