Hello and goodbye from Paris. By the time you read this, I will be on a plane back to the USA after a brief detour in Paris to attend the 2024 Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics.
What I Did During My Brief Stay In Paris For Olympics Opening Ceremony
As I mentioned yesterday, a very generous friend offered me a ticket to the spectator stands on the Left Bank for the Opening Ceremony and I thought it would be the sort of once-in-a-lifetime thing that I should take advantage of.
Plus, I wasn’t far away.
I was in Morocco this week (I’ll share details about that trip in due time) and I was thankful that there are no less than seven flights per day between Paris and Marrakesch, once part of the French Colonial Empire.
Getting to Paris proved no issue and I had no return ticket anyway from Marrakesh, as I was holding out for last-minute award space. Problem solved. I booked a ticket on Royal Air Maroc to Paris Orly and it cost only $143…had I been willing to get up at the crack of dawn, I could have flown Transavia for $53.
Security was tight across Paris, but the city was really quiet. When I took my wife here on a date night a couple of summers ago, it was absolutely packed. Not this week. Yes, there are a lot of visitors in town for the Olympics, but “regular” tourists have gone elsewhere. It was actually quite pleasant.
While many hotels in Paris were already booked (including the Hyatt Paris Madeleine literally while I was in the process of booking it), I got to try my first Mr. and Mrs. Smith property, a hotel called Le Wallace Hôtel & Bar.
The room felt like a college dorm room, but I was alone and for €170 it worked. Another reason I chose the hotel is because it was in the 15th arrondissement, which made it quite easy to walk to my assigned stand for the Opening Ceremony.
Ah yes, the Opening Ceremony.
Security was tight, with several checkpoints along the way.
It did not sprinkle. It did not rain. No, it poured. I had to chuckle as I sat there for three hours absolutely soaked…
All that planning for the most spectacular Opening Ceremony ever was dashed by Mother Nature.
But even so, it was still thrilling to be there and a lot of fun to see the various teams paraded along the Seine.
I prefer ancient hymns to anything written in the last 100 years, so the musical performances were not all that to my liking, but it was nice to see Celine Dion back (not that I could see her…but I did hear her). The French national anthem performance was spectacular:
The hot air balloon thing at the end was a nice touch, but I was so wet by that time that I was already walking back to my hotel.
After a warm shower and hot cup of tea, I went around the corner to a little kebap place for a midnight dinner.
My dessert was a ripe peach from a nearby grocery store. The fruit is always better in Europe.
Nothing like schwarama and falafel when you have not eaten all day!
As an aside, I also found a great coffee place called Cafe Nuances.
But just a few hours later, with the rain still falling hard, I was on my way to the airport once again to fly home to LA.
So was it worthwhile? Considering I was only three hours away, the answer is yes. The rain really dampened the experience, but there was still something so special about it and I was very grateful to have attended.
It’s oddly a great time to visit Paris. Hotels have jacked-up prices, but the city is not crowded. That’s really something you do not typically see in July.
Next, I’ll share a photo essay of my stay.
The brief parts I saw looked like a total shitshow. Why anyone would be entertained in a crowded, miserable set of stands watching polesmokers dance around is beyond me. But then again, unlike you Matthew, I have standards.
please tell us about your standards, Chi.
You’re well below them.
thank you, I’ll take that as a compliment.
Wow, it sounds like you had quite a different experience than I did. I can understand that large events like these can sometimes be chaotic and not to everyone’s taste. While the spectacle and excitement were appealing to me, I respect that you have different standards and preferences for entertainment. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, and it’s interesting to hear your perspective.
I enjoyed what I saw of the opening ceremonies, but it seemed like it was made for a TV audience. Aside from seeing the boats go by, could you really tell what else was going on?
Though not as convenient as the peach, French cantaloupe thus time of year are extraordinary. We don’t see them because the shelf life is shorter.
That room, a Mr And Mrs Smith selection, does not give me a lot of confidence in booking these properties through Hyatt. It’s horrid looking.
Matthew, I agree with you on ancient hymns, have you ever heard of Indelible Grace? They work to adopt old hymns to acoustic music and have several albums!
Would a hymn by Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan with lyrics by Sabine Baring -Gould be more to your taste?
LOL
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13679885/olympics-paris-2024-opening-ceremony-video-deleted-account-backlash.html
I wonder if in ’28 will you partake in any of the Olympics in LA.
I doubt it.
Congrats! Inspite of the rain, you truely embodied the spirit of the Olympics..being there is everything.
I was visiting Versailles yesterday when it happened to have the Olympic cross country riding. We had a fantastic sunny day and a huge crowd of spectators cheering the riders along the way.
That sounds like an amazing opportunity! Attending the Opening Ceremony on the Left Bank in Paris is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience that you couldn’t pass up. And it’s great that you were already so close in Morocco, making it a smooth transition. Seven flights a day between Marrakesh and Paris certainly give you the flexibility to make spontaneous plans like this, and it’s impressive that you managed to find such a reasonably priced ticket on Royal Air Maroc.
The added bonus of not having to worry about a return ticket from Marrakesh must have made it feel like everything just fell perfectly into place. Plus, avoiding the early morning wake-up by opting for the slightly more expensive but still affordable Royal Air Maroc flight seems like a smart move.
I’m looking forward to hearing all about your time in Paris and the details of your Morocco trip when you’re ready to share!