Paris 2024

Defying all my family vacation fears, we enjoyed what I'd call our best trip back to Europe since the big move Stateside. The ambiance was wonderful—celebratory, joyful, welcoming—in short, everything Paris does not have a reputation for being. Crowds brought their national support and enthusiasm in a way this city normally wouldn't deign. Instead of hopping from place to place, we unpacked our bags for a solid nearly two weeks of relishing in all this city had to offer while the world shone its spotlight upon us, and Paris did not disappoint.

I flew out for my first time using my new passport.

While our families and bags stayed put in Paris, we made a quick hop up to Lille for an overnight stay and a basketball match between Canada and Spain, where we enjoyed a free upgrade to the fan zone's 10th row seats!

The Concord Urban Project, a space in the dead center of the city where the skateboarding, break dancing, and basketball 3-on-3 matches were held.

Beach volleyball under the glow of the Eiffel Tower, followed by a midnight stroll through Paris past the Olympic torch hot air balloon? Yes, please.

Even a couple of matches of field hockey under a brutal summer sun was more fun than expected. And the Dutch fans brought their A-game, braving the heat in all sorts of bright orange gear.

An exciting upset for the French basketball team against Canada in the quarter finals had the heart of Paris cheering in unison.

We had a pretty sweet view for the men's triple jump, various hurdles and sprints, and two new discus Olympic records! And at a distance, the women's pole vault final was a tight competition that completely drew me in.

The Spain/Netherlands women's water polo match was a nailbiter down to the very final seconds, ultimately ending in Spain's favor during shoot-outs.

With a local sweetheart among the top-ranked players, even a day on the golf course was filled with more enthusiasm than I'd expected.

We swapped out my aunt and parents for Géraldine and Merlin as our vacation partners for the final couple days in the City of Lights.

Our final Olympic event, held on the morning of the closing ceremony, was the modern pentathlon. I still tear up thinking about the moment a French competitor (at 35 years old) crossed the final finish line in second to raucous applause with her arms held proudly over her head, following the champion who'd just set a new world record. To see such joy and pride for a second place finish moved me, and there's probably a life lesson for me somewhere in there. When it came time for the medalists to approach the podium, the entire crowd broke out in a round of the Marseillaise, the French national anthem, as the silver medalist cried tears of joy. It's not often the silver medalist is also treated to her national anthem. And fun fact: we witnessed the very last ever appearance of horses in the modern pentathlon! They are going to be replaced by an obstacle course in the next summer Olympics.

I suppose it wouldn't have been a proper Emilienne-and-Nico-visit-Europe vacation if we didn't squeeze in a little something extra, so we spent a night in Lisbon en route back to California. For dinner, we treated ourselves to an excellent tasting menu at Bairrices.

Dinner was followed by an after-dark tour of the heart of Lisbon. It wasn't enough to do much more than admire some panoramic views and some beautiful but dangerously slippery Portuguese cobblestones before we had to call it a night and set our alarms early for the next leg of our journey.

I'd created this blog, "Expat Homecoming", asking myself how, after a decade abroad, one can come back "home". I'm starting to understand that I'd gotten it all backwards: this blog is indeed tracking a journey back home, but that home is on the opposite side of the Pond and I'm still figuring out how to get back. I cannot wait until the day we fly to Paris one-way.