The “elbow lifters marathon” of Saint-Germain des Prés

What if we transformed the kilometers of the marathon into bistros?

Imagine you find yourself in Saint-Germain-des-Prés strolling down the elegant wide boulevards and shopping in this beautiful district full of luxury shops. Suddenly barbarians descend from all sides dressed in prehistoric garb, others all in All blacks, some lying on hospital gurneys plugged intravenously into bottles of red wine and even French gendarmes and nuns.

This highly amusing carnival, similar to a “pub crawl” stops at all the bistros and scenic cafe’s, such as Les Deux Magots & Café de Flore.  In each café, these “barbarians” “life their elbows” to imbibe wines and receive a stamp to their certificate.

This is a very special and rare event, from Saint-Germain des Prés called the Marathon des leveurs de coudes (the Marathon of elbow lifters). Twenty disguised teams compete by tasting the wine offered in 42 bistros. The 30th anniversary of the Saint-Germain des Prés Marathon will take place on September 5th.  The wine served to celebrate this momentous occasion will be the great wines of Bordeaux – Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe-. This is a warning to all amateurs!

Read the french version