Excellent TR. I was in Paris for the start of the Olympics for work. Loved every minute. Was actually able to find availability at the Westin Place Vendome about a week out. I like your philosophy re travel.

PS I tidied up your formatting (I hope you dont mind, it was messing with my OCD nature :))

Thanks for the kind words and thanks for the clean up. The formatting is making me unhappy as well, I was going to go ahead and fix it once back home. It's definitely a lesson for the next time to figure out how to deal with it on the iPad. Perhaps write in Word instead of Google Docs.

Writing this report without the benefit of downtime at the airport or in flight is more difficult than I expected…

Something got me in the mood for tacos, so I looked for a well reviewed place around where I would have to change the metro lines and came up with El Chingon.

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Six tacos mixed set for 25 EUR, more than enough even for a large man like myself


Can’t fault them, the tacos were not the best I’ve ever had, but very good, and the michelada was excellent. Easy 4.5/5.

Couple more stops on the metro and I am in Parc des Nations. First stop, Slovak house. Slightly underwhelming, not much is happening, some tennis is on and there is a stand selling half decent beer and some finger food. The restaurant menu looks good though, I will visit tonight for dinner, I think.

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Google did a funny and suggested I “erase people in the background”, so I tried

Main destination ended up being Czech house, and I can wholeheartedly recommend. They took over Cabaret Sauvage, with a large space both inside and outside, live sports, olympians coming to say hi, in general just a great atmosphere. I originally wanted to just stop for a bit, sample the beer and go to sleep, but the atmosphere was so nice, and then I watched watch Jakub Jurka absolutely destroy Yannick Borel in the teams fencing bronze match, winning the first Czech medal of the games and the feeling was electric.

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Moments after CZE draw the score in the bronze medal match


Some great modern dance set to a mix of Smetana and Dvorak made for a great cultural interlude and before long, the main event of the night was on, mixed tennis doubles finals with Czech team squaring against China. I watched the first set be handily won by the Czech team, almost left, but decided to watch the second just on the offchance they win, and while the Chinese pair managed to tie the match, and maintain just a tiny bit of lead through most of the tiebreaker set, the Czechs managed to turn around at last minute and went from losing 6-8 to winning 10-8.

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Fans watching the outside screen after team CZE wins the gold medal in tennis


The party started right after, and boy was it banging. After it was paused for the medal ceremony, I knew I had to leave before I get too caught up and end up missing the last train.

Eventually I got back to the hotel. A slight confusion on the side of the night receptionist (I had left my backpack in the hotel, and knew my room number, but didn’t get the keycard before leaving early afternoon) but soon I got what I needed.

The hotel is newly refurbished and it shows. Room is nice, bathroom on the smaller side, but workable. Plenty of power points, with USBs, even one or two USB-C. And a table just big enough to write the previous installment.

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The bed was great to sleep on too, and I ended up with almost 8 hours of sleep after all, deciding that leaving a bit later than planned is not the end of the world, the golf is an all day event anyway.

Welcome to my world :D

You’re doing a fine job and I’m enjoying tagging along

And so I roll out of bed at 9 and a bit. Sleep = good.

The plans for the day are to go see some golf, then in the afternoon go back to Paris and look around, and have dinner in Parc des Nations.

On my way to the station I check the Paris Transport app, and it tells me that I need to change at La Defense to a suburban train. That works well, I’ll grab breakfast while there, I have a long transfer.

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Today’s breakfast supplied by Paul


After the train ride, bunch of volunteers again, herding everybody through a barrier lined path that twists and turns to make space, until we are deposited on the shuttle platform. A small armada of buses line up, no soon one or two fill up, the whole thing moves forward so that the next batch can be had. After couple of lights we end up in a neat mini convoy of three, and see similar groupings in front and behind.

Truly great organization, I believe they have achieved under a minute between buses at the peak.

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Funky statue at entering the golf course. I gather it’s Olympics related as this is not the normal way to enter, plus the five balls


Golf National is a great venue for spectating, with every hole flanked on one or both sides by an upslope, allowing s number of spectators “stadium” style views. I believe it is deliberaly designed with this in mind and it was for sure a success.

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Crowd watches Hole 2. The turnout was higher than I would have expected, I always took golf to be a niche sport except the big UK and US tournaments.


There is no shortage of F&B either, in multiple spots. After wandering around and watching players take and make shots I could not in half the distance and quarter the precision, my choice is made.

