What a Week! (Part 2)

(This post is a continuation of the previous one, so you may want to start there.)

A quick trip out of the Schengen region on July 31st was necessary in order to renew our visas, so we chose London for both convenience and interest.  We took the Eurostar so, once again, I was able to enjoy the magnificent Saint Pancras station as we arrived.  Our first night there, I had booked a table at a very casual but highly-rated Xi'an-style restaurant close to our hotel, Master Wei.  The place was bustling when we arrived.  Since the menu was pretty long, I asked the women at the table next to us what they were eating, and they said, "We always get the hand-pulled noodles with beef---they're great!"  So that and a pint of lager on tap was dinner.  We also got a warm spicy potato salad to start.  I thought the food was fantastic.  

The next day, we grabbed lunch (and watched some Olympics coverage) at the Seven Dials Market, which was fun, and walked through Covent Garden (photo below).  I commented to Glenn on how there are some physical spaces that have been successful marketplaces for centuries, like Covent Garden, while others, like the malls of my youth, seem to be abandoned or bulldozed after a few decades and puzzled over what gives a particular location or marketplace staying power.  (Glenn has a contempt for any business that he would classify as catering to tourists, even though he often is one.  So he was not willing to accept the premise of my comment, unable to acknowledge Covent Garden as a "successful marketplace.")  

The highlight of our trip to London, though, was a matinee of "Kiss Me Kate" at the Barbican. I had been hearing about the Barbican art complex for years---I believe it was fairly newly-built when I lived in England 35 years ago---and was curious to see what it was like.  Well, let's just say that it looked like a large, sprawling complex that would have been built, say, 45 years ago, at the height of enthusiasm for Brutalist architecture.  There was an awful lot of concrete with very rough surfaces.  The musical production was great, though, with fantastic performances and a delightful classic Cole Porter score.  We bought our tickets at the last minute and did not splurge for the expensive seats still available, but our seats were great, which is really a testament to the design of the theater.  (Even though I'm not a huge fan of the aesthetics of Brutalist architecture, some really clever design elements were incorporated into the theater itself, as well as the complex as a whole.  In that respect, it was very impressive.  Let's see, though, if it has the architectural staying power of Covent Garden.)

Afterwards, we rushed back to the hotel to take an important zoom meeting/watch the individual all-around competition in women's gymnastics.  (I mostly did the former, but slipped a little bit of the latter in as well.)  Dinner was at Quality Wines, another restaurant that was highly-rated and had an appealing menu.  It was fine, but I thought the Master Wei dinner was more successful.

We were back in France on Friday after less than 48 hours in London.  And we had a lot to do!  Our colleague Dave, who was on sabbatical this year in London, was visiting Paris to catch some of the events.  We had invited several friends over to join us and Dave for an apero on Friday evening to toast the Olympics.  I put a couple of bottles of champagne in the fridge to chill and set out on some errands, purchasing food from several countries/cuisines, in keeping with the theme.  I had brought back some excellent cheddar and Stichelton from London, that I would serve with figs and dried apricots and walnuts.  I picked up some dumplings from a neighborhood Chinese place that I would reheat.  And I went to an Italian deli for charcuterie and olives.  Finally, I grabbed a couple of baguettes and a large container of mirabelles, the tiny green plums that are in season now.  

We had a lovely evening catching up with everyone, snacking and sipping vermouth cocktails and champagne, and seeing Dave.  

But our evening was not over yet---we had 9pm tickets to see men's volleyball!  And it was our first chance to see any American competitors in action.

And here they are (in red; Japan is in white).  The first one shows a serve (yes, #2 is behind the baseline, just with a very impressive vertical leap).  In the second photo below, you can see American players setting and going up for the spike, and, finally, two players blocking a Japanese spike in the third photo.

Our seats were close but at the end of the court instead of the side.  It might have been interesting to see the match from the side vantage point, but we thought our seats were excellent.  

The on-court action was fantastic to watch, and the crowd was fun, too.  I told Glenn before the match that I hoped the American fans would not be too loud and obnoxious.  We had nothing to worry about.  The Japanese fans were much more vocal and enthusiastic despite numbers being about equal, perhaps.  

It was another great event, full of good cheer, enthusiasm, and world-class athleticism, and run without a hitch by the Paris organizing committee.

We still have three events left, but let me say that I have been very impressed by the entire operation so far.  The venues have been interesting and easy to access by public transportation.  The crowds have been cheerful and cooperative, and the crowd control has been smooth.  So far, Paris has exceeded the expectations of many.