That is 100% my experience about gluten -- French bread is really actually something that lives up to its reputation! (but yes everyone in Europe).

As a pescatarian, You must know great fish places -- my favorite is La Crée down at Montparnasse but thats quite far.

Avant Comptoir de la Mer near Odeon is my favorite, but Sur Mer in my 'hood is amazing as well.

I see what you mean about the lack of attendance at some of the more highly visible events.

I watched the US-Germany woman's' Soccer semi-final today that was played in Lyon. Not sure how far that is from Paris where most of the spectators seem to be staying, but I was surprised at how small the crowd seemed to be for this game. The stadium looked to be less than half filled.

I think one one of the coolest things about this Olympics is how the surfing competition is being held in Tahiti. There was also an interesting Olympic video segment that aired this past week featuring Normandy and the people who live there. They seemed to have an extremely gracious attitude toward Americans. Another episode highlighted the food available at the Monge Market. I overdosed on butter, sugar and chocolate just watching it!

I am learning that there is a lot to love about Paris!

Thats actually true about surfing being an Olympic sport and the competition being in Tahiti? I had been told that but thought it was a joke.

Lyon is an easy 2-hour train ride from Paris. Last October, I saw New Zealand play Italy in the Rugby World Cup. That stadium is super modern and fancy. While it is a large stadium, everything seems to have empty seats.

I had such overwhelming dread about the games, but what a great vibe in the end. It's true. Paris is wonderful, except for all the damn Parisians.

being in Tahiti French Polynesia

They certainly weren't going to surf on the Seine. I am still not okay with the Triathlon being held in the Seine. Gross.

There is a famously stupid French movie (like "Dumb and Dumber") about an airhead surfer who goes all over France looking "for a wave" and notoriously does not find one.

So this topic about the salubrity of the Seine has gotten a lot of coverage in the anglophone press. Story yesterday about an athlete who swam in the river getting sick and having to withdraw; story today about US athletes drinking coke after swimming to kill off bacteria they may have ingested (which must be the most absurd thing ive ever heard!) ......knowing a bit about the history of the uses of the river, it does seem unlikely that theres any way to clean it up to the point of being safe to swim ....one hopes they wont try to repeat it in the LA River in 28!

I get the romance of this idea--the Seine is the centerpiece of the 2024 Olympics, but Paris is a very old city, and sewage constantly seeps into the river. They spent 1.4 billion euros to clean it up, but really, they needed to update the whole sewer system to get it right. The Seine doesn't smell, and it's lovely to walk along, but to swim in it? Hard pass. I am waaaaaaay too germ-phobic. I am still cynical and worry about the health of the athletes, cola or no. (WTF?)

After years of construction and inconveniences, I am enjoying the upgraded metro, especially the fancy trains on Line 4 (the one I most often take). The disastrous rollout of the Navigo App (transport and bike tickets) has sorted itself out and I love I can tap my Apple watch instead of having tickets or cards.

While we did not have the crush of people stopping up the city that we thought, I also haven't seen an economic pump for local businesses. Many that were planning on profiting from the Olympics have shuttered already for early holidays instead.

Mixed bag, but mostly positive so far.

i read yesterday 3 German swimmers had fallen ill after swimming in the Seine ...according to the Associated Press, "it could not be determined if exposure to the river water caused their sickness...." im sure everyone in acquatic will be glad to be done with this particular Olympic games...

I was just asked about the transition from NYC to Paris and the subs. So here we go.

I would go so far as to say that subs in every different city are different, very different from country to country. Crazier than that, Domina styles are entirely different from city to city. I can compare Paris and New York, but remember I also lived in Barcelona between these two cities. I've worked extensively in London, Hong Kong, and the Gulf (Dubai, Abu Dabi, Doha, and Bahrain). We could get pretty thick into this subject.