Finding The Bright Side In The City Of Lights
📸: Michael Gomez
Warning: VERY long blog!
Short Version: We came (delayed), we played, we saw, we ate, we explored, and we left.
Long Version: Sunday morning. We both woke up at the crack of dawn. We couldn’t sleep with so much to get done before we headed out to Paris. We had a long travel day ahead of us and our room was a disaster of clothes. After we reorganized our clothes for our next tournament straight from Phoenix to Paris, thank you packing cubes!
I was able to meet up with my best friends from Creighton that came down to support us in Phoenix and grab some brunch. After a couple of laughs and a great meal, we had to say goodbye and head to the airport. I hate goodbyes but I was so grateful that I was able to see my girls again. Choose your college wisely, those teammates could be your forever friends!
At the airport, we immediately went to the lounge to get some work done before we took off and have to deal with the spotty WiFi for the next week. Turns out we would be blessed with another whole day of access to our phones and great WiFi. Our flight was delayed and delayed and then delayed one more time, which ran right up to the point of departure from Dallas to Paris. Buckle up, we had a bumpy trip to Paris!
We deplaned and I used my extra-long legs to swiftly sprint around the mass exodus of people to the American Airlines help desk. While I waited in line at customer service, we were texting back and forth to figure out what flight to take and how to get to Paris to compete as soon as possible. Kristen, while waiting by the gate for announcements, was trying to call the Holiday Inn in Paris to meet the deadline for free room cancelation. It was at the time, 2:30 am in Paris and the phone number that Kristen found was not working. She finally got to chat with someone and then they just hung up. Meanwhile, I finally made it to the front of the line with a seemingly endless line of angry passengers behind me.
Our travel day in a picture.
The customer service woman was very kind and rebooked us, for Monday night out of Dallas. We booked our exact trip itinerary except now just simply delayed a mere 24 hours. Although it’s not the end of the world, it’s a little frustrating especially after getting a measly four hours of sleep. We were both so high on adrenaline from Phoenix Championships, we played so late and finished late, and then met our families out for a celebration. We were exhausted but unable to slow our minds down for sleep. Kristen’s parents were flying out around the same time. Her mom left her terminal to see the commotion that we were dealing with and reminded us that things were going too smooth, she said we ‘needed a hiccup’. Moms are always right, but we didn’t want to hear it at that point.
We finally reboarded at a different gate and then we just sat and waited on the plane, again. The pilot's time to legally operate had timed out. 15 minutes later, it was announced that the crew’s legal working time had run out as well. Of course, it took a while to find new staff and the entire plane shared its enthusiasm of hearing more bad news with a simultaneous “ughhh” for all of the American Airline staff members to hear. We both knew there was nothing we could do but the hanger was setting in as it’s now 7 pm and we had sat around for nearly four hours and had to reschedule everything.
Our new arrival time in Dallas was 11 pm. As soon as we deplaned, I left Kristen and found the nearest American Airlines help desk once again. It was easy to find, look for all the angry, tired people in a giant line. Kristen went the opposite way in search of food only to discover that 7/11 was the only thing that was open. She came to join me in the ever-growing line empty-handed but we were luckily booked in a hotel before they ran out! Plus we were given two food vouchers to last us 24 hours, how much, a whole $12.. each, of course. As soon as we got our hotel Kristen immediately Door Dashed us a meal from IHop. It was sitting in the lobby when we arrived! We hadn’t had a meal since noon, Kristen was running on three hours of sleep, you could say it was a recipe for disaster. Hanger and tired are not a good combination. Whenever we would try to talk about anything it turned into “what in the world are you talking about?”, confusion, and broken communication that just led to silence.
Que the best part, they didn’t give us our bags from the plane. I had nothing, no clothes, they took my carry-on and checked it in when I boarded in Phoenix. The total contents of our toiletry supply for the next two days were two mini tubes of toothpaste, two mini deodorants, and two mini toothbrushes.
We left the customer service line at midnight to go find a taxi to use another voucher that we were given. As we were sitting on the cement block defeated, Kristen says, “at least we won”. That put a smile on both of our faces and a good laugh. 10 minutes later we were on our way to the Crowne Plaza only to find other people from our plane. Everyone looks exhausted, hungry, and very angry! We checked in and I hopped in the shower as I was washing my hair it hit me, I had no brush! For the next two days, I would have washed, but unbrushed hair. As soon as the lights went out, we passed out.
