EXCLUSIVE: Anna’s Guide to the Paris Olympics
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Hey, we're in my bathroom because I had my first ever mini podcast debacle and I'm going to tell you about it briefly because unfortunately we lost the intro to this episode. If you're already confused and you just turned this on, hi guys, welcome. This is the Anna Guide.

This is an exclusive episode, one of a kind, that I'm hoping to happen a little bit more regularly. But for this episode specifically, I wanted to bring you guys with me while I'm in Paris for the Paris 2024 Olympics and share some bits and pieces of what's been happening while I've been here. Now, this episode initially took place today in a park. So...

We're going to get to that in a moment. But the truth is, I had two debacles today. We're in Paris. This is getting right into the juicy details of the day. I gather my things. I pack a bag. We go to this park that I don't know how to say the name of. Parc Monceau. Someone help me. M-O-N-C-E-A-U.

That's the park I went to today. Stunning, a work of art, literally the most beautiful things. I couldn't believe that I even got to like witness it firsthand, let alone just get to be there. So we go to this park and I'm like, I'm going to record my podcast episode here. I set up my cameras. I open up my blanket. I have two special guests that you're going to see on the episode in a minute. I sit down, I click record and there's no memory cards inside of the cameras.

Someone didn't want me to record today, but you know what I did? Google instantly found out there's a camera store, a Leica specifically, which is already dangerous because if I walk into a Leica, I'm walking out with a camera. Okay. I can't stop myself, but I find it like a store a mile away.

And while I've been in Paris, I've been here for two weeks for the Olympics. I've unlocked a brand new obsession, which is biking. I am obsessed with biking. Okay. Like an unhealthy amount to the point that if there's an option to bike or do anything else, find me on the bike. Okay. Anna in Paris, zoom in on a bike. Okay. So here's the tea. I get my bike. I get on it. I start biking to the camera store.

I get to like, I'm like, do you guys have SD cards? And they're like, yes, we have 128. Here you go. And I go, great. I'm going to need four. Why do I actually need four? No, I have anxiety that I'm going to put that card into my camera and it's not going to work. Has it ever happened before? No.

Is it still an irrational fear and I bought four SD cards? Absolutely. Absolutely. So I get my SD cards. I put them in the bag. I get back on my bike. I'm pedaling for all that's worth because I'm like, I can't let the sun go away. There's clouds rolling in. The weather here has been weird. It's been toasty, but today it's finally cool. Doesn't stop me from sweating. Pedaling my way. Oh, but you can hear my feet going. Ready? That's my pedaling feet.

I hit this intersection and in Paris, they are very bike friendly. Okay. So we hit this intersection. I'm going to paint this picture for you. Roads going seven different directions. Okay. Crossing this one single intersection. So I'm looking for like the little identifier for where the bike is supposed to be coming through. I find it. I'm sitting in my lane. I see exactly the trajectory of where I'm supposed to go. And then I hear...

Okay. Um, in the U S we stopped for those. I, I have an international driver's license, but I've never driven in Paris and from the bike, I'm assuming that they also stopped for police cars. So I'm like, okay, I'm going to wait out these sirens. They're going to go away. I see the two cops on bikes right through these sound effects guys. I don't think I've ever been a sound effects girly. I'm hooked.

These cops on bikes go through. And I'm like, okay, the cops are clear, right? That's the end of it. I start pedaling guys. And I don't know what I was thinking. I shot the gap of two Mercedes sprinters with like, that were major security. You want to know why there were cops on bikes? Because seven more ended up showing up

to deliver whoever was inside of the Mercedes Sprinters. So, um, I don't know if it was Kendall Jenner or if it was like somebody from the embassy, but I almost died. Um, I was wondering why everybody was honking their horn at me too. And I was like, guys, I'm a bike. I like literally I'm in my lane. I'm supposed to be here. I wasn't supposed to be there. So I

I made it though. And I got there and I put the SD cards in the cameras. I start recording. I sit down, I record seven minutes. We are at five minutes and 26 seconds on my little mic right now. I see seven minutes. I'm like, we're eating this up. I'm telling this story from the park. And then the next time that I look down at the microphone, it's frozen, frozen.

