Our Last Big Trip. Episode Three: Paris

Andrew drove us back to Rennes where we turned in the rental car and hopped on the train to Paris, a high-speed, comfortable ride of about two hours. Oh, have I mentioned that the newer, high speed trains in France put our feeble Amtrak trains to shame? But my intent is not to downgrade the U.S. I would not want to live anywhere else. I will not argue against the claim that despite our many flaws and challenges, the U.S. is the best our small and fragile planet has to offer as we tiptoe through the 21^st Century. But still. One of the main takeaways from all our traveling over the years is that there is much to praise, celebrate and, yes, to envy in comparing our country to other countries. And Paris perhaps stands alone as Exhibit A as the most intriguing and beautiful world capital in the world.

In carefully planning out the entire trip, Embry had reserved an Airbnb in a neighborhood near the Bastille Memorial and the Bastille Metro stop. A few days earlier she had been contacted by the owner informing her that since major construction was underway in their apartment building, the apartment was dark, gloomy, and during the day  subject to the sounds of a jackhammer. He gave us the option to cancel, but at the time we felt it was too late to make a change. We told him we would take our chances. While the owner’s warning was accurate, the apartment was plenty large and was located on the ground level, which made all the difference from what could have been a heavy lift dragging luggage up to a fifth or sixth-story apartment.  It worked out fine.

 Paris is always busy and charming, but the 2024 Paris Olympics transformed the bustling city into a Paris-on-steroids. Andrew said he read somewhere that most Parisians who could get out of town got out and had rented their homes to visitors like us and that the city now was a mix of sports enthusiasts from all over the world. Athletic events are being held not only all over the city but all over the country and beyond. Sailboat racing is happening on the Mediterranean and surfing competition is in Tahiti! But most events are happening in the city concentrated around the Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysée, and in several large sports stadiums.

We spent one full week in Paris. This included for all six of us two official Olympic events—table tennis and beach volleyball–and two additional events for Andrew’s family, water polo and track and field. Everyone besides me also took a day trip to Versailles. We ate most breakfasts at the Airbnb and had two or three dinners with the whole family there as well, eating out for most lunches in bustling sidewalk cafes and brasseries. We all ate dinner out together at three restaurants—two French and one Japanese. All were fabulous and compared to U.S. prices were reasonable, with tipping strictly optional. The first afternoon Embry and I took a boat ride on the Siene, spent another afternoon visiting a terrific new museum on medieval art (“The Cluny”), and all six of us spent a lot of time strolling along the busy sidewalks, enjoying a coffee and a croissant at a café, and people watching. In other words, doing the Paris thing. And the entire time except for the deluge during the opening ceremony the weather was near perfect—sunny skies and low humidity with highs in the mid 80s. The Airbnb apartment where we stayed with our teenage grandson, Parker, was also in a fabulous neighborhood with all sorts of stores and restaurants, convenient to the Metro and only a 20-minute walk to the Ile de la Cite where the rest of Andrew’s family was staying. Other words, lucky choice.

The only downside was the handicapped-hostile Metro system with almost no elevators or escalators. And due to street closures to permit Olympic street events like cycling and road racing, the Metro was the only way to get around to Olympic events. Twice we admitted defeat and tried a taxi, but both times after roadblocks and vain searches for alternative routes, the driver gave up and directed us back to the nearest Metro station. I did not count the steps in every Metro station we entered but counted enough to conclude that the number per station averaged about 50 steps on two and sometimes three levels, and that is only for one way. Who goes down these treacherous steps has to go up again to exit.  For a hiking stick addict like me with a bad left knee and balance issues this presented a bit of a challenge. But it also provided a window into the soul of Parisians (and visitors to the games), who it turns out are kind people. Several people asked me if I needed help as I inched up or down the steep steps desperately clinging onto a handrail, slowing down foot traffic behind me. Without exception, someone—often several people—immediately would pop up out of their seats when I boarded a crowded train car. It reminded me of our experience in China train stations when young men grabbed our suitcases and charged up the steep stairs where we would find our bags waiting for us. I compare this with our DC Metro experience where often a surely teenager is sprawled out in a seat reserved for seniors and handicapped people, and the only way to get him to move is to threaten to strike him with a hiking stick.

And what about the 2024 Paris Olympics? If you watched the Paris Olympics on TV, you know how the games turned out and what these extraordinarily successful games were like. The United States exceeded most expectations, tying with China with 40 gold medals and first overall in total medals. And many of the games, like the basketball game were epic. Of course, watching French television (and later aboard a river boat), German television, the only games we saw the U.S. teams on television were when we played France or Germany or were playing for a medal.

The two events we attended in person were in jampacked stadiums with people from all over the world waving national flags and screaming and hollering even though most of us did not have a dog in the fight. Both events featured two contests, one for a men’s team and the other for a women’s team. The table tennis took place in a massive, indoor stadium and  featured two extraordinary players, a Chinese player ranked number one in the world versus a 17-year old French prodigy, who was the darling of spectators, who were mostly French. It turned out to be a close, three game match with the Chinese barely beating the French player. Later both players went on to win medals, a gold for China and a bronze for France. China also won the second table tennis match and went on to win gold for the women. Beach volleyball was held in a medium-sized outdoor stadium holding several thousand raucous fans and featuring China versus Switzerland for women and Germany versus Brazil for men. Both matches were close, with China and Germany winning. Even though most people were from other countries, everyone seemed to be caught up in the action, cheering wildly. We cheered for the French table tennis player and the German men, but I suppose like most of the people there, who won was less important than a good match. Few I guess were disappointed. We certainly weren’t. What also stood out about these games and the ones we watched on television was that after each match everyone shook hands and many often embraced their opponents. What is important for most athletes is participating. You are on the world stage and your goal is to do your best. If your team wins that is great, but since over 200 countries are participating, only a small percentage of athletes will win their events and an even smaller number will win medals. But for most athletes—and I suppose for most spectators– that is ok. Being there as part of this world event is what is important. The experience is magical and will last a lifetime. I know that it will for me.

I am checking this one off my bucket list. The Paris 2024 Olympics far exceeded my expectations.

Next installment: the riverboat cruise on the Soane and Rhone rivers.