Friday, August 2: Donna's final thoughts

Note: Like most blogs, this is in reverse chronological order.
To start from the beginning, scroll down to the bottom and click on "older posts".

As promised, I want to recap our Olympic experience along several dimensions.  I am writing this from the plane headed to New Jersey to celebrate Julia Sommer’s wedding.

First, let me say that I think the French did many things well to make the Olympics a great spectator experience.  Some of the highlights:

• Transportation.  First, we bought a pass for the week that worked flawlessly on everything. I bought our passes in advance to be shipped to our home, but you also could purchase them in many places there.  As a result, even when our local friends had to stop to buy specific tickets, we zipped on through.  Second, we downloaded a free transportation app that worked beautifully.  You set up your home destination and selected the venue you wanted to go to, and it gave you all your options.  It operated in real time, updating as the situation changed – if something was late, or you missed the first leg, it would show an alternative.  Finally, those ubiquitous pink signs in all the stations were tremendously helpful.  They were easy to spot and usually very clear about where to go.  They even had them inside EACH subway car, to highlight which stops had which venues.  It's hard to believe how much effort this took, and will take in cleanup afterwards. Other than the fact that much of the transportation was not air-conditioned, which made for several miserable rides,  I think they get pretty much a perfect score on transportation.
• Volunteers.  They were everywhere, with a distinctive color shirt that was easy to spot. They all were super helpful.  Most were bilingual.  Sometimes we just wanted to check as to whether we were on the right track, and we could confirm with them.  We read that there were 50,000 of them – I can’t imagine organizing that.
• Security.  While in a sense it made the whole situation feel like you were in an armed camp, after a while you stopped noticing all the armed guards, helicopters and even snipers on buildings.  We saw them in every nook and cranny of the city, even parts far from the Olympic activities.  But it did make us feel more safe as a result.
• Event queues.  Other than the opening ceremony, which did not go well, the queue process seemed to work fine.  Each place was a tad different – some had metal detectors, some frisked you, some made you drink from your water bottle, all checked bags more or less thoroughly, etc. – but overall they got the job done and did it quickly. 
• Chatchkas.  Lots of t-shirts and memorabilia were for sale.  Boutiques of them everywhere.
• Water.  Almost all venues had water stations for refilling your water bottles with potable drinking water, often very cold.  This was a lifesaver several times for me! Some venues also had tall water misters that you could walk through to cool you down.

 Okay, it’s only fair that I also point out the things they could have done better:

• Food.  Come on, France.  Nachos for dinner?  They could have provided better food options.  We ended up solving the problem by bringing our own.  But, really.
• Entertainment.  When you arrived at a venue early, they used the big competition video screens to entertain you.  They did this in a variety of ways.  Some had music, even with singalong lyrics.  Some had silly things, like a “dance-cam”, where they would feature spectators dancing.  Many had a “find Pierre” activity, which was a guy dressed up as Pierre Leboutin, the creator of the modern Olympics, and they went around the audience looking for him.  (At first we were surprised that Pierre happened to be just coincidentally at our venues, but we eventually realized there were many Pierres.)  But only once or twice did they offer a video explanation of the sport that was going to be performed.  It struck us that this would be very helpful, and would have saved us a lot of puzzling it out.  For example, they could run a 15 minute to 20 minute segment a half hour before starting each event that you could count on to explain the event.  It seemed like a missed opportunity.
• Tickets.  It was hard to buy tickets.  We all had different “lottery” times to be able to buy, and it was hard to coordinate.  You had no visibility into what was going on for the events you were buying.  It was hard to tell where your tickets were.  Alain seemed more on top of this than we were, so he somehow figured this out, and we ended up with great events.  But I was unhappy with several of our seats.  I guess I’m spoiled -- when I purchase seats, I’m generally able to select the exact seats within a venue.  Another gripe: sometimes we would have to shuffle past 30 people to get to an aisle.  Not only did this not feel safe in very steep bleachers, but it was a pain to disturb people whose seats were packed in very close.  I might have preferred seats further back, but closer to an aisle.  Also: be clear with the consumer about what they are buying. I thought we actually had tickets to BMX, but we did not; it was for the video overflow venue.  I would never have paid for that.
• Ticket resale.  All tickets were electronic.  The only way you could sell them was through the official site, and they could be transferred only once. If you bought the ticket yourself, and managed to find someone to buy it, you could sell it on the system.  But if someone else bought them – in our case, Alain had relatives with different lottery numbers so we purchased some tickets through them – then you could not transfer again.  Also, on the official site you could not resell at a different price, only at face value, minus a fee that went to the Olympics.  We had one event that we double booked – women’s Rugby 7 – and I would have happily sold those tickets at less than face value, but I was not allowed to.  We tried giving them away, with Guy and I randomly approaching Australians – who love rugby – but with no success.  So those were a total loss.
• Shade.  I know that they could not predict how horribly hot it would be, but chances were pretty good that it would be hot.  I think it would have been far better to have somehow invested in seating that could be shaded to some extent.  Or to provide more shade in alternate locations, such as setting up shaded areas with big screen viewing.  Sitting in the full sun, in 95 degree heat, on metal stands, was a recipe for extreme discomfort.  They built whole towers for video cameras.  They could have also built some shade.
• Video screens.  In many places the video screens were fantastic.  But in a few places they were not really visible.  In the swimming stadium we were seated above the screens, which were obscured by infrastructure.  They could have been lower.  In the rowing event, we had to crane our necks to see them.  They were often essential to see the action, as well as the scores.
• Opening ceremony.  As I wrote earlier, this was a bust as far as I was concerned.  Nice try, but a total fail.  In addition, the queueing system that night was terrible,  with lots of chaos, people cutting, and lines that seemed to snake around everywhere.

