The last couple of days have provided some milestones in the road ahead and in the road that I have traveled over the years.
As I mentioned in the last blog post, at this time two years ago, I was in Beijing for the Winter Olympics, my third Winter Olympics experience and my fourth Olympics overall. Without a question, it was one of the most unique experiences of my life, covering another Olympics during the midst of the pandemic.
My Facebook memories informed me that two years ago on this day, I was at one of the most unusual venues I've ever covered an Olympics at, the Shougang Big Air facility in Beijing. This was the only outdoor venue in the city limits of Beijing, with the rest of the outdoor events in the mountain villages outside of the city. What made this venue unique was not just the fact that it was an outdoor venue in the city limits, but rather where it was built. It was built in an industrial area of the city that the government was working to revitalize. Driving to the venue we drove past numerous old factories and arriving at the venue we were greeted by four huge cooling towers, the kind of things usually seen at nuclear power plants. Without a question, this will be one of the most unique venues I ever see, though I'm excited to cover some beach volleyball at the Eiffel Tower and equestrian at Versailles this summer.
My Facebook memories also reminded me that 10 years ago today I made my original foray into the Olympics, landing in Sochi, Russia. Without a question, that was one of the more nerve-wracking adventures of my life. I was so concerned about the ability to find my way through the airport in Moscow to get on my flight to Sochi and what I would do once I landed in the Olympic city. All my concerns were calmed and it turned out to be a great experience in a place that I would never have traveled to without the Olympics making an appearance there. Sochi was a unique location in that the indoor venues were located next to the Black Sea in a pretty temperate environment, complete with palm trees, which took me by surprise to say the least. The Media Center in Sochi remains one of the coolest places I've had the chance to work in. And I will forever remain grateful to all the people who helped me fundraise for that trip, making it possible for me to start on this incredible journey that has lasted close to a dozen years.
Looking back, yesterday marked two years to go until the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, which I have to admit, is one of the locations I am really excited to see. As I've mentioned before, one of the best things about the first four Olympic experiences was that they were all in places I had never been before. I have been to Paris and to Italy (including Milan), but I have never really had the chance to cover the Winter Olympics in a true winter environment and the Alps will definitely be that.
I also officially booked my flight to Paris for this summer. The plan is to fly out of Boston early on Tuesday, July 23, with a stop in New York City before traversing the Atlantic Ocean and arriving in Paris just before 10 p.m. local time. The return flight will be on Monday, Aug. 12, leaving in the afternoon and with the time change, arriving back in Boston on a direct flight at 6 p.m. Flying to Paris in the summer is not a cheap venture, but it's something else checked off the list in preparation for this summer.
The Shougang Big Air facility in Beijing will forever be one of the most unique venues I have covered an event at.
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