Impressions of France and the Olympics
PARIS 鈥� The Summer Olympics and Paris, France.
If you鈥檙e a traveler and sports lover the last couple weeks provided an opportunity to cross two items off your bucket list.
Roaming the iconic city and the surrounding area and watching the best athletes in the world compete in a myriad of sports was a dream trip.
Heading into it you hear rumors, receive advice and suggestions and, if you don鈥檛 speak English, you enter the endeavor with a bit of trepidation.
Here蘑菇视频 a few thoughts and observations of that trip to France for one of the ultimate sports experiences, following past trips to Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney, Australia, in 2000.
Opening Ceremony
There蘑菇视频 mixed feelings here about the Opening Ceremony.
In Atlanta, there was the unforgettable moment of Muhammad Ali, battling Parkinson蘑菇视频 disease, appearing right next to our seats while holding the Olympic torch.
There was plenty of spectacle and parts were very entertaining but the bottom line in both Atlanta and Paris is there are an awful lot of countries that participate in the Olympics and trying to wait out every single one being introduced results in the event to drag on seemingly endlessly.
Paris took a unique approach, being the first to introduce the athletes outside of a main venue as each team floated down the Seine River in a boat. Some of the boats had multiple countries on board which helped the evening flow a little quicker.
It was interesting to watch from a seat on one of the bridges and the Olympic torch蘑菇视频 鈥渢rip鈥� to light the flame was amusing and dramatic at times on a large nearby video display.
Basketball great LeBron James held the flag as the USA蘑菇视频 boat floated under us, an honor he would share with tennis player Coco Gauff throughout the ride.
One of those infamous Paris heavy showers put a bit of a damper on things, but seeing Celine Dion, who continues to battle stiff-person syndrome, belt out the final song was an emotional moment.
Sightseeing
Weaving sightseeing in between watching Olympic events was a must and France has several must-see places, two of which are the Louvre Museum and the Versailles Palace and Gardens.
The showcase of the Louvre is the Mona Lisa painting by Leonardo da Vinci but both places are fascinating to take in.
There蘑菇视频 the Eiffel Tower, of course, which was much larger and more intimidating than I imagined.
The Arc de Triomphe, a humongous structure that features four main intricate sculptures and contains the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, was spectacular to see up close. The structure honors French war heroes of the past and opened in the 1830s.
Other spots were the Sacre-Coeur Basilica Catholic church high on a hill in Paris, nearby The Stairs Rue Foyatier and its 222 steps leading up to it.
Not sure what it means that I was gleeful to see the Arc and the Stairs after seeing both featured in key scenes of the movie 鈥淛ohn Wick: Chapter 4.鈥�
Then there蘑菇视频 Moulin Rouge.
If you鈥檙e an adult and like dancing and singing 鈥� granted, at an R-rated level 鈥� then you鈥檒l highly enjoy a night here. Don鈥檛 bring kids but take your wife, girlfriend or just a bunch of friends and you鈥檒l have a great time.
I didn鈥檛 venture to the Notre Dame cathedral which is open but still under reconstruction after it was greatly damaged by a fire in 2019.
Watching the men蘑菇视频 marathon take place when back home and seeing the course weave around many of the above-mentioned landmarks added an extra reason to stay tuned.
For those of you wondering, yes, it蘑菇视频 true, I was watching that marathon live from around 2 to 4 a.m. Not sure what that says other than I love watching the Olympics, no matter what the sport.
French people
鈥淭he French hate Americans and tourists in general,鈥� was a theme in warnings received from several different people and this caused a bit of concern. Advice was given not to go out alone at night for fear of muggings or worse.
These were all unfounded on the trip.
When out among French people at restaurants or various other locations just about everyone was cordial and friendly. There were a few exceptions, but not many.
The French fans displayed tremendous support for their own athletes, with the chant 鈥淎llez les Bleus鈥� 鈥� meaning 鈥淕o Blues鈥� for the color of the French uniforms 鈥� or variations of that echoing at most venues.
It蘑菇视频 not a surprise that the American athletes weren鈥檛 a favorite of the French fans, but it was baffling at how hard they pulled against certain USA teams, such as the Women蘑菇视频 Basketball 3X3 squad. They cheered on the little-known country of Azerbaijan as if they were one of their own and likely had an effect on that team蘑菇视频 stunning victory over the Americans, although the United States would rebound from an 0-3 start to earn a bronze medal.
Food
Yes, the food was fantastic in France, especially breakfast with the various baguettes and the much smaller servings of coffee there, most of which tasted so good that I drank them black, forgoing my usual cream and sugar I use back home.
There wasn鈥檛 a restaurant visited that didn鈥檛 leave you with a highly satisfied feeling when you departed.
Fans
One of the most interesting aspects of the Olympics is watching fans from around the world 鈥� some of them quite fanatical 鈥� coming together to urge on their country蘑菇视频 athletes.
The United States fans were there in abundance and loud, as expected, and the French fans always made their presence felt.
It蘑菇视频 heartwarming though to see Spain蘑菇视频 fans get behind tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, the contingent of Polish fans cheering on their men蘑菇视频 3X3 basketball team as it upended a disappointing American squad, the Chinese fans roaring for their table tennis teams, the Italian fans rejoicing at swimmer Nicolo Martinenghi蘑菇视频 eye-opening gold medal in the men蘑菇视频 100 breaststroke and celebrating and taking selfies with the obliging star afterwards, the surprisingly large throng of Brazilian men蘑菇视频 basketball fans that traveled to Lille to see their underdog team put up a gallant fight against highly-favored Germany, Malaysian fans screaming for their badminton players, and the polite equestrian fans cheering all competitors no matter how well or poorly they performed.
In the end, it was an experience of a lifetime.
Next up: Los Angeles in 2028.
Rob Burchianti is sports editor of the 蘑菇视频 and can be reached at rburchianti@heraldstandard.com