Katherine's Next Trip!

OPENING CEREMONY DAY!!!!!

We were ready to flip to Olympics mode!  Since we didn’t know all the logistics and how the day would unfold, we made no solid plans for the day besides the Opening ceremony that night.  We started our Olympic day at the Olympics Superstore on the Champs Elysees which was less “super” than we expected.  

It had MANY souvenirs to buy, and we did spend a lot of money, but many other interesting souvenirs were found in other places around town and at specific venues as well.

After finishing our shopping, we exited the store in the shadow of the museum of the Petit Palais and the Grand Palais, which was a BREATHTAKING venue that we wish we had the wherewithal to buy tickets to after seeing its grandeur.  About to leave the area, we were approached by some journalists from Korean television to ask our feelings about the Olympics starting and how secure we felt.  We were glad to share our excitement and feelings of security with them as we had experienced how serious the organizers had taken security for the games as soon as we arrived back in Paris.  We might have been on tv in Korea, we don’t know!  

After realizing the Petit Palais Museum was free, we stopped in for a while to enjoy the juxtaposition of modern art mixed in with classical sculptures and paintings from hundreds of years ago.  We took our purchases back to our apartment and steeled ourselves for the afternoon and evening as we were unsure of the extent of security closures after the “most serious” cutoff time of 2:30, two hours prior to the time when we had to be at our gate for the viewing of the Opening Ceremony at 4:30 across town.  

The Olympic Flame was making its way into the city, so we decided to head to the festivities near the Canal St.  Martin, where I (surprise, surprise) picked up a sandwich mixte and a tart and went to see the flame pass by on a boat alongside thousands of others lining the banks of the canal in the festive atmosphere that even included cheerleaders and a deejay!

It was now time to report for the Opening Ceremonies! We hopped back on the metro (we loved our transit passes!) and went to get in line.  We were early and they didn’t let us in until an hour after the expected time, but we picked a spot on an incline next to a barrier under the ominous looking skies where we could view the big screen well so we could see what was happening along the over 4-mile length of the Seine River.  

We got our first reusable cup, a special one that commemorated the Opening Ceremonies and that we would see MANY of throughout the coming days.  It was such a special feeling being a part of the festivities, we could see the opening sequence from our position with all the smoke that came off the bridge and we were the first ones to greet the athletes as they entered the celebration.  The next 4 hours were filled with rain, a lot of cheering, and us watching the parts of the ceremony that was taking place away from our spot on the video board.  It was a fun spectacle, and I had friends who had better spots, but we had fun even after getting soaked when the rain started up in earnest about halfway through the ceremony.  Our Olympics adventure had started!

Saturday, the 27th

We visited the beautiful Saint Chapelle the next morning with the colorful stained glass that illustrate the whole arc of Scripture in the 15 bays of windows that depict the Biblical story through 1,113 scenes, 15 meters tall.  It was more beautiful than I had imagined and was amazed how they were able to depict so many scenes in so little space.  

Afterwards, we went to the Conciergerie, most famous for where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned during the French Revolution but discovered WAY more than that due to an AMAZING device called the HISTOPAD!  They gave us tablets as we walked in, and it took us on a tour through the rooms with interactive activities and views of how each room looked in each era of its history.  The scenes moved with us no matter which direction we pointed it, and there was even a TREASURE HUNT for us to engage with the surroundings and collect treasure throughout the building.  It really brought the history to life and deepened our understanding of its significance in the history of France.  

Stopping by Hotel de Ville to one of the Olympic fan zones, our Olympic spirit was on its way up. 

Needing lunch, we went to grab another sandwich, but this time it was the famous “steak frites sandwich” at La Baguette du Relais before heading back to the apartment on our island to prepare for the day’s events!  

We weren’t done with cycling just yet!  The time trial races for the women and men were that afternoon and conveniently the course crossed our island (which meant that there were road closures EVERYWHERE and limited access to the island, making it significantly less crowded than other spots along the route) in BOTH directions, so we would see the riders race one way and then 20 minutes later we would see them whizz by the other direction.  The crowds on the other side of the bridges were ENORMOUS and our little area of the island’s crowd was just the right size.  

We were getting good at cheering along the riders in time trials, seeing as it had only been 6 days since the finale of the Tour de France.  It was so exciting being a part of the Olympic spirit as the spectators’ roar could be heard from far away as the riders approached on the course.  Even though the rain had stuck around a bit, we managed to not get too wet and witnessed Remco Evenopoel’s first win of his historic sweep of the two road races in the Olympics.  

After a wander, my friend was part of an art show that evening, so we stopped in for a bit of culture before our first official competition we purchased tickets for, beach volleyball at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. 

We knew that sitting under the Eiffel Tower at sunset and the excitement of one of the premier events of the Games would be a highlight of the trip and it was.  The AMAZING announcers even held the competition start for us to witness the first twinkle of the night and it was PERFECT.  

We got to see the USA vs Canada women which got a little heated near the end, but at least we won! Then we saw the men from Italy and Qatar face off. I of course was rooting for the Italians at first, but the men from Qatar were SO FIERCE and played SPECTACULARLY so they ended up turning the crowd to their side and won after some amazing play!

After the competition was over at midnight, we made a beeline home to sleep to prepare for our gymnastics day!  

Sunday, the 28th

The Paris 2024 app was INVALUABLE during our trip, it had all our tickets inside as well as details and advisories for each particular venue.  It always suggested arriving an hour and a half before any of our events, which at first seemed a bit excessive, but with the distances that we had to travel as well as the processes we had to go through to enter, we felt like it was enough time to allow us time to explore the venue, use the restroom, buy any souvenirs that caught our eye, buy food, be entertained by the announcers, and settle in for some exciting competition.  

We were lucky enough to score the early morning double header rotation tickets for women’s gymnastics, 2 rounds of 4 teams, the second which included the USA Women’s Gymnastics team.  That 9am start time meant arriving at the venue at 7:30am, meaning we left for the event much earlier than that on little sleep we received after our late night under the Eiffel Tower.  

With every apparatus occupied by athletes, we could barely follow each flip and twist taking place across the arena.  With the gymnasts moving so fast, I really HAD to decide either to ACTUALLY watch the competition or take pictures, so OBVIOUSLY I didn’t get good ones.  I really couldn’t believe my eyes that we were seeing these ladies that I had seen on tv for so long in front of my eyes!  

It was a once in a lifetime experience and I am especially glad I watched the resale platform like a HAWK as soon as it became available to snag these hard-to-get tickets.  It was a hot enough ticket that even Snoop Dogg, Hoda Kotb, and Tom Cruise had to get in on the action!  

As soon as that was over, we made a beeline for Stade de France to see the women’s rugby 7s.  It was a day packed with Olympic excitement!  Rugby 7s is a fast-paced game with 7 players on each side with two 7-minute halves.  With a new game starting every 30 minutes, we went from novice spectators to almost experts within the span of an afternoon.  We got to see every team play multiple times, so that meant being able to cheer on the eventual bronze medalists, Team USA!

The atmosphere inside the Stade de France was so jubilant, energized by the sightings of the Olympic Mascot, the Phryge, the engagement of the announcers, and the music and sing alongs that were spread throughout the afternoon. After a long day of sports, we watched one of the famed French swimmer Leon Marchand’s victories via France itv on my phone while we made our way home.

The games were underway, and we had caught the Olympic spirit. Stay tuned for more of the excitement of the next week!