We went downstairs to find some breakfast after we slept in. Bright side: no clothes and few toiletry items meant the process to get ready is under 3 minutes! The hotel staff must see flight cancellations like this a lot because it's DFW (Dallas Airport) and they asked for the $12 American Airline vouchers to pay for breakfast. Or maybe it was because she saw that neither of us had brushed our hair, we had giant bags under our eyes and we were obviously ready to leave!
We recognized again that things could always be worse and if this is the worst experience in travel that we had thus far, we were crushing it! We regrouped at the breakfast table to figure out a plan for the day to get moving and not just sit for another whole day before the tournament later that week. Two key takeaways from Kristen. Kristen’s idea: play hide and seek in the hotel to get moving. Kristen’s offer: new socks for me, one of the only things that she possessed in her suitcase that would fit me as she saw my frustration in having nothing.
**Hang in there – it’s been an adventure and a half and we haven’t even left the United States!
We took a walk to the two nearest gas stations to see if they would have anything for us to wear or a hairbrush but struck out at both of the locations. Finally, we just took an Uber to Target to get some clothes and everything we needed for the day to make it to Paris tomorrow afternoon!
After we waited around all day, we were finally taking off! 8 hours later… we landed in Paris and landed 40 minutes early, which is amazing considering we had a practice slot in 4 hours with a team from the Netherlands.
Look at the crust… beauty
We nearly sprinted to a restaurant to find food and Kristen ordered the “best pizza she's ever had” and let the language barrier begin! We ordered a pizza with cheese on half (I can’t eat cheese) and their facial expressions with my special request were very entertaining. Immediately we went back to the hotel to get ready for practice. When I opened my suitcase my ball was in a different spot, completely flat (you are supposed to leave some air in it when traveling), and wouldn’t hold air. We were down to one ball for the week and had to head to practice. Water was dumping from the sky and we were both falling asleep in the uber on the way to practice. The practice was planned by the Dutch so we went with the flow and tried to figure out the drills as we went. It was a frustrating practice at points because it was so cold and rainy and tough to get warmed up. Kristen kindly reminded me that we were in Paris! How amazing! We walked out of practice and the traffic was horrible and the Uber’s location was going away from us and the time kept increasing. Kristen per usual, had to pee so the wait time was excruciatingly long for her. I found it to be hilarious but she was not amused.
Pure Exhaustion
When we returned to the hotel room from dinner, I was so exhausted that I fell asleep while Kristen was in the bathroom with all the lights on. That’s when you know the exhaustion is real because I typically can’t sleep if there is a single light on. Kristen slept for a full 12 hours and I couldn’t lay in bed anymore and decided to get up and search for breakfast. It was damp, cold, and windy – perfect weather for a beach volleyball tournament. The first cafe I ventured into realized that I was an American and gave me the cold shoulder and said they only accepted cash. The second place I walked into had a long glass case full of delicious pastries. I stood back to study what each of the locals were ordering. No one spoke English except for the kind woman in front of me and she let me try a piece of her breakfast choice, which lead me to ordering one too. She single-handedly made my day with her kindness! I came back and delivered the first Parisian croissant of the week to Nuss who was still in bed.
Next up on the list of things to do was head to the venue and find out where we were playing. There was a 50-passenger charter bus taking athletes to the venue at 11 am sharp and we were the only two people on the bus! After about 45 minutes of continuous horn honking, near collisions, evidently no traffic rules, and motorcycles weaving in and out of death’s way we made it. The bus driver just opened the door and grunted for us to get out. There was no stadium and we were right next to a garden and an interstate. We started walking and 5 minutes later stumbled upon the Roland-Garros Stadium, where the tennis French Open is played. The venue was massive, full of sports history, and the exterior walls were lined with the names Nadal, Federer, and all the other greats of Tennis. After we ate some lunch, we went to explore the area around the stadium. We walked through one of the many parks in the city to find a café for some caffeine to fight the jet lag. Some small realizations from our walk: none of the dogs had leashes on and people do not smile when you walk by. The Midwest in me struggled to not greet everyone with a smile as I passed by.
The bus left promptly at 14:00, so to avoid missing the bus we went to the pickup site early and as we were approaching the bus, it just drove off. I ran for it to stop while Kristen just stood there with a great look of confusion. She wasn’t ready for the many challenges that international adventures always possess.
