More pics

Leaving Nice and on to beautiful Paris

The game at Nice was fun! Soccer games are spread out throughout France, so the one at Nice was not full at all, which meant we could move anywhere we wanted. We ended up sitting 2nd row, just steps from Colombia’s bench, watching them warm up!

some other cool experiences in Nice was hiking the top of Castle Hill where a river ends in a waterfall.

The next morning, we took the high speed train to Paris! We checked in to the Hotel Louison, a cute boutique hotel where our kids sleep in a separate room then us. Ahhhhh. We walked all over our neighborhood, St. Germain, had an early dinner at Le Standard, which has the look of a bar I would like to emulate if I were to open my own in Druid Hills. We then walked to the Seine, where there were a lot of Olympic venues. We could hear the crowds going crazy over archery! And a Mexican archer was hanging out next to us.

Today, after breakfast we did a guided tour of the Musee D’Orsay with our guide, Justine! She taught us all about the evolution of the Impressionist movement. Renoir, Monet, Van Gogh! How the impressionists revolted against the current standard of art (themes could only be religion, mythology, or history - anything else was “scandal”).

We then took the metro toward our first game in Paris, the men’s quarterfinal match in soccer! And guess what? We are going to see USA v Morocco! And, we are seeing it in Parques de Princes - where PSG plays, former home to Mbappe and Messi! I’ll have more to report after the game!

Nice, day deux

Ah, glorious sleep. Woke up refreshed for our first real day of vacay! Had beautiful breakfast on the terrace of our hotel, including our first French pastries. Then, we walked through Old Nice on the way to our first excursion!

For today’s activity we did a morning/early afternoon e-bike tour! Rode along the coast of Nice, learned about the history of the area (which used to belong to Italy at one point), and saw beautiful Mediterranean homes on the peninsula (think Bill Gates, Elton John) and had a picnic lunch. Afterward, we snorkeled and floated in the Sea again, and tonight we are off to our first Olympic event, women’s soccer (Canada v Columbia)!

Nice is a beautiful town on the French Riviera, and so much to see and do but the gem is definitely the Sea!

Nice, France day 1

We landed in sunny Nice, France today! Our hotel, La Perouse, is a historic hotel embedded into a rock overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Old and gorgeous, with an outdoor terrace with a view!

We walked around the Promenade (waterfront), had a quick lunch, and took a dip in the Mediterranean! The water was awesome, cool and crystal clear. Landon saw an octopus!

We had dinner overlooking the Sea and some beach volleyball and then slept hard!

And we’re off!

Well, our Olympic vacation begins today! And I’m excited to share it with my friends and family on this blog. We’ve been planning this trip for about two years! At that time, we decided to purchase Olympic tickets, and we had no idea what teams we would see. We only purchased dates and times.

Men’s soccer quarterfinal

Women’s soccer group stage

Doubles ping-pong

Track and field

Swimming

Basketball

Recently, we found out that the brackets lined up so that we are seeing USA basketball! The dream team with LeBron, KD, Steph Curry, etc! Also in men’s soccer, we are potentially seeing the US or France play Argentina.

My goal is to write daily and include pictures of what is going on so you all can follow along on the trip! Love,

Alan

Reviving the blog

It’s only been 12 years since my last post. Technology has changed. Smart phones, power, the world, and now power this blog! Previously, I had to fire up the old computer, download pictures from my digital camera, upload them to the blog and then write comments!

I’m not a huge fan of social media, so, I’m thinking of using my blog again to update everyone on our trip!

trying first picture uploaded as well!

Testing testing

 Thinking of posting for our trip to the Paris Olympics!