Victory Ceremony

And we're back. Yes, it has been seven years since the last post and there could be many reasons for that lapse... Children, work, losing the login for the blog. None of that matters now.

So, where have we been since 2017? A few places. Hawaii (that one was me only), Fiji (the kids' first trip overseas) and a few other places on Australian soil.

But we return to the blog at the same time as we return to Paris.

Technically speaking, this is a work trip for me (I jagged a spot on the team covering the 2024 Paris Olympic Games) followed by two weeks of relaxation in the City of Lights after Teneille joins me at the conclusion of the closing ceremony. No cloak and dagger this time. Teneille knew exactly what was happening and we planned the trip together. I think she's excited. Who doesn't deserve a mid-term break in Europe?

I am in Paris for five weeks - three for work and two for pleasure - but I'll deal with the work stint in one post right here. There's no point boring everyone with the ins and outs of my working days but, and of perhaps more relevance, is the fact the Olympics is largely one big blur. Three weeks. No days off. Sixteen-hour days. Into bed after 1am and back at it before 10am. Rinse. Repeat. Blur.

That's not to say it wasn't great. I'm in Paris, after all. The hours were a drain but I got to see so many amazing venues and moments.

The Olympics in Paris is a sight to behold. Beach volleyball under the Eiffel Tower, cycling past Sacre Couer, fencing in the Grande Palais. Say what you want about Emmanual Macron but his government have really managed to merge the icons of the city with the sport. Magnifique.

The greatest temporary stadium ever.

Speaking of Macron, I was invited to a reception with him at the Palais de l'Élysée the day after I landed. Built in 1720 and at one time home to Madame de Pompadour, the palace is now the official residence of the French President. Kind of puts Kirribilli House to shame. The speeches were boring but the food was amazing. I enjoyed a few Macaroons from Macron and was on my way.

I struggled to enjoy the city in my first couple of days as I battled a head cold that made my flight from Australia slightly challenging. The lingering cough drove me crazy for days but I eventually shrugged it off as I settled into work.

Our hotel was a little four-star boutique establishment about 1km from the media centre and 800m from the Arc de Triomphe. The size of our team meant we were able to book out the whole hotel and have it to ourselves.

They know how to do food at the palace.

The daily routine involved walking to Media Press Centre at the Palais des Congrès, a large convention centre that appears to have had its top floor commandeered for international media teams and national Olympic committees. Once in our little work space we would funnel all the work of our journalists into our live coverage and I would step away when time allowed to phone home and talk to the family. We wouldn't finish until well after the events of the day due to deadlines and other media things so 1am knock-offs were fairly commonplace. When sleep deprivation wasn't overwhelming, we would stop at a little brasserie called Le Franc-Tireur for a drink on the way back to the hotel. Our office space had a small coffee table we loving referred to as our charcuterie board. I'd love to say it was full of hams and cheeses and other wonderful things but, in reality, charcuterie board was where we dumped chips and cookies and lollies that would then be unhealthily consumed throughout the day.

The charcuterie board.

The first week of the Olympics was insanely busy due to the swimming schedule and the amount of potential gold medals on offer for Australia. Whenever possible we took opportunities to sneak away and work from live events.

In the first week alone I saw Ariarne Titmus win gold in the 200m freestyle at La Defense Arena, Matt Ebden and John Peers win the men's doubles tennis gold at Roland Garros, our rugby sevens women bomb out of medal contention at Stade de France and a spot of fencing at the Grande Palais.

La Defence Arena was amazing. A covered rugby field they converted into a temporary swimming venue by dropping in a pool. The atmosphere and the light shows were awesome. The noise was deafening. We recorded sound levels from the crowd at more than 106 decibels when French hero Léon Marchand won one of his many gold medals. That's the same level of sound as a Boeing 707 at a distance of 2km. Epic.

Gold at the pool!

Gold at the tennis!

In the second week I returned to La Defence to see the Stingers in their gold medal match. I also visited the beach volleyball stadium beneath the Eiffel Tower. The match was a bust (we lot ot Brazil) but the view of the tower as the sun set and then it slowly lit up was insane. I also saw Jess Hull become the first Australian woman to win a medal in the 1500m when she claimed silver on the track.

The Australia Olympic Committee team were a couple of workspaces away from us at the MPC but their television feed was about 30 seconds behind ours. They said they always knew if Australia had won a gold medal because they could hear us cheering before the event had even started, in some instances, on their own TVs.

Anyone who knows me would know I'm not the best sleeper at the best of times. But I can tell you, one sleeps pretty well if you're getting home at 1:30am and getting up at 8:30am each morning.

Silver at the track!

There was one adventurous morning in the first week where, upon exiting the MPC, we decided it would be an excellent idea to venture down to the Louvre Museum at 1am to see floating Olympic cauldron. The place was always packed with thousands of people well into the night but there had been a storm earlier so we thought crowds would be minimal. The cauldron floated above the Jardin des Tuileries from dusk until 2am and we trekked all the way there only to be told it had been grounded due to the storms and was closed. In hindsight that made perfect sense. Why would anyone send a floating electrical fire attached to the ground by metal cables into the air during an electrical storm? Sadly, our sleepless brains had not made that connection before we made the journey.

We did see the cauldron, though. About a week later we tried again and found success. The cauldron was mesmerising. Crowds had begun to thin as the close of the Games drew near and you could kick back on the grass outside the Louvre and just stare at it... Or totally ignore it and make out as plenty of other couples had decided to do at 1:30am. Tongue-tangled couples aside, the cauldron was a great spectacle.

Le Franc-Tireur AKA Frank's... the drinking spot on the way home each night.

The cauldron with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

The closing ceremony eventually arrived and thus the Games was over. Australia's best Games ever. Amazing.

Teneille flew in on the day of the closing ceremony and after 20 days straight of non-stop work I was able to take a few hours to meet and get her settled in the apartment we will call home for the next two weeks.

Today is her first full day in Paris but it is a stinking 38C. We huffed and puffed our way to the Arc de Triomphe for a look before retreating to the airconditioning of my hotel. This evening is the team wrap-up shindig before we check-out of the hotel and go our separate ways.

Hopefully it's cooler tomorrow and we can begin exploring in a tad more comfort.

We'll keep the blog going with song titles like mum and dad do with their blog. Today's title? It's been the soundtrack of my last three weeks. Victory Ceremony by French composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist Victor le Masne is the music they play at every single medal presentation. No-one has heard this more than me. No-one. Here's the six-minute version.

Au revoir.