Olympics are On!

Striking Gold!

I have to say the opening of the Olympics was quite a sight! From our vantage point we saw all the activities on the Pont Neuf which included acrobats, tightrope walkers and dancing bellmen (now we know what the luggage carts were for) but we honestly had no idea of all the other “scenes” that were playing out all down the river. I would have loved to have seen Lady Gaga or the woman who sang La Marseillaise from the top of the Grand Palais. The flotilla of athletes coming up the Seine, which I am sure you all have seen, required one to stake out a place from which to watch- and because events were happening all over town -there was no way to witness it all!! Sadly, I saw more on You Tube the following day than I did that night. Which is not to say we did not have fun-we did! There was non-stop action on the Pont Neuf!

Acrobats on these poles! Unfortunately it started to rain!

A heart in the sky right above us and the return of the luggage carts with dancing bellmen and a float of Louis Vuitton luggage!

One of my sons arrived that morning, and after a snafu with the taxi — all bridges were closed inside Paris and the taxi driver had entered on the Right Bank so there was no way to cross the river and we had to go to Plan B. I told him to abandon the taxi and head to the Metro. He was a trooper, and lugged his and his girlfriend’s luggage down into the subway and popped up not too far from the apartment, where we just rolled them and all their belongings the rest of the way.

My daughter was coming from Amsterdam and she had not bothered to check in before she got to the airport, and of course her flight was oversold, so — she was on standby. I was nervous--there were no other available flights on the afternoon of the 26th—three hours before the opening ceremonies. Lacking another option, I very firmly told her to figure it out and get herself on that plane. She did, and all was well. Though she did confess that she told the Air France folks that she was a sound engineer for Celine Dion and needed on that plane right away! High marks for creative thinking! No idea if they believed a word of her tale, but she did get off standby and on the flight—so there you go.

Once they were safely arrived, I relaxed, and we got ready for the parties! Our first party was the Christian Dior cocktail and watching party on the top of Cheval Blanc, to which we scored an invitation thanks to our friends in Dallas at CD! It was oh-so-chic, with the red carpet out in front and a strictly-monitored guest list. We felt special and were thrilled to get in and see all the fun!

Coming up the red carpet!

Dior and More!

The funny thing about this party is that it was 50 yards from our apartment, but as I mentioned, every bridge in Paris was closed on the 26th. Though we could see the festivities across the river-there was no way to get there. Salivating with anticipation, I was not going to be thwarted in attending this party due to closed bridges. I started working on alternative routes. Finally, I came up with the idea of taking the metro from a little farther back in the 6th to across the bridge underground... Not the most glamorous way to get there, but —-it worked!

The crowded metro was not how I wanted to arrive at CD! Standing room only!

After we arrived at CD we were whisked to the 7th floor and there was an international collection of people, all decked out in Dior head to toe. I have never seen so many Dior handbags and dresses outside of the store in all my life! We sipped side cars and hung out on the balcony until the show was about to begin —then we scooted out and rode the metro back across to meet up with the kids and head to the neighbors’ party.

At the neighbors’ we really settled in and watched the floats come down the river and chatted with every expat American we met. it was a ton of fun—for us. The kids were getting restless as it was all people our age, until our landlord mentioned that her son was having a party on the second floor and they should join. No sooner were the words were out of her mouth, than the kids were saying their thanks, and sidling up to the door to run down the stairs to the “kid” party. They had the French flag hanging over the balcony and were belting out The Marseillaise— I believe a great time was had by all!

Oh to be young again!

We stayed and partied to the wee hours at the adult party, but finally faded off and into bed. The 27th was mostly a recovery day until we headed out to Roland Garros for the debut of our Olympic events. Well, we struck gold! We did not know it when we bought the tickets, but we ended up seeing Alcariz and Nadal playing doubles against the Argentines. How lucky could we get! They were amazing—individually and together, and it was a wonderful way to open the Olympic experience.

Our seats were great and getting to see these two was worth the price

Enjoying the match!

Two days in and I have to say the Olympics have been not-stop fun since the pass jeux is no longer required. The whole neighborhood has come back to life! My other son arrives today and we have big plans for the coming days! There are many more events to come and I cannot wait to celebrate them with you all!