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Anna's
Experience
Thursday
OK, as all of you know I had a great time in Paris. I got to see Alexei for the
second time, and met some unbelievable, crazy Italian girls I immediately became
friends with! (why would that be?
) Also got to meet Sharpie who must have heard about that beer contest I won
during the summer!
Now, do you believe that I forgot my tickets in Italy? yes I did. I know, I
know.... really stupid thing to do. I had made that list (not like Kim's but a
list nevertheless) with the things I had to pack. And guess what?
"Tickets" were not on it. So they stayed at home. No need to tell you
I completely freaked out when I realized it on Friday morning. Luckily the
personnel at Bercy was so helpful and I got in. I had to go and get duplicate
tickets every day before the events but I am not complaining! Not at all!
My first Alexei sighting was on Thursday evening. I was at the reception desk
with Anya and her mother when Alexei went out of the elevator (I got pretty
familiar with those elevators till the end of the weekend
). He was accompanied by the rest of the Russian skaters, all dressed up. I
think they were going to the draw or something like that. Anyway after that I
could relax, Alexei was there! (Not that there was any doubt but I didn't want
to go to bed without seeing him the first day).
On Friday I found out that taking breakfast in the hotel should not be
overlooked
I was absolutely enjoying the atmosphere with all those skaters passing me
by.....
I had a great seat, Laurie would be proud of me!
Also I found out that once you have breakfast you don't really need to eat
anything else during the day. I don't remember if it was lack of time or money
that made me discover that. Maybe both.
Next time remind me to taste the cuisine of Novotel.
I will continue tomorrow with the SPs. I actually took notes for the pairs. Not
for the men, cause I couldn't concentrate.
I tried, believe me!
Anna
FridayAfter seeing Alexei
having breakfast on Friday I didn't catch another glimpse of him till the Short
Program.
Unfortunately practices are not open to the public at Lalique, that was the only
thing that disappointed me. The doors for the competition were supposed to open
at 3pm and we all had to rush inside to get the best seats possible, because on
Friday there was "free seating" a.k.a. whoever gets the best seat
first, keeps it.
So at around 2pm there
was already quite a crowd in front of the main entrance. And we waited... and
waited... and waited some more... and saw some people behind the doors.... who
went away... and then came back.... and we were still waiting.... till about
3:30 pm.... when, at last, they realized they should open the doors otherwise
there wouldn't be any spectators in the arena. I was one of the first to get in
and I have a vivid memory of me and Anke just a couple of meters ahead of me
racing inside the halls of Bercy and frantically searching for the best seats
Finally we got our seats, second row ones
and managed to relaxe a bit. As I told you I took notes during the pairs
competition. But I'm not going to bore you with that, I'm just saying that
sometimes I wondered what competition the judges were watching.... I will
probably post my notes later.
Pairs were first, then ladies, then men and last ice dance. I just wanted to see
Alexei. I had already seen Gladiator (live in Halle and from the Sun Valley tape
- thanks Laurie) and Chopin from Sun Valley. [Before seeing Chopin I wasn't sure
that I would like the music cause it's not really my kind of music, but when I
saw the tape....wow! I absolutely loved it! And I couldn't wait to see it
again.]
He took the ice.... I couldn't see anything else, or hear anything. I was right
there with him. My only thought was "land the jumps, just land the
jumps". He went for the combo.... I don't remember breathing. People
started cheering after the quad, I waited till he had safely landed the toe and
then shouted "YES!" in relief. He landed the jumps. When it was over I
could breath normally again. We waited for the marks and cheered when they came
up. At last the judges seemed to watch the same competition that the crowd was
watching. I would have killed them if they had marked him lower. (OK, don't take
this *literally*
but a vampire has its ways....
)
I didn't really watch the rest of the competition. The reason was simple. Alexei
went up to the stands and sat next to Nikolai and I was too busy watching him.
He was wearing that red jacket and was so relaxed, smiling and laughing with the
other guys. I would have very much liked to go up there and share the jokes.
Really! But I was happy just watching him!
I left before the end of the ice dancing because I lost Alexei at some point. He
went to sit at the other side of the arena I think, and I couldn't see him any
more. So I went back to the hotel made myself a bit more presentable
and went back down to the lobby. I spent considerable more time in the lobby
than in any other place. At some point I found myself sitting in the same table
with John Zimmerman who my roommate didn't recognize! So when somebody came and
asked him for a photo she quietly asked me, "who is this?"
I think she will recognize him the next time!
We saw Alexei again that night when he returned to the hotel, with a red sports
bag hanging off his shoulder. (I hope you understand what I'm talking about, no
better way to describe it). I think he was wearing a grey sweater but I can't be
sure... that dazzling effect, you know...
But the night was still young! And I spent it with my new Italian friends who I
had just met that morning. Francesca spent the night in our room cause it was
too late to go back to the house of her friend (her friend was living in another
town... don't ask! we're doing everything we can to save money!) and we didn't
sleep till after 4 am and a pillow fight, cause she dared say that Tosca was
better than Broken Arrow
We finally settled it at the "BA is art, and thus each one can see it in a
different way. And like all kinds of art, it can be loved or hated".
