Olympics | Opinion: We'll always have Paris

PARIS, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Let's be honest, it didn't get off to the best of starts, sitting in the rain watching the opening ceremony on a big screen TV, you could have been forgiven for thinking: 'What am I doing here when I could be watching on a different TV and be dry?'

It's fair to say that the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games was probably not the high spot of the just over two weeks when the world came together in sport in the French capital.

The ceremony was saved by Celine Dion, who some were quick to point out is actually Canadian, and the Olympic cauldron, floating below a copy of the Montgolfier ballon, which became one of the symbols of the Games moored in the Tuileries, next to the Louvre museum and a place of pilgrimage for tourists and sports fans alike.

The first day of competition wasn't a great improvement, as cyclists slid and skidded around in an accident-prone time trial on roads turned to glass by the rain. But it did give us two iconic moments: Australian cyclist Grace Brown, who won gold in the year she has announced her retirement and Remco Evenepoel, who a week later would complete a historic Olympic double of men's time trial and road race gold, after riding away on a packed climb up to Montmartre.

But then the sun came out, Paris slipped into gear, with the swimming pool giving us the first hero of the Games as Leon Marchand won four gold medals with four Olympic records.

Canada's 17-year-old Summer McIntosh claimed three gold medals - the first Canadian ever to do so, while in her fourth Games Katie Ledecky made it nine gold medals, becoming the greatest female swimmer of all time.

China's Pan Zhanle also produced an incredible swim in La Defense Arena, beating a world-class field that contained the likes of Kyle Chalmers of Australia and David Popvici of Romania by a body length en route to establishing a new world record.

In the biggest win on a tennis court for China since Li Na, Zheng Qinwen won the women's singles gold medal at Roland Garros, the same court that Li notched her first Grand Slam title at the French Open 13 years ago.

Simone Biles may not have been as quite as jaw-droppingly amazing as in Rio 2016, but it was still a joy to see her back and competing in the gymnastics, and a host of Hollywood celebrities and her three gold medals show that she is still special, even if Brazil's Rebeca Andrade took gold in the floor exercises and received a homage from Biles for doing so.

Saint-Denis was jumping for the athletics and Britain's Keely Hodgkinson cruised home in the 800 meters and then said the time had come to spend time with her family and drink some 'rose' wine at the beach.

Place de la Concorde was the home for the 'urban sports' with athletes performing tricks on tiny BMX bikes and skateboards that would have seen most of us rushed to the nearest A&E center if we had tried them.

It's hard to think that around 230 years ago, the crowds in La Concorde were cheering for something very different and rather less peaceful.

There were problems in the River Seine, fortunately not the shark from the recent film 'Under Paris' but something much smaller, with high bacteria levels leading to cancelled swim practice and a delayed triathlon.

At times, anyone in the city could have been forgiven for wondering if there would be an hour without a police siren, and if it would be possible to walk for more than 200 meters without finding one's path barred by security railings.

Paris is full of visitors year-round, but only at the Olympic Games do they flaunt their nationalities quite so proudly. A lot of Americans, green-and-gold-clad Aussies, and also orange-covered Dutch along with Belgians and Germans made the short trip across the border. And, of course, the British, showing that, despite Brexit, France is still very popular indeed.

Chinese fans also provided color, with the stands of the men's table-tennis final turning into the 'sea of red' as China took team gold against Sweden.

The fans are what make the Olympics special as they cheer on their countrymen and women and wave their flags, but at the Games one might see an American next to a Chinese fan, a Briton next to a German and a French fan. In Ancient Greece, conflicts were paused for the duration of the Olympics - it's a shame the same thing doesn't happen now.

They filled the streets, the cafes and the Metro - stifling hot on the trips between venue to venue. And that was also a problem and a plus at the same time, the needs of sustainability saw Paris make the most of existing structures, which meant there was no central 'Olympic Park' as in London.

Equestrian events and golf were at Versailles, and the former home of the Sun King was amazing, as was Elancourt Hill where Tom Pidcock recovered from a puncture to win mountain bike gold.

They and venues for canoeing, track cycling and shooting were all a long way from Paris and events spread over town didn't always make for an easy visitor or journalistic experience.

But anyone who looked inside the Grand Palace, for the fencing or taekwondo will have been amazed by its art-deco splendor.

And then you stop for a moment and realize that your race has finished underneath the Eiffel Tower, that Montmartre is shining white in the background, Notre Dame is on your right and la Louvre is on the left, the BMX is on La Concorde, the sun is setting behind the Arc de Triomphe and that big street is the Champs Elysses.

It's Paris, in all of its splendor. What more could you ask for?

Were the Games perfect? No, but probably there is no such thing as a perfect Games and in four years it's very possible we will look back on these days and think - as Humphrey Bogart said to Ingrid Bergman "We'll always have Paris."