Upon arriving back in France at Gare de Lyon, Paris, I took the Metro to INSEP (Institut National du Sport, Excellence, et Performance). It`s at the very end of the main yellow line, and then a short bus ride on top of that. On the metro I spotted another delegate (she was wearing a university polo shirt), and since she was from Australia, she was glad that I could ask a few clarifying questions in French (like were to catch the bus after getting off the metro). We found our way to INSEP without trouble, and after registering I was able to check out my dorm which would be home for the next few days. It was simple and clean, and had I been a resident athlete – there would have been ample storage space. INSEP is a multi-sport training centre for top level French athletes from certain sports. They have resident athletes, coaches, and sport scientists, and I believe that athletes can complete highschool or post-secondary studies while there. It`s a pretty neat place: the training facilities are quite phenomenal, and we heard quite a few communications about how most of France`s top athletes are from INSEP. We`ll have to check up on their stats after the Games in London. Here are some pics of INSEP:
I arrived early enough to have some time to unload, and head back into the city before the evening reception. I was glad for this, as I was really worried about not having enough time to explore Paris properly. Glad to have purchased a mini map book (complete with metro map, and a few descriptions of top spots), I ventured out on my own. Feeling pretty good about `mastering` the required metro switches I made my way to the Luxembourg Gardens. Wow! It was really spectacular, and although I was rushing myself a bit, I did get a chance to view and walk around the castle and Gardens.
Next I wanted to see the oldest department store in Paris: Bon Marché. I ended up buying the children’s storybook Madeleine (in French), as I thought it was an appropriate souvenir (in case you don’t already know, I have a bit of a fixation with children’s books...I have MANY). Checking my watch, and realizing that I still had time to see a little more, I decided to walk towards the epicentre of tourism amazement. I sort of knew that I was heading towards the Seine, and would see Musée D`Orsay, but what the heck?! I came around the corner and there was a MASSIVE beautiful castle-like, block-long building...the Louve of course!
I was awe-struck....so big, so detailed, and so impressive. I went inside the Musée D`Orsay, and without paying for an entry ticket, I simply checked out the more-than spectacular lobby where you could more or less see the main section of the museum (as it’s all contained within one large space which used to be a train station). I crossed a foot bridge and discovered all sorts of locks affixed to the fencing. I remember hearing about this (either on tv or on the radio), about how couples “lock up their love” by writing or etching their name on a lock, and attaching it to a bridge going over the Louvre. The couples who are perhaps less sure about the certainty of their relationship use a combination lock (tacky-town!).
That night there were some opening speeches, an expectedly amusing keynote by Frank Dick (a regular invited speaker at these sorts of sports conferences), and a hilariously translated talk by the French handball team coach. He spoke in French (which I understood), and there were two translaters who took turns translating for him. He would say a sentence (or 2 or 3 or 4), and then either the man with the big moustache would translate into English, or it would be a woman. They usually took turns in that one would go for 10mins, and then the other would do the translating. It was so funny! For some of the words, he just repeated them in French but with a funny accent. At times, after the coach would say something quite long (4-6 sentences), Moustache Man would edit it down to a 1-sentence summary, or would just change the message completely. When this happened the coach would give a quick and sceptical glance, wondering how all of what he had just said could have possibly been repeated in so few words. It was really entertaining for the bilingual crowd.
Then we were to have dinner. Right, so, perhaps Europeans, and perhaps the French eat dinner at a more fashionably later time during the evening...but by 8:30 I was starving!! “Dinner” was more of a reception with lots of colourful ‘amuse-bouches”, many of which were simply impossible to discern (Meat? Fish? Mousse? Fruit?) We had no idea what we were eating...but they were colourful, delicious, and perhaps especially so when a crowd of tired travellers are hungry. It would have been a difficult meal for anyone with dietary considerations. After that it was off to bed in order to get ready for a few full days of conferencing.
The conference was interesting, stimulating, and fun. My presentation went really well: it was well attended and I got some great questions and contacts.
Memorable highlights: Visiting the Louvre with UOttawa buds: Melissa, Sarah, and Véro and Sherbrook friends Martin and Jonathan, and then walking around the city. Martin, Phys.Ed Professor at Sherbrooke is also an excellent and passionate tour guide, who capably led us all around to see the sights. We also spent a great night together at the conference’s closing banquet. We had a uber-fancy dinner cruise on the Seine. AMAZING. Not so amazing was losing Marc’s camera (which I was borrowing) that night! As a result, pictures from the trip are scarce (let’s just say it’s a good thing that I uploaded all of what I had a few days before). Despite trying really hard to get it recovered from the bus company - I had no luck. Maybe one day I'll find it on this website. For the remainder of the trip I used my blackberry to take pics.
After the conference, Sarah and I spent a few days at a B&B, and did more touring. We had a really great time together and saw SO MUCH! At the end of the trip, I had one day to myself as Sarah went home one day before me, and I took the train to the little town of Marly le Roi. That night, my last night in Paris I saw a spectacular and awe-inspiring performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in the Chapelle. It was something I will treasure forever. What a great way to end a fantatic adventure!
(Full album on Facebook)
(Full album on Facebook)