OK, that's all or now, Saturday is next!
Anna
SaturdaySaturday morning I
woke up and headed down for the oh-so-important breakfast.
Alexei came about half
an hour later, dressed in grey pants and a tight white T-shirt, with a sweater
(or was it a pullover?) tied around his waste. I love that T-shirt. I think it's
the same he wears in that photo of Mishanya... you know which one I'm talking
about!
Anyway, I just admired him for a while before going up to my room again...
I got through the usual drill to get the duplicate tickets and at last got into
the arena to watch the pairs and ladies competition. Come to think of it, I
think Saturday was the day that the judges were... a bit out of it
, not Friday. Well, my apologies to the judges! LOL!
I'm gonna write my comments about the actual skating later
After the pairs and ladies competition there was a short break and then the men
were next. Strangely, I wasn't nervous. Not at all. I had woken up with a
feeling that he's going to blow everybody away and I kept repeating it to my roommate
all day
Before he got the ice I told her "don't talk to me!"
I wouldn't be able to hear anyway.
He was on. Oh boy, he
was ON! He landed the 4/3 right in front of me, and I had first row tickets. As
in the SP I waited till the toe was safely landed and then burst into my usual
"YES" cheering
And not only once! I couldn't help it.
And he made "my" Martini spin at the end of the program!
He was SO good! And he was so happy afterwards! Everybody from our group was
all cheering like mad women and giving him a standing ovation, and I was
literally jumping up and down and cheering in Greek!
Unbelievable! I threw my present on the ice (a stuffed animal that I had
brought from Italy) and couldn't make myself stand still! Waiting for the marks,
I knew they were gonna be GOOD. I saw him in the big screen, resting his head on
Tatiana's shoulder and that smile on his face was priceless. I would have done
that trip just to see this smile, honestly. When the 6.0s came up, we were back
on our feet and cheering again! I will never forget it.
I didn't even see the next skater. I think it was Stanick Jeanette but I can't
be sure. I closed my eyes, buried my face in my hands and just sat there.
Smiling to myself, overwhelmed by what I had just seen. I didn't care about the
other skaters. Nobody would beat him anyway. I was in a state of trance till
after the Ice Dance was over.
Then we went back to the hotel and after putting some make up on
I went back down to the lobby were I spent the rest of the night. Skaters were
going in and out, up and down the elevators, taking pictures with the fans and
giving autographs to everyone. Honestly, I don't exactly remember what I did
till I went to bed, but I remember walking outside Bercy at 3 am looking for
cigarettes
Later I found out that the reception actually sells cigarettes. It would be
nice to know that a day earlier!
Oh, right, that was the night I met Sharpie!
Anna
SundaySunday.... what a day!
Had the usual breakfast (it had become kind of a tradition
) but I saw no sign of Alexei this time. However, we were supposed to have a
Fan Club Meeting later that day so I was pretty confident I was bound to see him
at some point.
Alexei came to the meeting, dressed in a suit (as you all have seen) and was
really patient while signing tons of autographs and taking tenths of pictures.
We went to the middle of the lobby for the group pictures, since the couch was
just too small! (who has the group pictures? We took three but only one has
turned up so far!)
After the FC meeting, we had to rush to go to the Gala.
It started at 2:30pm
and finished at 6pm. Alexei skated second to last, with Anissina and Peizerat
(performing "Dance mon Esmeralda" once more) closing the show. I would
have liked to see a new exhibition program from them but "Dance mon
Esmeralda" is one of my favorites anyway.
Some will disagree,
but I thoroughly enjoyed the Gala.
Most of the programs were slow/romantic but I didn't mind! The crowd loved
Jeanette's program, (which was one of the few upbeat ones) and I have to admit
it was good. But Alexei was more than good. He was magnificent. Some of the
jumps were a bit off but *I* didn't care! For yet another time, I cheered to the
top of my lungs. He also gave a brief interview for the French commentator
saying how he loved the support of the crowd in Bercy.
After the Gala, the hotel lobby was even more crowded than the previous night.
Some of the French skaters left the same day, but most of the others were going
to spend Sunday night in the Novotel and catch their flight for wherever they
were going the following morning. When the skaters went out to dinner, I was
left to spend the night with the girls from Italy, and we enjoyed ourselves to
the max! Through them I also got to meet Silvia Fontana and the ice dancers
Gloria and Luciano.
Definitely an unforgettable night.
Definitely an unforgettable experience. It had its ups and downs, but overall, I
would do it again. (If only I could correct some things along the way...)
One of the things I regret is not being able to hang the banner.
But at least I managed to send it back to Laurie on time
Monday morning was frantic with me running to the bank, not being able to get
money, freaking out for the second time, and at last being able to get the money
to pay the hotel and send the banner back to the US. And all this after having
only a couple of hours sleep...
Anna
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