May 20 - Olympic Sight Tour, French Open, and Free Time!

Today was an awesome day. We started out by visiting a bunch of the different sites that were involved with the Paris 2024 Olympics. This included the Eiffel Tower (home of the opening & closing ceremony, beach volleyball, and the Champions Park), Les Invalides (archery), Concorde Square (3v3 Basketball, Skateboarding, BMX, & Breaking), and more! Seeing all of these sights, especially with the Paris Olympics being less than a year ago, was such a fantastic way to see how to plan and organize an event like this. Imagining the millions of people who walked where we were, watching Olympic gold medalists, and imagining what that atmosphere was like was truly incredible. The best part? These sights are just as breathtaking without the Olympics as they are with them, so everything we saw was still so magical.

 

 

After visiting these incredible places, what better than walking the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and having some authentic French cuisine? We ate at L'asalce Restaurant and had food like French onion soup, escargot, steak frites, and more. Something about the atmosphere made the food taste even better. After that, we walked to visit the Arc de Triomphe, one of the most iconic landmarks in the world. The arc was part of various racing routes during the Olympics, so we admired the beauty while learning something new.

Our next stop was the Roland-Garros Stadium, home of the French Open and Olympic tennis last year. As one of the most iconic competition venues for tennis in the world, it was amazing to watch matches here. On the main court for today, the Court Suzanne-Lenglen, French athletes were featured throughout the day, which helped make the environment even more exciting than it already was. As someone who has never really watched tennis before, I was blown away at how impressive it is to watch at a professional level and by the beautiful venue we were lucky to be in.

 

 

This marked the end of our planned itinerary for the day. Since we were crunched for time earlier in the day, most of the group returned to the Champs-Élysées to shop and explore. As someone not looking to shop, I instead watched a little more tennis before heading to Notre Dame. One of the most iconic churches in the world, Notre Dame has been a must-see location for as long as it has existed. And it certainly lives up to that pedigree. The architecture, statues, memorials, and stained-glass windows are all stunning, and the photos of the cathedral don't do it justice. There was also a church mass taking place while I was visiting, and something about seeing the church as a place of religion and not just a landmark made it even more incredible. I visited Paris 9 years ago and can barely remember my trip; seeing Notre Dame in all its beauty brought back many amazing memories. Every single day on this trip has been truly remarkable and incredible. Still, today stood out for me because we got to experience the beauty of Paris firsthand, and it was absolutely stunning.

Wednesday, May 20th: Postcards from Paris: Retracing Olympic Footsteps

 This morning started with the kind of view that never gets old: the Eiffel Tower, rising proudly into the sky, kissed by that soft spring sunlight Paris does so well. Even though I’ve seen it in movies, pictures, and on postcards, there’s something grounding about standing right by it. It’s almost like the city is telling you, You’re really here.

From there, we began a long but beautiful walk through the heart of Paris: Champ de Mars, Grand Palais, Les Invalides, Place de la Concorde, and the Arc de Triomphe. Each spot carries so much weight historically, but walking through them today, I couldn’t help but reflect on how different they must have looked just a year ago during the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Now, the crowds are gone, the banners are packed away, but something lingers, this unspoken pride. The Grand Palais, which hosted fencing and taekwondo, still feels grand in every sense. At Les Invalides, where archery once drew international attention, there’s an almost poetic stillness. And Place de la Concorde, once filled with music, BMX freestyle flips, and breaking battles, now hosts quiet tourists and school groups. But if you close your eyes, it's like you can still hear the echoes of cheers and the rhythm of competition.

Lunch today was exactly what I needed after all the walking. We stopped at L’Alsace, a lovely restaurant along the Champs-Élysées. I had a Scottish salmon steak with buttery mashed potatoes. Simple, rich, and delicious. We sat at an outdoor table, people-watching and soaking in the Parisian rhythm. It felt nice to just be for a moment, surrounded by good food and good conversation.

But the highlight of the day, without question, was heading to Roland Garros for the French Open. There’s something magical about walking into that stadium. Maybe it’s the red clay, maybe it’s the legacy, or maybe it’s knowing that not long ago, this exact court was a stage for Olympic tennis greatness. Watching the matches today was a whole experience. The precision, the focus, the power of each serve. It reminded me of why the world falls in love with sport over and over again. And being there, in the stands, after all the history that took place last summer, made it even more special.

What struck me most throughout the day was how Paris didn’t just host the Olympics, it embraced them. The Games came and went, but their spirit clearly didn’t fade. Instead, it melted into the city’s streets, buildings, and people. You can feel it if you pay attention. It’s in the pride of the locals, the quiet stories shared by tour guides, and the kids kicking soccer balls along the Seine.

Walking through Paris today wasn’t just sightseeing, it was retracing the footprints of a global moment, one that the world will remember and that Paris now carries with quiet grace.

I came to explore. I left feeling connected to the city, to its history, and to the legacy of something much bigger than just a few weeks of sport.

 

May 19th-Made it to Paris!

 Monday May 19th-Made it to Paris!

