Day 47- Rest Day in Paris
I had a real sleep in this morning until nearly 8.00am. A good night of rest after watching Australia get 3 gold medals yesterday and witnessing Grace get hers on the time trial!
Great effort for Team Oz!
After breakfast we went for a coffee at a local cafe and had a really good coffee for a change!
The plan for he day was for me to do my own thing and meet some friends for lunch and finally pick up the Alkira shirts and cap!
Chris and Steve on the other hand we’re going to do their own thing and ride bikes around Paris.
Before heading off for lunch I made phone calls back home to wish my granddaughter Milla happy birthday for her 13th birthday.Hard to believe she is now a teenager and a very grown up young lady! It was good to speak to my family again as I am missing them after spending 47 days on the road!
After speaking to my daughter, Jodie and her family and of course Christopher (my youngest son (not to be confused with Chris on the riding trip) and his family making their way back from Mt Buller, I was into washing mode for all of us.
Washing done it was off for lunch with Alison and her family at a local Lebanese restaurant. Lunch was great and it gave me a great chance to catch up with Alison and see how much her daughter Brooke has grown! We swapped many stories of the Olympic Games as they had been to a lot of events, particularly the rugby 7’s as Alison’s husband is a former rugby player.
After lunch we decided to go to see the Olympic Flame which is at the base of a hot air balloon. The balloon has a cauldron which hangs from the balloon which is tied to the ground during the day and is tethered in the air at night. In contrast to the other Olympic Games where the cauldron is located in the main stadium, this is located in the Tuileries and is able to be seen by the public’s at large…. And boy was there a large number of the public looking to see it!
There were people everywhere and vantage points to take photos were at a premium. After this we made a walk to the Seine and had a look around the Louvre area. Once again there were people everywhere.
Saying goodbye to Alison and her family, I made my way back by the Metro to the hostel and enjoyed a shower and drink in time to watch Jessica Fox win her gold medal!!!! By this time Steve and Chris arrived back at the hostel just in time to watch the last few competitors complete their runs and see the joy of Jessica’s gold…. Seems they had a great day as well.
The pleasing thing was there was no rain and it was quite warm but not hot… early mid twenties and the sun was out most of the day.
Just a few photos today.
Lunch with Alison and her family
A few shots of the Cauldron
Alison Jaune and Brooke … thanks for all your help!
