Today started out by eating our croissants from the Boulangerie that has won many “best croissants” trophies (more on that when I upload Day 15) in bed. I worked on the blog (as you can see), then we sadly started packing which, of course, is always quite The Thing! (I taught Leann Herbert’s trick of packing anything that needs to go in the laundry inside-out, so when you unpack you can get those things straight into the washing machine!)
I did get Day 14 updated and published. When I input my notes from our Day 15, I realized that it would be hours and hours to get it right. So, I completed packing, dressed to head out to water polo, and off we went!
We had to get back on the RER train to get to the venue, but we’re old hats at this now. Unfortunately, we first used our Travel Card on Friday (for Trampoline), so we realized when we couldn’t scan through at the Metro that our 7 days were up!!! Boo hoo – 16 Euros for a few trips today! The 7 day pass was less than buying 7 days’ worth, though MUCH more than it would “usually” be. (The Metro price was jacked up for the Olympics.) Thank goodness we had purchased these back when we were at home and had them mailed to us, because we would constantly see folks trying to make the tickets “work” when we were traveling through.
This is a photo of a sign in the RER. “Poubelle” is one of my favorite French words. (Um, it means “garbage can” lol.) Others? Pamplemousse (grapefruit). Époustouflant (breathtaking). Merveilleux (Marvelous). Parapluie (Umbrella). éblouissante (Dazzling). Mignon (Cute). Bisous (Kisses). Aubergine (Eggplant, or a purple color). Bienvenue (Welcome). Etoile (Star). Flâner (To wander without a destination). Soupçon (A little bit.) Vivant (Alive). Deuxième (Second). Grenouille (Frog). Grisaille (Greyness). Pâtisserie (pastry shop). And, a new one from this trip, Quincaillerie (remember what that means…???)
In case you’re wondering, this is what a “cup of coffee” looks like at the Olympics. You can get straws of sugar, but no milk. (Even if you can, it’s whole milk. One gal asked if she “could have oat milk” at a restaurant, and the waiter waited a beat and said “No.”)
Not quite sure why there was a guy rowing around in a Zodiac and a scuba diver, but I’m sure there was a good reason? (I didn’t get my camera out in time to take the photo with the boat in the water, but the scuba diver is in the front right of this photo, above the Olympic rings).
Our first game was Italy versus Spain. The Spanish team was SO together. We wondered whether they were actually going to shutout the Italians – the Italians did get some points though.
My favorite part though was this Italian player’s son came out to “congratulate” him – Hey, dad’s always a winner in his book! :-)
American was against Serbia for our second game. Serbia was unbelievably good. I don’t know who they will be playing for the Gold, but I bet they’ll get it. America does have a chance for the Bronze depending on how they do in their next game. It wasn’t the greatest game ever – I do admit to yelling “Oh come ON!” more than once….
Taking the photos was such a funny experience. Back in high school, I was responsible for taking photos of the water polo team. Of course, I would take the photos – then have to wait a week until they were developed, to see if I had “gotten” anything at all. Now, I can check, crop, and be ready for the next shot in minutes.
Who’s this guy? The ball starts on a platform that raises up out of the water. We kept missing how the ball gets onto the platform. Well – it’s this guy, above!
Finally – one of the Netherland players sitting in the row ahead of us?
I had two things left in my “bucket list” for this trip. Well – there were others, but they were suggested by friends, so they were in our TripIt but we just didn’t have the time. My two things were to hit Les Enfants Rouges, the longest continually operating market in Paris, plus to go to The Red Door speakeasy.
We did make it to Les Enfants Rouges, walked around, but didn’t see what we wanted, so headed to Le Sancerre, a bistro right there in the area. What amazing burgers! Wow! Leann had a mojito, I had a Moscow Mule. When we were in the bistro, it POURED rain! But luckily, it was just a “squall.”
Then we used CityMapper to get us to The Red Door. It was a bit funny – we stopped right where it actually is, but didn’t see “anything.” Well, of course we didn’t. That’s the deal. LOL.
The Red Door has an Alice of Wonderland theme – so the actual “red door” is only about 4 feet tall. There was a striped blue and white wall next to it, and a gentleman in a boater hat. I suddenly realized – duh – that IS the Red Door. I walked up to him and said in French “Um, is this a bar?” He said “Why?” I said “Can we come in?” He went and checked inside, then said “Follow me.”
We actually walked through the blue and white wall “next to” the red door. I was happy about that, because I’m not sure I could have gotten in via the red door! (Feeling very much like Alice after drinking the beverage that grew her as big as a house!)
This bar is set up like a speakeasy. They have their own cocktails, a great ambiance, etc. I was just so happy that we made it! The bar stools and chairs are so big that everyone had their legs dangling, and we were up in a “loft” type area where the waiter had to duck to serve us.
We got home to wash the “Olympic Schmutz” off, and it reminded me how much I wanted to call out the hotel’s bathroom. ?What? Yes, bathroom. They used a “fake wood” on the floor, and also in the shower. It looks really great. Moreover, it has a rainforest shower head in the ceiling, plus a hand-held, both with amazing pressure. Yay!
As I mentioned, I’m doing Day 16 (our last day – boo hoo!) today instead of Day 15, because Day 15 was packed. I guess I will try to do it on the plane.
Finally, we tried to find a Patisserie open when we were on our way back (for one last treat), but alas, too late in the day. So Leann headed over to Pizza Sorrento to get us a tiramisu, I dug my travel “spork” out of the luggage, and we’re finishing up!