Galeries Layafette & the Stade de France

On another sunny and warm day, I walked down Boulevard Hausmann to the large department store, Galeries Layafette, and went to the glass platform on which you are allowed to stand for five minutes whilst taking photos pf the opulent decoration, including the inside of the dome. Then I went up to the terrace for a view overlooking Paris.
I walked past the Opera Comique and Credit Lyonnais on Boulevard des Italiens on the way to some of the Galeries and Passages (arcades) such as the Passge Jouffroy, some more stylish than others, and continued through the Place de Victoires, with its statue of Louis XIV, and the Place des Petits-Peres with its church of Notre-Dame des Victoires and the historic cafe, Le Moulin de la Vierge, where I stopped for a coffee.
I returned to the hotel to put on my uniform before the 20-minute walk to the Stade de France for pre-competition training, including visiting the Doping Control Centre. The Stade was a big complex with many entrances and two concentric rings under the stadium for traffic, stores, the mixed zone, medical and press centres, etc., plus a training track where the Doping Control Centre was located. There was also a Volunteer Centre and Dining Room. It took a few tries to remember all the routes when my shifts started.Read more