Attending the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad in Paris, Part 1

August 10, 2024

Attending the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad in Paris, Part 1

It's the last weekend of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, are you watching?

For the past two weeks, we've all enjoyed seeing more than 10-thousand athletes from 206 nations compete in The Olympics. I had the honor of attending The Games this year and celebrating my birthday with Snoop Dogg watching the equestrian dressage competition. In between television appearances and interviews, I also had the opportunity to tour the hosting city of Paris. I, along with my team, visited various shops, ate at delicious French restaurants, viewed exhibits at The Louis Vuitton Foundation, and enjoyed a private early morning walk through the iconic Château de Versailles. It was a most exciting and productive trip - and one I'll remember for years to come.

Here are some photos, enjoy. And be sure to look out for my TikTok video on my trip to the Olympics!

: Here I am at the airport ready for my trip to France for the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad.

: My suitcases and gear include Rimowa pieces in the colors of the American flag. Because I was scheduled to do several television shoots and appearances, I had a long list of clothes and items to bring with me.

: Driving to the hotel, we passed the famous L’Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile, or the Arc de Triomphe – located at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. The Arc de Triomphe honors those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. It took 30-years to build this monument.

: I stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel George V, the art deco landmark built in 1928 located near the historic Champs-Élysées.

: The lobby is decorated with dark purple and fuchsia flowers in a beautiful display by master floral designer Jeff Leatham.

: Jeffrey has been the hotel’s artistic director since 1999. Displays change monthly inside and out, making the Four Seasons Hotel George V renowned as “the flower hotel.”

: We made a quick stop at Vins Fins Desserts at 35 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre.

: It is one of oldest sweets shops in Paris. Inside – beautiful displays of fine chocolates, candies, and other desserts.

: In this section, shelves are filled with pommes candies, tartelette de pommes candies, and cerises en pâte d’amandes.

: Here I am in front of E. Dehillerin, a restaurant supply store. I remember visiting this same store during another trip to Paris many years ago.

: Can you tell what these are? Cubbies and cubbies of whisks…

: … and nearby, dozens of different rolling pins.

: I, along with my production team stopped in The Ritz Paris, also in the heart of the city.

: At the Bar Vendome, I enjoyed this cocktail called La Perisienne with cucumber juice, elderflower liqueur, vodka, and Krug Brut Rose champagne. It was so delicious.

: And then it was time to head to the Olympic Village. Paris 2024 includes 19 days of competition in 329 events covering 32 different sports and four non-traditional sports – breaking, or break dancing, climbing, skateboarding, and surfing.

: My first LIVE appearance was a CNBC Squawk Box interview with co-anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin. We talked about my participation in the Olympics and some of my other business initiatives including my new 100th book coming out in the fall.

: Afterward, I had a little time to sit and watch the GOAT – Simone Biles. Here she is doing a bars routine.

: It’s a sweet reunion with my friend, Snoop Dogg, back at the Four Seasons. We did our first segment together at Le Cinq, an exquisite dining room that boasts a three Michelin-star rating.

: Before the restaurant opened, Snoop and I posed with the Le Cinq team.

: Whenever I travel, I try my best to fit in visits to museums, gardens, and other interesting venues. On this day, our group went to the Louis Vuitton Foundation to view Ellsworth Kelly: Shapes and Colors and Matisse: The Red Studio. We also admired the amazing glass architecture of Frank Gehry.

: Henri Émile Benoît Matisse was a French visual artist, printmaker, sculptor, and painter known for his use of colors.

: Ellsworth Kelly’s exhibit includes more than 100 works, paintings, and sculptures as well as drawings, photographs, and collages.

: Ellsworth’s work focused on hard-edge painting, color field painting, and minimalism.

: Back to work… and off to the TODAY Show set where I bumped into US Gold Medal winner for the men’s four rowing event, Michael Grady. He let me hold his gold for a few photos.

: During my segment with Snoop and the TODAY Show team, we talked about our lifestyle segments for the Olympic Games and how we were spending our time in Paris. Then there was a little surprise for me…

: … A birthday cake!

: Snoop and I did another appearance with the cookie master himself, the Cookie Monster, on Access Hollywood.

: It was a very full media day with this stunning Eiffel Tower as our backdrop. This famous Eiffel Tower on the Champ de Mars is made of wrought-iron lattice. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889.

: The next day we went to the Palace of Versailles where the Grand Prix equestrian competition was held. Here we are riding behind Snoop and two “outriders” who made sure we did not get caught up in bad traffic.

: Snoop and I rode to the equestrian arena “in style” – on the back of a golf cart. This photo went viral on social media.

: Here I am with Steffen Peters, a German-born equestrian who competes for the United States in dressage. He is here in Paris with his horse Suppenkasper.

: Snoop arrived at the Olympics afraid of horses, but I think I may have cured him…

: We had front row seats for the dressage competition. I described to Snoop each movement the horses made while performing in the ring. Dressage involves a lot of non verbal communication between horse and rider. The goal is to maintain the horse’s calm demeanor while executing precise movements in response to subtle signals.

: It was so impressive to watch the horses. The word “dressage” is French for “training” and involves performing a series of walks, trots, canters, and other specialized maneuvers learned from muscle memory.

: For lunch we went to Girafe, a fine dining seafood establishment. Look at this display – everything was so fresh.

: Among the dishes we enjoyed – cod with cockles, lima beans, and tomatoes.

: We also had squid ink risotto… made by Chef Ignacio Mattos of Estela, who was doing a special pop-up at the restaurant.

: And spaghetti linguini with tomatoes and basil.

: That same evening, I enjoyed a birthday dinner at the restaurant Lapérouse, a landmark established in 1766 and known for its private dining lounges.