 Okay, finally, here are tips if you decide to go to a summer Olympics.  The next one is in LA in 2028.

• What to bring.  We had a lightweight backpack that fit in our suitcase that was perfect as a day pack.  We brought small binoculars, and we loved having these.  They did not need to be super strong, but it’s fun to be able to see some of the action up close.  Empty water bottle – we just bought water bottles the first day and reused them from then on, so easy.  They didn’t seem to mind us bringing in food, so stocking up with a few sandwiches worked well.  We had neglected to bring any national t-shirts to wear, or flags/banners to wave for the U.S. athletes, so we felt bad.  You could buy flags from all nations, but we didn’t see those until late in our stay.  They gave out French flags and French face paint everywhere.  Some people came prepared with rub-off tattoos with their national flag.  Of course, there were some very decked-out people, with wigs, costumes, etc.
• What sports to pick.  Of course, you may have some specific sports that you are passionate about, so go for it.  We were indifferent so picked somewhat randomly.  I will rate below our preferred sports and why.  But I must say, given the heat (which I assume would be a risk in most summer Olympics destinations), I would lean heavily towards indoor sports where you know you will be in an arena, and leave the outdoor sports for those that you just can’t miss.  The location may not be obvious – swimming was inside, for example.
• Where to stay.  We had an AirBnB apartment, which we liked, since it gave us access to a kitchen, washing machine, etc.  But the best part was that it was centrally located, making it easy for us to go back to the apartment midday.  We did this often both to rest and to shower ; we had many 3 shower days.  I wouldn’t want an apartment too far away from the action.
• Pacing.  We went to two events a day, which worked well.  We met others who crammed in more, but you would have to be very careful to  pick ones that are close together.
• Bring good walking shoes.  Here is the total of our walking over 7 days of Olympics:
  • 108,104 steps
  • 44.3 miles, or 6.8 miles/day!
• Walking limit. I can’t imagine there will be that much walking in the U.S., but if you don’t think you can handle it, register as handicapped!
• Timing.  Don’t bother arriving at venues 1.5 hours in advance, which is what they advised.  We starting aiming for an hour.  Then a half hour.  We learned that if you come too early, you just wait in the line until they open the venue.  If you come later, you walk right in. With reserved seats, it made no sense to come too early.

A note on volunteering:  I had thought it might be super fun to volunteer for the Olympics.  Perhaps you are considering that for LA.  Just to say, it didn’t seem as much fun when I observed it.  Those folks often spent hours standing in one spot and pointing a pink finger in the right direction.  Sometimes they stood in the full sun, and other times indoors or in shade.  Yes, they definitely helped us from time to time.  But, overall, unless you could volunteer with something that required a bit more skill, I think it would be boring.

Finally, here is my rank order of the sports we saw in terms of naïve spectator enjoyment. 

The first category are the ones we liked the best, not in any special order. These were athletic, were fast paced, involved a clear strategy, and had understandable rules.  I would go back to see any of these sports live again:

• Kayak (down the rapids)
• Rugby 7
• Badminton
• Gymnastics
• Synchronized diving

The second category are ones that were fun to watch, but less obvious in terms of strategies other than "try to go as fast as you can".

• Swimming
• Rowing (on calm water)
• Horse jumping

 The third category – don’t bother.

• Fencing.  Totally incomprehensible in the way they score it.
• Archery.  Mildly interesting, but too hard to really see, and not any evident strategy or athleticism.

That's it. I’ll be amazed if anybody gets to the end of this note, but if you do, thanks for reading!

  

Thursday morning, August 1

This morning we went out to Versailles – over an hour by train – to see the equestrian jumping competition.  We were again impressed at the signage and volunteers who helped get us to the right spot.  In this case they had Olympic busses available to shuttle us to the site, which was quite far from the train station – a 20 minute ride.  Once we arrived, we had another long walk of over a mile to get to the actual competition venue.  We were struck again by how difficult this would be for some people.  That said, this time we did see some golf-cart style cars available to take less able people to the stands, and there were definitely people making use of those.

The competition was enjoyable to watch. Each national team has 3 riders. Each rider goes separately around a set route that includes a bunch of different jumps – some wider, some higher, some very close to each other, etc. We had excellent seats, placed near one of the most challenging areas.

If they knock over a bar on a jump (which happened frequently), they would get a penalty added to their time. So the score was time plus penalties. Each time a bar was knocked off, before the next rider, the volunteers came out to reset the jumps as well as to rake in front of them. We saw some riders who completed without penalty, but many who did not, so clearly the jumps are very difficult. It seems amazing that horses can lift themselves so high off the ground.