Today kicked off our long-awaited visit to the City of Light, and even though it’s our shortest stop of the trip, we were all determined to make the most of every minute here. I’ve been looking forward to this part of the journey the most—Paris has always felt like a dream destination to me. As someone who absolutely idolizes fashion, the chance to walk through the same streets that inspired so many of the world’s most iconic designers felt surreal. I’ve imagined this moment for years, and it was finally happening.

We packed up early this morning and said goodbye to London as we made our way to the train station, ready for the next adventure. Our group had to split onto two different buses to get there, which was slightly chaotic, but everything worked out and we all managed to regroup before heading through customs and passport control. I was especially excited because I finally got my first passport stamp—such a small thing, but it made everything feel so official and memorable.

We boarded the train to Paris and got settled into our seats. It took a little teamwork to get everyone’s luggage stowed away, but we managed it. Some people used the ride to journal or catch up on sleep—personally, I did both. While the train itself was more of a standard ride than I expected, watching the countryside fly by in both England and France was peaceful and beautiful. Even though the famous underwater tunnel is basically just a regular tunnel in the dark, it was still fun to say we traveled under the English Channel.

Once we arrived in Paris, we met our new WorldStrides guide, who quickly helped us find our way to the hotel. We lucked out and caught the first shuttle bus just in time, which saved us from having to wait another 20 minutes for the next one. As soon as we stepped outside into the city streets, I felt right at home. The style, the energy, the architecture—everything about it matched the vision I had in my head.

After dropping our things off, we took a short walk around the neighborhood to get our bearings and take in the Parisian atmosphere before diving into our evening itinerary. Back at the hotel, we gathered to watch a video about the Paris bid for the Olympic Games. It was fascinating to learn about how cities pitch themselves to the Olympic committee. Paris emphasized sustainability, inclusivity, and lasting impact, and it sparked some really interesting conversation. Dr. Kim led a thoughtful discussion afterward where we broke down who actually participates in these bids and why they matter.

Later, we had some free time to explore the area and do a bit of shopping before our big event of the night: a dinner cruise on the Seine River. Everyone got dressed up for the occasion, and I finally got to wear this lavender dress I bought last year but never had a reason to wear—until tonight. It was the perfect fit for the evening, and I felt so happy getting to wear it in such a beautiful setting.

The cruise followed the same route as the Paris 2024 Olympic opening ceremony, which made the experience even more special. The multi-course French meal featured everything from foie gras to veal, monkfish cheek, and tartare. The food was delicious, but the highlight for me was watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle as we cruised along the river—a true once-in-a-lifetime moment.

We wrapped up the evening with a ride back on the metro and returned to the hotel full, content, and in awe of Paris. Even in just a few hours, this city has already left its mark.

May 19th: Bonjour Paris!

 This morning started off quick making sure everything was packed and ready for us to depart from London. Paris being one of our most anticipated locations on the trip even though it is sadly the shortest stay of our duration we wanted to make sure we made the most out of the stop. I waited forever to get into an elevator due to being on the 1st floor and carrying two massive bags with me so I ended up being the last one to join the group. We made our way to the bus stop where we had to get onto two different busses and trust the process that we would end up at the station together, which thankfully we accomplished! We grabbed our lunch and began to go through the passport and customs process before we were allowed to board the train. I was super excited myself because my passport got its first stamp! Gathering our bags onto the train took some team effort but we eventually made our way to our seats. The unfortunate part was that most of our seats were facing the opposite direction of the way the train was moving causing some concern of motion sickness. Nonetheless, we all used the time to either catch up on journaling or getting in the extra sleep we missed from London, personally I did both. Side note: the underwater train really isn't that cool it just goes through a tunnel but going through the countryside in both countries was very pretty.

We had officially arrived in Paris where our new WorldStrides guide met us to bring us to our hotel. By the luck of the draw we made it to the first bus right on time which would've been tragic if we had missed since we would've had to wait 20 minutes for the next one. She gave us some good recommendations for where we should eat or shop. Dropped our stuff off and took a stroll down the street to see what was around before heading back to the hotel to begin to get ready for our first day of Paris. Watched the video of the Paris Olympic pitch where the country pitches a city to the Olympic committee and makes there bid. Then we met with Dr. Kim to have a discussion on the video we watched on the Paris bid where we discussed key points such as sustainability and who goes to the bid. 

We got some free time to explore the city where we did some shopping and relaxing prior to our big event: the Seine River cruise. We dressed to the nines in dresses for the girls and the guys got dressed up as well. The cruise we took is the same route that the Olympic opening ceremony took when they cruised down the river to the venue for the rest of the ceremonies. The cruise had a multi-course meal with some true French cuisine. And they also featured live music! Some of us went adventurous with our selections for food ranging from foie gras, tartare, veal, and monkfish cheek. The food was delicious but I think the best part was the spectacular views from along the river. We had lots of pictures taken and was able to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle on the hour which was a once in a lifetime moment. We wrapped up our dinner and took the metro back to our hotel where we concluded another great day of the Olympic Odyssey.