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.