I should mention that pretty much every venue has cameras on overhead wires that take some of the video … this takes an amazing amount of infrastructure, and we saw many towers that were built just to handle these roving cameras.

We watched the first set (one rider for each country), and happily, the U.S. was in the lead!  We took a break before the second set to get out of the sun for a few minutes.  

We got back in the stadium after the first rider of the second set.  Then something really crazy happened …. The second American rider is announced, and I looked up at the screen and realized that I knew the person!  It was the son of a friend from the industry.  I gasped – oh my, I think that’s Scott’s son, Karl!  We have met him several times.  I had remembered that he was an equestrian but had no idea he was competing.  Suddenly we were cheering for someone we actually knew!  

I’m happy to report that he had an excellent ride, with no penalties, and helped the U.S., which ultimately ended up in the 2^nd position (the third U.S. rider wasn’t as good).  Note that this was the qualifying round, not the medal round, so it went from 20 competitors down to 10.  But we will definitely be following to see how the U.S. team does in the final, and we hope that Karl earns a medal.  I texted my friend Scott right after Karl’s ride to verify and he confirmed that it was his son.

It was our last Olympic competition so I will be finishing this blog.  I am going to write some overall observations and some tips for visiting the Olympics, so check back for one more post, which may not happen until the flight home. 

I have one other story to report which is not so pleasant, but is worth sharing as a cautionary tale.  After gymnastics the other night, we went out to dinner with Guy and Alain in a very nice restaurant,: Le Train Bleu, in the Gare du Nord.   The restaurant has a gorgeous Beaux Artes interior and delicious food, although it was quite uncomfortable because it was not air-conditioned.  We were tired, sweaty and happy, so enjoyed ourselves.  

When it was time to leave, we gathered our belongings and Guy realized that he could not find his backpack.  We looked all over, and it was nowhere to be found. It had been snatched!  We checked with the restaurant staff, but they had no ideas.  Fortunately Guy had given his phone to a staff person to charge, so it wasn’t in his backpack and he still  had his phone.  But he did not have his wallet, with his identity cards and credit cards, nor did he have his house keys.  Guy had put the backpack on the back of his chair, and our theory is that it may have fallen to the floor and somebody grabbed it.  It just was very surprising to have happen in an upscale restaurant, with lots of staff around.  I had been sitting facing Guy the whole meal and noticed nothing.

So poor Guy, although tired and sweaty, ended up at the local police station that night making a statement.  He managed to locate the backpack because his airpods were in it, but it was in a large building, so the cops couldn’t do anything about it.  He did have a way to get into his apartment that night, after checking with the security company that no alarms had been set off.  He then spent that evening and the next morning to stop the credit cards, get in a locksmith to change the key, get a new identity card, order replacement prescription sunglasses, and so on.  Amazingly, he had no cash in his wallet.  So, it was greatly inconvenient to Guy, but the thieves ended up with nothing of value to them.

But they tried again today.  They called Guy, having spoofed his local bank’s phone number, so it looked like it was coming from them.  They knew the bank manager’s name as well.  They tried to talk Guy into giving his access codes, and they also tried to get him to wire money, claiming that the wallet was now in Senegal, and he had to take these actions in order to defeat their access.  Apparently the person calling was very convincing sounding. Guy almost fell for it but thankfully did not.

So here are some lessons:  when in a public place, keep your backpack in front of you, on your lap, or on the floor by your feet.  NEVER EVER give out access codes to someone who calls you over the phone.  If someone calls you from your bank, tell them you will call them back using a published number.   

Wednesday afternoon, July 31

Wednesday afternoon we went to see archery.  It was a nice set-up with a beautiful view of Les Invalides, which are grand buildings from the 17^th century.  Actually many of the Olympics venues are set up to ensure that you see a Parisian landmark in the background or close-by.  

This venue also had archery activities for visitors set up outside, which I thought was clever.  Of course, the bows/arrows were quite different than those used on competition and the targets were much closer. Some were even plunger arrows for little kids.

Our seats were excellent  -- right in the center.  Two contestants take turns shooting their arrows and scoring points.  As always it took us a while to figure out the scoring process, but eventually we figured it out, and it made it fun to watch.  That said, there seemed to be very little strategy involved.  I could not see the arrows hitting the target at all, so for that, I relied on the video screen.  The scores were often quite close.  

photographers hide in green bunkers so they don't get hit with an arrow!

When there was a tie for the match, a little tradition was invoked, where the announcers told us to “split the pie”, and we all were to put our hands in the air making a very specific motion.  It was quite silly, but I loved it as lots of people participated.  

We watched quite a few contests (including one where two Brits, both surnamed Hall, were competing …. I expect they were brothers!).  The matches got called off part-way through because it looked like a storm was coming in – but we were pretty much ready to leave anyway. 

I have to say that this sport seemed like the least athletic of all the sports we have seen.  If you want to get into the Olympics and you’re not much of an athlete, take up archery!

We stopped with Guy for a casual dinner in a cafe, complete with a view of the Eiffel tower, chocolate mousse, and a surly waiter.