Bonjour From Paris! A Postcard From the Olympics

By Lynda “Lexy” Jordan

Most people have a dream. A dream for their future: A dream job, a dream house, a dream of who they will become or a dream trip of a lifetime. My husband, Louis, always dreamed of attending the Olympic Games—a dream made even more special when it was held in one of our favorite cities, Paris. The City of Lights.

An amateur athlete even as a small boy, to a marathon runner of 20-plus years, to an executive at Nike, Louis has always been a sports fan. He was in Beijing during the 2008 Olympics while working for Nike, but unable to see the games.

While most Americans watched the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony from the comfort of their homes, we waited in line for hours to gain access to our seats, only to be soaked through despite our rain ponchos and umbrella. And yet, what a once-in-a-lifetime chance to cheer for the red, white and blue U.S. team as their boat cruised down the Seine!

Seeing our team’s boat approach our location and witnessing LeBron James waving our flag as the rain ran down his face and the boat slipped under the bridge is a memory I doubt Louis will ever forget. I know I won’t. Seeing the sheer number of U.S. athletes, and hearing the cheers for the refugee athletes, was impressive.

Yet what impressed me most was seeing a gray horse while waiting in line; the same horse that ended up carrying the rider and the Olympic flag to the Eiffel Tower! Though I didn’t know the horse’s significance at the time, I still took a picture of the horse trailer—an unusual sight in downtown Paris.  

We walked and trained and Metro’d from tennis at Roland-Garros, to volleyball at the Eiffel Tower, to dressage at Versailles, to soccer—er, football—at Parc des Princes, to basketball at Bercy Arena, in order to witness the 2024 Olympic Games. The rain soaked us more than once, and we sweated through the heat and humidity as we attended the events. And yet we still found time to enjoy the sights, some “old friend” locations and some new. In fact, despite having visited Paris many times, I had never before seen Lady Liberty in person.  

Paris is packed! Not deserted, as usual, in August. Seeing people and athletes from all over the world walking by or sitting next to us is energizing. The Parisians who remain appear to be happy, watching the many visitors enjoy their city.

When I asked Louis his favorite thing about being here, he replied, “ALL OF IT!” But forced to pick one thing, he probably would have said it was seeing tennis at Roland Garros. And if allowed two favorite things, he might have added watching the U.S. women beat Japan in soccer in overtime. We still have a few games to watch, and hope to make it to the U.S. House to rub shoulders with a few athletes.

However, all dreams—even the most spectacular ones—must come to an end, and by the time Healdsburg reads this we will likely be home, or well on our way. And I realize that no matter how amazing the experiences or the people one meets along the way, Dorothy was right: There’s no place like home. Especially when home is our special town of Healdsburg!

Bonsoir!

Louis and Lynda Jordan reside in Healdsburg. She is the author, as Lexy Jordan, of the “Cloudy the Wonder Horse” books.