The French Open – Bucket List and Exploring Paris

Our time in Paris blended everything we love about worldschooling: real-world learning, local culture, history, and racquet sports. We spent eight full days soaking up the city.

Paris made it to the top of our travel list this year because it’s been on Michael’s bucket list to see the French Open. Mission accomplished—and then some. We watched Carlos Alcaraz (incredible!) who won the entire tournament! We also saw many other great matches at Roland-Garros. It is a great venue that does a good job of spreading the crowd out.

It wasn’t easy to get the tickets. We signed up for a lottery earlier in the year. I was selected for the lottery, but on the day we could buy our tickets we were flying to Turkey! Luckily, our friend Vicki sat in the hours-long virtual queue and scored us tickets for two days at the tournament. Thanks, Vicki!

We stayed in a little Airbnb on the Rue de Commerce, just a short walk from the Eiffel Tower. It was the perfect spot to regroup each day. Almost every evening, we’d grab a few snacks, head out to the lawn, and hang out under the Tower until the lights lit up. It became a bit of a ritual—one of those simple things we’ll remember forever.

We also got tickets to go to the summit of the Eiffel Tower. We went at 9:30 p.m. and got to watch the city go from day to night. The views are incredible!

One of our biggest days took us all across the city on foot—The Louvre, Notre Dame, The Pantheon, and multiple parks. We clocked over 20,000 steps by the end of it. We covered a lot, both physically and mentally.

We decided to mix things up and do something a little off the beaten path—a sewer tour. Strange? Yes. But it was interesting. It sparked discussions about infrastructure, engineering, and how cities function under the surface.

We enjoyed eating pastries and other food in Paris. We cooked often and enjoyed shopping at the grocery store and local markets. We had one late-night McDonald’s meal because that was all that was open near our house at 1 a.m. after the French Open.

Paris was a full experience. Not just for the sights (though they are as stunning as you’d imagine), but for the feeling of it all. The rhythm of the city, the layers of history, the way daily life and culture blend so naturally.
For Michael, it was a dream come true to see the French Open. For the rest of us, it was a beautiful reminder of why we do what we do—learning from the world, one step (and croissant) at a time. Au revoir, Paris!