PARIS: Paris is a popular destination for vacations, of course. The food and drink. The art and history. The landmarks. And so on.
The city itself will be one of the protagonists of the 2024 Olympic Games. That is why the Eiffel Tower and Seine River are featured just as prominently as gymnast Simone Biles or swimmer Katie Ledecky in NBC’s ads promoting its TV coverage.
And the athletes heading to France, not to mention their friends and family, have been drawing up lengthy to-do lists of the various tastes they want to try and the sights they want to see.
“I’m excited to just explore and just take in everything Paris has to offer, because me and my friends, we look at things and we get inspired,” said breaker Jeffrey Louis, aka b-boy Jeffro. “We’re looking at the structure of buildings and we’re like, ‘Oh, that’s tight! We could do this; we could do that with this.’”
Some are eager to ride to the top of Gustave Eiffel’s creation from the 1880s, maybe even dine at its restaurant. The Louvre Museum, with its Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and so much more, is high on many lists.
So is Notre Dame Cathedral, but its restoration after a 2019 fire will not be completed until well after the Summer Games, which open on Friday.
“Such a big city. A beautiful city,” diver Andrew Capobianco said.
One can’t forget all of the stuff to sample and sip.
The crepes. “Eat as many crepes as you can if you’re in Paris,” track and field Paralympian Noelle Malkamaki said. The espressos. “I’m a big coffee guy; a coffee connoisseur,” 3×3 basketball player Dylan Travis said.
The croissants, baguettes and other baked goods. “Looking forward to macaroons, pastries, bread,” volleyball Paralympian Nicky Nieves said.
The cheese or ‘fromages’ — from Comte to Camembert, Roquefort to Brie. The escargots. “It kind of tastes like chicken,” artistic swimmer Daniella Ramirez said. The steaks. The mousse. The crème brûlée. The wines — from the Loire Valley or Bordeaux or, of course, Champagne.
There are those culinary delights which breaker Sunny Choi or rower Michelle Sechser will set aside until the last part of their stay. “After the Games,” Choi said with a smile, “I will be eating everything then.”
AP/PTI

Agencies