We are surprised that when we wake up at 9 a.m., we are still so deeply tired! Today, we note that there is no coffee in our room so we shower and head out to breakfast. We find Sadelle’s at Kith Paris. I choose a Waldorf salad and Shawn has an omelet. Our server is fluent in English and French and I delight in watching her transition between the two languages without difficulty. My favorite part of breakfast, though, is spotting the little love note in the cubby where the hostess is stationed. She is young and the handwriting of the note seems to be, also, from a young person.
From there we head back to the center of town near the Louvre Museum. We find the official store for Olympic clothing, hats and other souvenirs and purchase baseball caps, keychains and playing cards.
We find a lovely museum that is open to the public called Le Petit Palais du Sport. There is an exhibit here called Le Corps en Mouvement (Body in Motion) and the artwork is spectacular. I am amazed at how forward-thinking French women have been, even over more than the last century, in their quest for just recognition. Many of the sculptures showed the beautiful likenesses of athletic women engaged in activity, displaying their beautiful, muscular bodies. There is a beautiful garden just outside the doors and we take note of how many beautiful women are being photographed throughout the city, either by a companion or very often, by themselves, with selfie-sticks.
Another joyful moment I experience today is coming upon two young people in a park. They are holding up dry erase boards that pose the question, “What brings you joy?” “Qu’est-ce qui t’apporte de la joie?” I notice that the passers-by who stop to write on the boards almost all answer in English. The young people are happy to engage in conversation with everyone who stops to write.
In the early evening, we stop at a sidewalk café for lunch and enjoy a ham-sandwich type of a dish and some delicious French fries, as well as cocktails. Our server is from Normandy, France, and is comfortable to playfully swat my head with a menu after I took the menu off the table next to us! It doesn’t bother me, as he has a big, open smile and is playful with us throughout our time with him.
We head back to our hotel when the sky begins to darken. The sun sets at 9:30 p.m. so our evenings are long and lingering. We enjoy time together in the garden before heading in for the night. It is then that we notice we’ve been granted passes (Pass Jeux) so that we may move around somewhat freely (we are in a red zone, with increased security measures in place) tomorrow, the opening day of the Olympics. We are thankful. Shawn is trying to purchase tickets to the opening ceremony. We may end up watching the ceremony from one of the big screens placed strategically throughout the city. We are confident that we will get the experience meant for us. Good night, beautiful Paris.