What a Hot Time!

A lot of walking

I am exhausted! Since I last wrote so much has occurred! After our delightful tennis debut at the Olympics we went on to sample equestrian eventing at Versailles -simply amazing! The event was held on the grounds of Versailles which are vast! I have visited Versailles several times but never realized how huge it was—not the palace but all the grounds!

It was a long walk to those stands in the distance and that wasn’t even the half of it. We must have walked ten miles following the course around—up hills, down vales, through water, forest, grass and even bridges. The horses and riders moving fast and furious through the terrain racing the course.

A Jumper!

If you werent careful you could have been trampled!

After a big day of equestrian we were so tired we could barely walk the two miles back to the train station so we commandeered a guy with a car and hitched a ride back to Paris. The temperature was steadily rising each day in Paris and it was getting downright hot, so my husband broke out the portable, rolling air conditioners and rigged them up to the windows to vent. No sooner did he get those babies fired up than we blew all the fuses in the apartment and were without power. Our landlady was completely baffled by the air-conditioning units and could not understand why he would do such a thing when fresh air is all you need. Les was not in agreement and the fuses got replaced to withstand more amperage— and he is running them 24-7. His only comment—“you’re welcome.” You can take the man out of Texas but not the Texas out of the man!

The following day we tried our luck at archery on the Champs du Mars and Invalides. Those guys were some expert marksmen but it was so hot in the sun we did not last long and headed for the hospitality lounge indoors at the Palais de Tokyo.
The hospitality for archery was not nearly as good as at the equestrian event, but we made it work and got almost as many steps in-everything is far when you are on foot! It is impossible to get a cab anywhere so walking or public transportation are kind of the only options.

Crossing the Pont d’Alma

Palais de Tokyo

The following day was my birthday and I coerced the family into doing a cooking class at LCB. I think they liked it! It was titled-the Secrets of Chocolate-sounds exciting right? Everyone gamely donned their aprons and we made chocolate tarts decorated with chantilly whipped creme and hazelnuts. They actually looked delicious, but as usual, my birthday was a scorcher, and by the time we got them home, after an outdoor lunch at Monsieur Bleu— they were a liquid puddle!

Before—

After—

Despite the heat we took a wonderful boat ride up and down the Seine to see all the monuments and venues of the Olympics. It was hotter than you can even imagine but we still had a good time, drank champagne and toasted to being in Paris.

The best event I have seen though, is beach volleyball at the Eiffel Tower—-what a par-tay! I am so sad I am not a beach volleyball player-those guys and gals were in phenomenal shape and jumping around in the sand in bathing suits looks really fun!

Sadly, Team USA fell to Spain, but the energy was electric!

There were strange interludes with these “Mav-type dancers” that were fun and funny and the crowd was definitely engaged! The music had a very Barcelona night club vibe that seemed to fit in with the raucous crowd!

We had hospitality tickets with the volleyball and the location was up high in the Eiffel Tower—it was so, so cool! I have not been up in the Eiffel Tower in years and the views were as grand as ever!

The lounge in the Eiffel Tower was swanky!

After three hours, we limped back to the apartment for cold showers before dinner. Not wanting to go far, we skipped over the bridge to Cheval Blanc and drank cold drinks at Langosteria and took in those gorgeous views.

I have to say, though I will probably never go to another Olympics in my life (way too many people), this has been a wonderful, once-in-a-lifetime experience!