May 22 - HBD P Ry

We had an early morning to start off the most important day of the trip, Professor Ryan’s birthday! We had a quick breakfast and gave P Ry his present, he loved it! We had a busy day ahead of us in Paris so we left pretty early.

We got on the metro and went to visit the Paris Olympic bidding committee. We got there a little early so we walked around the area for a while and got some coffee. At the meeting with the bidding committee we spoke with two people. We learned about their roles in the committee and what they want the legacy of the Paris games to be. We discussed our own interests and were able to critique and complement their bid. It was great to be able hear about the inside of the committee and what they have been focusing on as the bidding process is coming to an end. After the meeting with the Paris bidding committee, we left to go to the French Open. We had lunch first at a restaurant right by the stadium and then walked over. We were there for qualifying matches so we were able to hop around to different courts to see multiple games. It was very hot that day but it was relaxing to watch the matches. It was also cool to see the famous Roland Garros park where the matches are held.

After the French Open, we all gradually went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We were having a late dinner to celebrate P Ry’s birthday but first had to wait for a table to be open at the restaurant so we went to a place around the corner to kill time and watched some esports on TV, which P Ry was not very interested in. We eventually got to dinner and had a great celebration! Many of us tried new foods to get a taste of the French cuisine such as duck and veal. We also coordinated with the waiter to be able to sing happy birthday to P Ry. To be extra fun, we all sang it in a different language if we knew one. With our diverse group, we were able to have versions sung in French, Spanish, Korean, German, Ukrainian, Hebrew, and surprisingly the only person singing in English was our French waiter. The restaurant was closing by the time we were leaving (everything is so much later in Europe) and they gave us all a free baguette!