Gameday! We had the year’s best breakfast with amazing croissants and runny scrambled eggs (Nuss’ favorite) and we were off to the venue. The traffic in Paris was horrendous. Our driver got out of the van and asked cars to move out of the way so we could arrive on time. We went right to the player’s lounge, complete with so many comfy couches, plenty of room, showers, tubs, and everything you could ever need.
As mentioned before, it was cold! We were playing on center court which was technically inside but it was still freezing. We were up against the Canadian duo of Brandie and Sophie. We had played Brandie twice in Chicago but we had never played against them as a pair. We squeezed out a win in the third set. They were a very powerful team with lots of “Super Spikes”, one of them in particular turned Kristen’s finger multicolored and caused some issues. We went back and found a mall to buy some warmer clothes and extra layers.
Gameday #2- Kristen and I were on a time crunch for breakfast. I spilled virtually everything I touched at breakfast. Kristen was down an index finger, and if you have ever hurt your finger and can’t use it, it makes a big difference. Cherish all 10 of those fingers! We tried to hide the fact that she couldn’t even put her hair in a ponytail but she is going to walk out on the court and play high-level volleyball! She was a machine!
We loaded the bus with all 4 teams from our pool as we were the first matches of the day. It was so strange as you say hi and smile but in a few short hours you are fighting to win each point. Where do you sit? Try and give everyone enough space. It’s just kind of awkward. It was a chilly morning to warm up and play. USA brought some wonderful doctors on the trip that taped Kristen up and we were ready to play! We beat the Finland team and next, our very own USA team once again, Betsi and Kelly.
We lost. Too many mistakes but took it to three. Both US teams broke pool which is very cool for the United States and shows how deep the roster is. It makes it that much more challenging to qualify and keep moving up. Although we lost, we were still in the quarterfinals on Saturday, we just had to wait for the rest of the women’s games to finish up, and then we would draw slots and times to play. We went to our usual restaurant for dinner and outside there were young boys playing dodgeball with long baguettes in hand. Some things in other countries are so different, that would never happen in America but to them, it was normal. The quarterfinals draw didn’t get posted until about 10:30 PM and we were just waiting for our time to be shown so we could set our alarms and go to bed!
I finally slept in, and by sleeping in I made it to 3 am. After some breakfast, we were up against Duda and Ana Patricia from Brazil. They are the reigning World Champions and ranked #1 in the world. We were thrilled to play them to see where we stacked up! After a tough 3-set loss our Paris tournament was over. People have asked about our thoughts after the game.
Well, here are mine:
Anger. I thought about a few points that I could have played better or made a better decision on repeat for the next couple of hours. Those points will continue to haunt me.
Their short serves. My non-aggressive serves. Getting blocked. The dumb plays. The almost touches. I’d be lying if I said I don’t have nightmares about those plays. However, I do think that makes us better. I think it proves we care.
Practice. I want to go directly back to practice and work. I want to get better.
Sadness. Losing this game with your best friend crushes you because you want to perform for them. If you struggle, they lose too. That’s the worst part.
Hopeful. We’re in Paris. We just played in the quarterfinals against the #1 team and world champions and I don’t think we walked into the match scared like we did the first time we walked on the court to play April and Alix. There are definitely some encouraging things that are positive.
Proud. Happy to be on the court with my best friend. The best defender. The rock. The surgeon. The machine, Kristen Nuss. There, that’s what goes on after a game in my head.
Then you shower off the sand. Gather yourself together and move on. The world is not crashing down it’s just a game of don’t let the ball touch the ground at the highest international level – however, that takes me a solid couple of hours.
Have to see it in person!
Pictures do not do it justice.
As I said, we were in Paris and we planned on playing but if we couldn’t do that anymore we were going to explore the city! We hopped on the metro to go to the Eiffel Tower; we were just riding along and then BANG it came out of nowhere! It was much bigger than I had imagined and I totally showed my touristy side and couldn’t stop saying “wow”, taking pictures, and just being in awe that we were there. The Eiffel Tower is my screen saver on my phone, I look at it every single day, and then there it was in person. There were countless amounts of people and like us, everyone is just in awe. The street vendors try and sell you countless souvenirs or beer and champagne. We had a very disappointing dinner before going to watch the Tower twinkle. I stood in amazement that we got to do that, together, and although losing is terrible… I was so happy we were able to compete in Paris – still trying to find the bright sides. We did however watch our train drive past us and leave us in the dust as we were at the long platform and the train was only at the short platform. Lesson learned!