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I went for a beef grilled cheese, and while pricy, it was well worth it. Bunch of cheese and pulled beef, all encased in a nice, warm, crunchy but only on the outside, bread. Only vegetable this has seen was the onion, and that’s a maybe.


Time to start thinking about getting back to Paris, but not before I watch the leader play one more hole.

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Crowd follows the leader as the last flight of the day closes the field.

Again very good organization with the shuttles, this time I elected to go to Massy-Palaiseau, which is a longer drive, but through nicer environment.

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This time, I was given not only water, but a leaflet that could be folded alongside pre-pressed lines into a fan


Initial plan was to try and make it for the finish of the road cycling race, but that would not work. So I go to Gare du Nord, leave my bag at the Consignes and see what’s what.
Somehow there’s only three hours left until I should be back, that’s shocked me a bit, I was planning with more. Well, let’s see what I can do. I really want to see how Notre Dame is doing, last time I was in Paris, there wasn’t anything to see of her.

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Next on the itinerary, Eiffel Tower and Trocadero. Maps suggest I might like to take a bike, and after seeing the improvements in bike infrastructure in Paris over the last few years, I’ll give it a try.

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Riding the bike along the Seine
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And who did I not meet if not a bunch of Dutch on matching orange folding bikes :D


Unfortunately, while the ride was fun, and I ended up even using a couple kilometers of the road race course in arriving to finish, the path to the bridge is blocked and there is no way to bypass the block… so I have to backtrack a bridge, go to the other side and along the Seine again. By the time I reach the Trocadero, time is moving and an executive decision is made to make a quick cycle to the metro at Iena. Unfortunately, the bike didn’t like being parked, so I lost another valuable time.
Well, as I walked out of the Metro at Corentin Cariou, it is raining.
It’s already late, and I decide it’s just not worth getting rained on and possibly drenched later if the weather worsens, only to have a rushed dinner and risk missing my train. Back to the station it is.

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Dinner tonight, not very French... or Slovak... but it will do

What a read!

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New and old models of TGV. As the are seen side-by-side here, it's really clear why I like the old one so much more. It seems designed, with intention, while the new one is just "we told the computer to do aerodynamics and this is what we got". To the left, a dark ruby red set put together from one old one and one new one stands getting ready for us to board.


The train boarding started 30 minutes before departure, and it seemed that half of the train is already there waiting.
With a bit of a delay similar to the usual “go to the jetway and wait there”, we were let on the platform, and then stopped just before the first carriage door until the final go-ahead. Then it was a fairly long walk until my carriage and a civilized boarding. Unfortunately, the train type seems to have been changed and that meant some confusion.
Either way, we were able to leave on time and I was happy with my seat, enough legroom, enough width, I would even say slightly more comfortable than the premium seat in the same train. Only downside is that the tray table was so large, it got into my being fat space. But, no big deal, I could still open and use it.
Note: No photos because train was full and there were children seated around me

Now, the train arrived in Midi, but I needed to get to my car at the airport.
The arrival time was 23:17 scheduled. There would be a train at 23:09, at 23:15 and then at 23:51.
Luckily, we were arriving a bit early, and the train at 09 showed 6 minutes of delay.

So, I had two chances to make it, looking at SNCB app, from platforms 8 and 12. I decided to make a run for it, and got out at platform 3 into the concourse, got my bearings and went down the underground pass. I’ve seen platform 7, then platform 9, missed 8, decided to go for 12. Up the stairs at 12, the train was nowhere to be seen, looks like it left. I look over and notice a train on what seems to be platform 8, just leaving. Damnit, I could have made it. Now I not only have 35 minutes to wait, the train itself was slower, so I lost more like 45 minutes in total. Not great at this time of the day, but I’ll have to deal with it.

Picking the car up was as easy as dropping it off, just opened the barrier and my card should be charged automatically, love it.
The rain that has been periodically showing up all evening went out in full force as I left Brussels due north, the worst I have driven in for some time, but was gone by the time I entered the Netherlands, and as I eventually parked in front of home, almost exactly 48 hours after leaving.

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Not far from Mechelen

So, conclusion time.

Sometimes, the French do things just to prove to everyone that they can. And I would say that the Olympics this year fall into that bucket. And you know what?
They absolutely can.

The organization of the games, the amount of volunteers starting from arrival at CDG, all the way around Paris, in and around the transport system, as well as the venues, was staggering. The way the environment was adapted to make wayfinding easy, and to handle the crowds, was great. The atmosphere, exactly as I would expect the atmosphere at the Olympics to be, and more.
Will I make it a point in the future to travel to more games? Probably not… Not unless they happened to be close by. Maybe the Winter games in Milan…
The Summer games will be happening next in LA and Brisbane, and I would expect somewhere in Asia after then. We’ll see, maybe in 20 years or so it will be the time again.

