Day Five...I think? Maybe six?: We Were Staying in Paris

Well I guess I get to write about all the days we travel on, huh? Today we set off from the (shockingly) sunny skies of the United Kingdom for the (less shockingly) sunny skies of France. After meeting in the lobby of our London hotel, we walked to St. Pancras International Train Station and departed for Paris. Another day, another passport stamp. To paraphrase the great philosopher Aubrey Graham, by the end of this trip we're all going to be running out of pages in our passports.

A little over two hours of speeding up to 185 mph later, we arrived in the City of Lights and made our way to the hotel. This one has free WiFi that doesn't expire after 30 minutes of use AND we have little kitchens in our rooms, so we're basically staying at the Ritz.

We all got a short break to eat some lunch or lie down and rest before heading off on our mini-sightseeing tour. First stop? The Sorbonne.

It's called fashion. Look it up.

If you're looking for the birthplace of the modern Olympics, look no further than the Sorbonne University in Paris. Before the first modern games in 1896 took place in Athens, Pierre de Coubertin and the rest of the Olympic congress had a lot on their plate. In preparation for the Athens games, they needed to outline basic rules, responsibilities, and other logistical facets of the games. The best way to do that was for everyone to convene in one convenient location--Paris. It was at this conference where the International Olympic Committee was formed, marking a monumental milestone in the history of the modern Olympics. While we were unable to go inside and check out the auditorium where they met, just being able to see it from the outside and know the impact of what happened within its walls was truly special.

"Paris is always a good idea - Audrey Hepburn" - Aodhán Doyle

The sightseeing tour continued with the left bank of the Seine River. We made several stops for photos including Notre Dame cathedral, Pont Neuf, and Shakespeare & Company bookstore. Next, we crossed over the Seine and made our way to the Louvre. While I've been to the Louvre before, it never ceases to amaze just how grand and vast it is. Thinking about just the sheer volume of art inside and all the different roles the building has served is always mind boggling.

After a quick stop on the Champs-Elysees where we all got a glimpse of the Arc de Triomphe and some of us savored a nutella crepe or two, we finally set off for the PSG-Dijon match at Parc de Princes.

He's only 20?!

This was a really great time for a multitude of reasons. First off, being able to see world-class players like Kylian Mbappe, Edinson Cavani, and Angel Di Maria is always incredible. It's difficult to truly appreciate just how skilled they are and the speed at which they play until you see it in person. Sure enough, they did not disappoint. Di Maria scored three minutes into the game, Cavani in the fourth, and then Mbappe added one in the 36th minute and another in the 56th. For those of you unfamiliar with soccer outside of the World Cup, Mbappe is a 20-year-old phenom who plays for the French national team and was named the best young player at the tournament this past summer in Russia. It would not be an exaggeration to say he's arguably the third-best player in the world already, trailing just Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Secondly, this was the final home match of PSG's season and they officially got to celebrate their Ligue One title with their supporters. Being able to see a trophy presentation in person was truly incredible because it is just so rare. You have to be at one specific match a year and it, obviously, has to be the last home match of the league-winning team. Our timing was just perfect. Finally, and this is more on the personal side, PSG won 4-0. Kaya and I get the extra scavenger hunt bonus point for guessing the score correctly. We're coming for the title.