It was nice to be back in Paris, walking the neighborhood streets and greeting the local vendors. I took it pretty easy the first few days back in the city, doing a few errands and catching up on Cycle Blaze journals, both mine and others from the road.
There was not much cycling involved, other than a few errands on Velib but I did do quite a bit of walking around Paris and managed to fit in a trip to Roland Garros for the French Open. Consequently, this post includes lots of random pictures and some tennis – it will be another week or so before I set out on another exploration of France.
A nice "Welcome Back to the Neighborhood" from the iconic tower
The big event of the week was a trip to Roland Garros for the French Open. In past years I'd seen Serena Williams and Novak Djovak play and was hoping to catch Coco Gauff and/or Carlos Alcaraz this year. However, I hadn’t purchased tickets in advance and so needed to use the official ticket resale website. Success on these sites requires luck, timing, speed, and keyboard dexterity, a combination that I rarely can muster all at once. Available tickets would appear and then disappear under my slow-moving brain and fingers. But I was persistent and ultimately not choosy and so succeeded in scoring a ticket for three of the quarter-final matches on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the premier court at Roland Garros.
I arrived at Roland Garros in time to wander around the venue, watch Iga Swiatek practicing on the outer courts, and enjoy the ball boys/girls pantomiming their anticipated on-court moves. My seat was fantastic and I enjoyed two excellent women’s matches, won by Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, the current and former #1 ranked players in the world, respectively. I made it through two sets of the men’s quarterfinals but after five hours in the sun I cried uncle and headed home.
Court Philippe-Chatrier towers over one of the outer practice courts.
Susan CarpenterTo Steve Miller/GrampiesIt's only a foot fault if her foot touches the line while her feet are on the ground during the service motion. No fault if she is over the line while in the air, or after she hits the ball. Reply to this comment 5 days ago
Great seats! First match between Qinwen Zheng (serving, near court) and Aryna Sabalenka, far court. Zheng won the Olympic Gold medal at Roland Garros this past summer
Sabalenka won the match 7-6, 6-3 and voiced no complaints about the windy conditions during the match. It was a different story when she lost to Coco Gauff in the finals
Steve Miller/GrampiesI had been watching some French Open on Youtube, but the continuous fist pumping and grunting turned me off. You need some aggression to play any sport, but not on every point, surely? Reply to this comment 5 days ago
Susan CarpenterTo Steve Miller/GrampiesI think the grunting helps some players control their breathing pattern, but agree that it can get out of hand. Reply to this comment 5 days ago
A panorama taken during the men's quarterfinal match between American Frances Tiafoe (in blue, near court) and Italian Lorenzo Musetti, won by Musetti in four sets. The panorama captures Tiafoe as he moves across the baseline during the rally
"Victory Belongs to the Most Tenacious” – fittingly exemplified in the men's final between #1 ranked Jannik Sinner and #2 ranked Carlos Alcaraz. After being down two sets to none, Alcaraz saved three match points in the third and won in five sets. Lasting 5h, 27 min, it was the longest match in Roland Garros history and an instant classic. I wasn't at the match but was riveted in front of the TV set
Having been a de facto resident of Paris the past few years, I rarely rush out to the iconic sites of the city. I do frequent museums to see current expositions and have my favorite parks/venues that I visit regularly. My favorite pastime is walking the city streets, often taking a Velib bike or metro to some distant arrondissement and then walking home. Things changed a bit this time around due to my newfound interest in identifying Space Invaders, those tiled figures placed on buildings throughout France and other countries.
There are currently 1650 Invaders in Paris and while I have no hope or intention of finding them all, they do provide a target for daily excursions into new areas of Paris. I’ve taken to the streets of Paris most every day, armed with my Invader map and App as well as my camera – capturing scenes of the city as well as moving up the ladder in the number of Invader sightings.
The Place de la République, located on the border between the 3rd, 10th and 11th arrondissements. I've visited here a few times on May 1, when throngs gather to celebrate International Workers Day
In the Marais District, which was once home to the largest Jewish community in Europe. In the 1980s, the Marais became a center of LGBT culture. When I walked through the Marais in June 2015 it was vibrant and bursting with rainbows and pride flags - whether because it was Pride Month or maybe because the US Supreme Court had just approved gay marriage. On this June day, there were few reminders of that time, just faded rainbows at the crosswalks.
In addition to tennis and Invader tracking, I have been thinking about my next trip. In light of the theme of this current journal, my plans are to actually ride along one of the French borders. For now, it remains a toss-up as to which one but a favorite is emerging. More info coming soon.
