[Senator Clay Davis]

Now that I'm back home and not running around like a maniac like I was the last week of my trip, my French Open experience...

- It was very different from my Wimbledon experience simply because of when I went. The two days I went to Wimbledon where the two busiest days of the tournament, the first Saturday and Manic Monday. So it was chaotic on the grounds, and very packed. At Roland Garros there were only matches on the grandstands, so there were just way fewer people and it was much easier to navigate. But even still Roland Garros just has a bigger footprint for moving around (for now, Wimbledon expansion is coming), so it'd be easier to get around.

- Paris metro is probably the best transport system I've ever used, so actually getting there was way easier than Wimbledon. I was staying in the Wimbledon area so I was able to just walk there, but getting to my accommodations was not fun. The Paris metro system is so good you can stay almost anywhere in the Paris region and get there in 45 minutes or less. It's about a 10 minute walk to the venue from the closest metro station, about the same as Wimbledon.

- Chatrier was a better viewing experience than Centre Court. Centre Court is too wide, so at the back the seats aren't as good as they would be at Chatrier. Felt like I was more on top of the court, and my tickets were pretty comparable locations for each. And while the French fans are dicks it leads to a much better atmosphere. Although with that in mind, I felt so bad for Paolini and Andreeva, basically two thirds of the crowd weren't even there for the start of their match and at most it was half full. I get that Coco and Iga was the main event, but it's still a SF at a major.

- Now in the fans defense you can't actually bring any alcohol into the court. I had to slam my beer as I tried to get into the court after being told no dice (other drinks are fine). I want to say I was allowed on Centre Court, just the glass had to be plastic (Wimbledon actually gives you real glasses, at least they did when I went). Prices were what you'd expect, a pint was the equivalent of $16 CAD, although they have a recycle program where if you return your glass you get €2.00 back (they were hard plastic). A magnum of Moet was going for about $350 CAD, and I saw more than a few tables around Chatrier with them. Food options were very good, lots of variety.

- This being Paris you can, however, smoke when you are inside the stadium. Not like actually in your seats, but if you just went to the terrace outside the entrance to the seats you can fire up your darts and smoke freely. I would advise that if you don't like smoking maybe just avoid Paris. You can't go too far in Paris without someone burning a heater.

- Holy crap is the main store lineup insane. I wanted to go before the first match, but it was probably a good 45 minutes (at least) to get in. I raced there after the first match ended, and even then it took me 20 minutes to get in. It is absolutely massive though, and they did have 30 cashiers pushing people through. Fun fact: The shop is actually directly underneath courts 2 and 3.

- The FO resale service is great because it's run by the tournament, but you gotta stay on that like a hawk. I was trying to score tickets the the second men's SF, and every time any tickets popped up they were gone within seconds. I was refreshing my phone basically every minute and stuff would pop up, but once you tried to get anything they were gone. I did actually get the chance to buy tickets about two hours before the match, but I didn't really feel like paying €300 to watch the abuser.

Overall I would say I enjoyed it a touch more than Wimbledon, it's just that Wimbledon was getting to see Roger on Centre so it'll always mean more to me. But for the overall cost and experience I would say I preferred the French Open.