Paris, Day 4 aka French Open, Day 1

Paris, France

Last night, I had set my alarm to check my texts to see if Ben (Ryan Harrison’s agent) had been able to get us tickets for Ryan’s match versus John Isner. The match had been scheduled for yesterday, but the rain pushed it over to today, and they were scheduled to play at 11am on one of the outer courts. Around 9:30am, the text came that Ben was able to get me 2 tickets, so I woke up my dad, and the two of us found our way to Roland Garros via the Metro! A Bonus Day of tennis! Matthew was a great sport about it and spent the day wandering around Paris until we met back at the hotel late in the afternoon.

We had to pick up our tickets at the Media entrance will-call desk, so there was no waiting in line for us! The guys were playing on Court 7 – we got there just as Ryan won the first set 7-5. Given that it was a small court, we were able to sit very, very close to the action! The match wound up being a 5-setter, which meant my dad missed going to the matinee performance of a ballet that my mom had scheduled – shucks! My biggest dilemma was having to choose who to cheer for during the match – Ryan’s a Shreveport boy, and I’ve been friends with his dad for a million years. John’s a UGA grad, and it’s hard NOT to cheer for a Bulldawg! In the end, I wound up cheering for both, and a French fan behind me picked up the slack when necessary.

Tennis Channel’s Brad Falkner had posted on his Facebook that the ham and cheese sandwiches were the way to go at Roland Garros, so Daddy and I found them on our way out of the venue – we were absolutely starving by the end of that match! We walked back to the Metro, past the botanical gardens, and met everyone back at the hotel before heading to dinner. A great first day of the French Open!

We took the Metro into the 7th arrondissement for a delicious dinner at L’Ami Jean. Jeffrey’s friend, Magalie, joined us – she and Jeffrey had become friends 15 years ago when Jeffrey was living in Paris. Once we were seated, the waiter brought a terrine of country pate and cornichons to get us started. The rice pudding I had for dessert was amazing!