We had one last day of breakfast and hotel covered by the tournament. I saw Sean Scott, director of USA volleyball, at the coffee station. He asked me if I slept well and he already knew the answer. I laid in bed all night thinking about the game. Unfortunately, he shared that it doesn’t go away and he still thinks about the points he wants to go back and change. We both agreed that losing is way worse than winning will ever be wonderful. That’s terrifying, but we would go out there and do it again and again for the opportunity to compete and win!
We were off to explore the city and that we did! 10 miles and 10 hours later we returned to the hotel for some much-needed rest. We trotted through nearly the entire city. We started with the Arc de Triomphe and then wandered through the streets of 8th Arr (the city is sectioned by numbers). Then we found the most beautiful park, Parc Monceau (my favorite). It was full of kids running around, people watchers, and joggers. I loved walking through the landscape and enjoyed people-watching (my favorite activity). Then we finally stopped at a pastry shop with a line out the door. There is a pastry shop on just about every corner and it is very tempting to not stop at all of them. The photo ate first and Kristen’s eyes grew to the size of softballs while she stared at the desserts. We then walked up to 17th Arr to a recommended restaurant called Breizh (a famous Crepe restaurant). To be honest, I was not a huge fan. After a quick rain shower, we hiked up to Scare-Coeur Basilica. There we were able to see how vast the city of Paris is and the intricate architecture was apparent even from above. Montmartre was next. Artists lined the streets with their canvas and pencils to draw the tourists, and the smell of crepes filled the air. The day continued with the exploration of the Wall of Love where ‘I love you’ is written in over 250 languages and then concluded with a scrumptious dinner at Mama Primi. At dinner, there were 10 open tables and 3 groups of 2 people to eat. We all sat 6 inches away from each other at a table right next to each other. I was very confused about the seating but nevertheless, delicious.
Monday morning we got up early because we had our one tour of the week scheduled. We were able to secure a guided tour to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I was blown away by the facts that were spuing out of the guide. I wanted a pen and paper to write them all down. Biggest surprise: the Eiffel Tower was originally painted bright red! In order to get to the tip top of the Tower, we waited in line for two hours as only one lift was working. The other side was shut down for the painting of the Tower before Paris hosts the Olympics in 2024. Next up, the most delectable hot chocolate imaginable at Carette. I would highly recommend this place! The food and the hot chocolate were incredible and some great people watching. Kristen’s elementary school classmate just happened to move to Paris and he met us there for some lunch. How crazy! New Orleans elementary school to lunch in Paris, France! After we were nice and full, we went to check into our Airbnb that was located on the outskirts of town where there were no tourists. As we were walking around the area you could hear the locals scoff at the fact that we were Americans. Even the restaurant employees were not thrilled to serve us. A couple was seated right next to us and they got up and left, the waitress joked and told us that “we weren’t funny so they left”. I finally asked, how they know right away that we are Americans? She said we just look American, everything about our faces, our outfits, my height, everything! All of which we couldn’t deny.
On our final day we started at the best pastry place ever, Du Pain et des Idées! This is a must-do! We walked into the bakery and were overwhelmed with the scent of freshly baked bread. We were told to get the escargot pistachio chocolate item. I wanted to eat the entire basket of them, they were incredible, we had to go back and get another one. We strolled to the Louvre and then to La Seine, a river in the middle of the city with incredible views. Our favorite way to see the city was to just walk and walk. The buildings, architecture, and people watching are lost if you don’t take the time to walk everywhere! Notre Dame was even bigger and more incredible than imagined even though we could only see the outside since work was being done on it. We only walked 8 miles (according to Kristen’s Apple watch – not sure how accurate that is) but by 4:30 we were wiped out. We made our way back to the Airbnb to pack up and couldn’t even find enough energy to go get dinner!
Wednesday - A 10-hour flight later. We're back in America, only to find out that we mixed up our carry-on suitcases. Kristen is in New Orleans with all of my stuff and her suitcase is safe with me in Sioux Falls. It was a fun surprise after a 26-hour travel day!
By: Taryn Kloth