But am I happy I took the opportunity?

Absolutely!
Despite not being a big fan of Paris in general, the Olympics got me out and about the place, and in areas I would otherwise not explore, and I enjoyed myself immensely. Already looking forward to my visit next week, it’s shaping up to be France versus Spain in the football finals, that’s going to be an experience and a half.

This is my conclusion too. I visited last weekend but enjoyed it a lot even though I wasn't there a long time. It was raining on day 1 but it didn't matter because everything about the games was great and that certainly included the Handball and Volleyball games I went to.

Oh, and thanks for sharing.

Did you manage to go back to the Slovak house?

No, I pulled the plug when I found rain while getting out of the Metro, as you can read in #21. I might give it another try on Friday, depending on the timing.

There's better places and times to give French cousine a try than Paris during the Olympics :D also, you would have read how my quest for croque monsieur failed.

There will be plenty options to sample French cooking starting Thursday this week into next. I have a couple restaurants in mind on my way north to south - it will be a driving holiday, so not sure about a TR, but... maybe. Or I will give it as an addendum to this one.

And a series of bonus posts starts tonight!

I have set out on my driving holiday today. I will not be making a diary out of it, but I have decided that if there are items off French cuisine to be highlighted, or perhaps something interesting Olympics related, this will be the place to do it.

Tonight, I am in Charleville-Mèziers and had this nice duck leg confit for dinner. A good start of my vacation indeed.
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I had a plan to show you a French restaurant that the gigant of French gastronomy - the French car tyre company - marked with a star. The restaurant La Vielle Fontaine looked ideal for my purposes - that is, until I learned that they are off for holidays until the next week after I am through.

Damn and blast.

So here is your consolation prize then.

After leaving Charleville-Meziers on Friday morning, I found I had enough time not only to stop by Chalons-en-Champagne and Epernay, but also to stop by the Parc des Nations before moving on to Parc des Princes.
So here is the dinner that was supposed to be last week Saturday, but as a late lunch this week Friday.

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Happy to see sponsorship of Rona glassware. It’s no Josephinen, but it’s a respectable brand.
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Starter - buckwheat salat with marinated beetroot, root vegetables and a local smoked cheese
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Main - fillet of zander, pea purée, vegetables, beurre blanc
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Dessert - Forest fruit strudel with vanilla cream


The complete prix fixe menu with drink (choice of a glass of wine, beer or lemonade) plus water cost 40 EUR. Which I think is more than fair, and I was glad to see the Slovak gastronomy being presented in such a positive light in Paris of all places. And as I have seen, the Slovak restaurant is pretty popular with visitors.


After that, and a great football match, a night in the suburbs and a very long drive, I ended up in Avignon.

The original hope was, as I mentioned, to visit the start restaurant La Vielle Fontaine. That could not happen, so instead I ended up in Avenio, still very good, a Bib Gourmand holder.

Not as traditional French as I would have originally hoped, but enjoyable nonetheless.

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Ceviche of tuna for a starter, very very nice
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For the following course, I was presented with two options for the wine pairing by the sommelier, and being that I was in the papal city of Avignon, I decided to go with the Chateauneuf du Pape, and it was the right choice. One of the best wines I have ever had. Looking back, Vivino rating 4.2… I’d go even a bit higher. Highlight of my evening.
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Main in this menu was Iberico pork, prepared sous vice, on bed of sweet potato purée, with seasonal vegetables
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For the dessert, I went with a cheese platter, very enjoyable with the chutney. Particularly I enjoyed the aged soft cheese that is last on the picture going counterclockwise.

Prix fixe menu of 39 EUR, two glasses of wine at some 10-12 euros each.

I would say that this restaurant is one more proof that it is indeed still possible to find very good gastronomy in France for a reasonable price, if you know where to look for. Granted it was not a multi-course tasting experience, but every single bite of the food was excellent, not to mention the service. I will be back, the only question is, when.
(For comparison, the starred restaurant I was originally planning for was also quite affordable if a bit more expensive at 54 for the three course prix fixe and ~15 per glass of wine.)

I am afraid this concludes the French section of the report - I am currently down south in Cannes, and the restaurants I looked at are closed while I am here (leaving Monday for Italy.) Unless something unexpected happens, I will come back with a comparison of a starred dinner in Ljubljana, and that will be it.