Paris O's, Days 5 and 6

KM and THB pose with Fridge, note one of us is cropped!

  Day 5, Paris, Wednesday, July 31

Department of Corrections: THB is seriously out of date on the VB scoring. Winners get 3 pts towards the round-robin scoring unless there is a game 5 (to 15, win by two) and then the winner gets 2 pts towards the round-robin and the loser gets 1. For example, USA went 5 games (or known as sets) in each of their two matches, winning one and losing won for a total of 3 points. A team that won its first two matches has 6 pts and a team that split it first two matches (neither of them going 5 sets (or games as THB knows them) has 3 pts. 

There are fewer teams competing in the round-robin, 3 groups of 4. 8 teams qualify for the quarterfinals. THB thinks that means top 2 in each group and next two highest pt round-robin teams. 

Annals of Cuisine: THB and KM decided to do a taste test of 3 Marais boulangeries, leaving around 8:30 in what felt like (and was) intense heat and great humidity. That's because it was really hot and humid. We were out for about 2 hours and THB's neck was mildly sunburned. 

Was this the right thing to do? The Triathlon was on this morning after some delays due to pollution of the Seine. THB watched the first hour or so of the Women's race (swim and some biking), and we returned to watch the bike and running sectors of the Men's event. 

As far as we could tell, only one of the men appeared to be sick, projectile vomiting after crossing the finish line (disgusting!). No pics of anyone else's condition (and we don't  parlez vous French).

Our taste test and results, plus pics from our walking around:

art near the Pompidou

Not Notre Dame

Tile graffiti by Invader, now a famous artist

Park near a prior stay of DB and THB's

arcade across the street

Brigat, the first of two NYT reco's, another block from the park

Known for brioche style, light, excellent (KM questioned THB's choice of drink - cafe au lait- given the temp)

Petite Ile

Pain au chocolat, with sesame seeds mixed into filling, also highest rating

Street sign and former employer of KM

Revisited Tout Autour: unbelievably good baguette (dark bake, better  than first tasting two days ago of standard baguette; also KM got a salad, plus THB bought a large amount of Morier cheese at what seemed a bargain price

Not the Tour de France, the Triathlon

Taste test results: THB thinks maybe, since the boulangeries were  excellent in their categories, this is more like winning a gold medal in individual apparatuses and we need to do more tasting to determine a winner in the overalls. 

Lunch in the room, watching the Men's Triathlon, won by a Brit in a stirring stretch run to pass the Kiwi who had led the entire run portion until the last few seconds. 

Off to VB, another USA Women's match, this time vs Serbia, the 2022 World Champs. USA is the reigning 2021 Olympic Gold Champs. 

Pre-match:

the most uncomfortable seats so far; another 5 game match, lasting 2 hrs 20 minutes. 

the wandering DJ entertaining the crowd waiting to get to their seats. THB and KM timed our arrival much better and also knew where we were going this time.  

KM found this roving face painters while doing her pre-game stretching (and avoiding the plastic seats)

Deja Vu all over again, told in watching the scoreboard:

USA wins first two game easily, mostly with great net play (hitting and blocking). Serbia responds with two wins. Now in the 5th game (to 15), USA take the lead

USA extends the lead, and as the deciding game goes to 15, they just need to hold on by gaining side-outs (the receiving team generally has the advantage, especially if they bump the serve up to a spot where the setter can run the diverse offensive sets all teams use now)

USA has 3 match points. The PA announcers encourage the crowd to stand for set and match points...we've been standing for the last 3-5 minutes now! Good newss: our tushies are not in the seats.

Serbia fights back to tie the match at 14, and now the USA has yet another match point (winner earns 2 pts in round-robin, loser 1 because there is a 5th game). 

USA wins...OH NO, SERBIA challenges the last point...the PA announcers don't tell the crowd (or THB more can't hear over the crowd) what the challenge is (THB realizes while prepping the blog the reason is on the scoreboard, he can't read the smaller font now), and no showing of play on the scoreboard...tick, tock, tick, tock, and a few minutes later, with both teams wandering the court, it is announced:

POINT FOR USA!! 

pandemonium of USA team and coaches, the match ends, THB and KM head back to Hotel Citadines for light supper in our rooms

Book Review: Blue At The Mizzen, Patrick O'Brian (novel, book 20 of the Aubrey/Maturin series, read by Simon Vance, pub'd 1999): Nearing the end of this volume, Jack gets a promotion to rear admiral while helping the Chileans gain independence from the Spanish and fight off the Peruvians at the same time.  Recommended

Book Review/In The Something Else Category: The Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey, Patrick O'Brian (novella, the end of the Aubrey/Maturin series, read by Simon Vance): O'Brian died before finishing this volume and the publisher  decided to give O'Brian's many fans a partial book, begun and not finished, in 2004. O'Brian died in 200.

  Day 6, Paris, Thursday, Aug 1

A doubleheader day of VB, 1 and 5pm matches. Plenty of time for a slow morning, and THB hits the fitness center for the third time in week 1, then relaxes while watching the 20K walk. Not pretty given the heat and humidity. THB's room is a/c'd and quite comfy, coffee au lait and Tout de Autour dark bread toast. Grape Nuts (imported from E-Ville) with raspberries for breakfast. 

KM gets sandwiches for lunch and dinner, THB has a terrific smoked chicken on great roll

1pm Match

Brazil vs Japan, THB would estimate the Brazilians average being 6" taller than the Japanese players

That's not a satellite circling the Rising Sun, it's a light fixture

Early in game 1, this is about as much of a lead Japan gets, falling to Brazil 3-0

Brazil has a huge number of fans at the match (see Observations below); note the drum/tambourine in our seat mate....she banged it incessantly throughout the match

THB and KM are among the very last to leave the arena as we returning for the next match. Reason: it is smoking hot outside and a/c is on inside. Finally we exit, turn left and get at back of line getting ready to enter. A few minutes later we are back inside and sitting in a small section of tables and chairs, quite comfortable. 

5pm Match

Again taking advantage of avoiding the dreaded plastic seats, we share a table with a very nice pair of 40-ish Brits and chat away. Approaching match time, we usher them to their seats which by coincidence are in almost the same seats we have had for the 1pm match. We are bit further away, with another great view of the court.

It is Italy vs Netherlands and also not much of a contest as the Italians roll up the Dutch in 3 games. Both matches go about an hour shorter than the 5 gamers we've seen, and we are back in the room around 7pm, fitting in a facetime session with DB where we learn all is well in San Ramon (Db is helping EM out with twins, even Sandy is enjoying her holidays). 

many Dutch are dressed in orange, pretty much in same numbers as the Brazilians 

Observations:

• Almost everyone finds their correct seats, ushers are rarely called upon to help out
• The arena needs almost no cleanup between matches as attendees don't seem to generate much trash and if they do they take it out with them
• No alcohol is sold in the venues (THB thinks this has a lot to do with the first two observations). Paris has exchanged profits for civility, much appreciated by THB and KM
• There are extremely long lines to use the toilets. Obviously, the underlining reason for this was the potty planners assumed that with no alcohol being served they could cut way back in this area