Day 142: or The Day I Went To The French Open

Thanks to the generosity of my Father, I went to the French Open Roland Garros today. Here, they don't say French open, only Roland Garros, when in Rome. It was supposed to be rainy this afternoon, but the weather was beautiful. It was very sunny, but with big clouds every now and again to give you a break. The train situation was the same as yesterday and I had a walk a good bit, but it was all fairly easy. All except the footwear. Within 15 minutes, I knew I'd made a mistake. I was wearing boat shoes, that have given me few problems in the past, but decided this was the day to become my worst nightmare. By the time I made it to the train, I was just happy to get a 30 minute break. 

View from the stands

When I was walking to the stadium, I was walking from the outside of Paris in. I saw almost no one. It was just a quiet Sunday morning. But when I got to the point where I met up with those travelling from the city center, it was an absolute hoard. They came out of nowhere it seemed. One Metro stop deserted, the next packed to the gills. AT this point, I knew I was going the right way and just followed the masses a short distance to the main gate. The line would take hours, so I walked less than 10 minutes to a side gate and waltzed right in. I don't think I was particularly clever, but more than most it would appear.

Tsonga Match

I watched 4 matches throughout the day, the highlight being French player, JW Tsonga. Ranked 23 in the world, I though the bigger match would be the earlier one with David Ferrer, #6 in the world. But the French love their own and the stands were packed. The arbiter had to tell the crowd more than once to quiet down. Not exactly the norm I gathered. Got the giggles pretty bad watching the Frenchies get in trouble being too raucous doing the wave. Just couldn't help it. I've never been to a professional tennis match before, so I guess it could all be normal, but it didn't feel like it. The matches were all fun and I walked around a bit between to see the grounds. It was opening day and the really big names weren't really playing today, but people didn't seem to notice. After the last match, I walked around a bit more and then headed home, dreading the pain I knew my feet would shortly feel. By the time I reached my station, and elderly couple offered me a ride to the village. They complemented my French and I thanked them for the ride. I made it home in time for dinner on the patio and got ready for the week to come.

America