Like, don't get me wrong, I have stunning footage of me in the park just absolutely chilling, but it's useless because you can't hear me from as far away as the cameras are to the microphone that's in my hand. So unfortunately, I did have to pull the batteries out of the device in order to make it shut off so I could turn it back on and try again. And in that process, I lost all of the...

recording footage of the entire opening of this episode. So with that being said, welcome to Anna's Guide. That's the opening of the episode. I'm so happy that you're here. I can't believe we're in Paris. Listen, being in Paris for the Olympics, not on the bingo card. Having a podcast, not on the bingo card. Doing my podcast in Paris during the Olympics, not on my lifetime bingo card, okay? But here we are. So listen, you wanna know what I think that that calls for? Today's lesson, say yes to adventure.

You're going to hear that theme over and over and over again throughout this episode because I brought two special people who said yes to InVenture and are now in Paris going to the Olympics with me. We've somehow salvaged tickets to so many incredible Olympic games. We got to see swimming. We got to see volleyball. And it's just the beginning, it feels like, even though I leave in a few days. I have been here for two weeks already. And I can't believe in my life that I got to see some of the most iconic, incredible athletes performing and, like,

competing in these in sports that they spend their whole life training to do it's jaw-dropping and on top of that a little moment for girlhood first off women's gymnastics second off katie ledecky third the first olympic games in history that has parity

That's equal men and women athletes. And even they spoke, I went to like this, pretty much this presentation. It was a beautiful fashion show where they had all the, some of the women athletes from previous games, current games, and like their daughters were there and Paralympics. It was incredible. They did a fashion show. So they walked in the show and they were sharing facts about this, like Olympics, even down to the volunteers. It's equally split men and women. What did you know? The Olympics was last hosted. Yeah.

In 1924, exactly 100 years ago in Paris, and they said it had 4% women. Listen, I might need to fact check myself, but if I remember that correctly, it was something insane. Like when the Olympics was hosted in Paris in like 1904 or something, there was like 2% women. Then in 1924, there was 4% women. And now we are finally in 2024 with 50-50. Now it's taken us a long time to get here, but listen, we did it.

for the girlies. So I feel like this whole week has been feeling like a week of women empowerment. Every event I've gone to has been talking about like women in sports and how iconic they are. I got to meet some of the coolest women NBA players. Like I have had the best week just meeting the girlies and watching them all be so passionate and powerful and beautiful. I've heard so many incredible conversations about body positivity, about women empowerment, about women in sports, about women in coverage, like

That needs to be a whole podcast episode on its own. But while I've been in Paris, the main focus has been the Olympics, obviously. My boyfriend is here. If you're wondering why I am here, actually, too, I am not here on a brand trip. I'm not here with anybody specifically. I'm here to be very supportive for my boyfriend, who is hosting a nighttime show with NBC. So he has been doing a nightly broadcast every single night from 1045 to 1145 on NBC Olympics, TikTok. And it's pretty much a live stream where they're doing in front of a live audience. It literally is giving late night show.

It's so fun to watch. It's so fun to be there in person. And the production on it is just top tier value. So yeah,

I've been here with him and while i've been here I kind of like had to step away from what i'm usually been doing. I know Super tough. I have to spend two weeks in paris Um, that's my dream come true I would love to live in paris at some point and that was sarcastic in case that didn't come off that way um, I know that i'm so lucky that I get to be Standing here right now and sharing in these awesome experiences with my partner But something that I wasn't home for that happened while I was here was my pacsun swimwear launch number two

Okay. And I just want to take a quick moment to say, if you haven't gone to pacsun.com and checked it out, I just launched my second swimwear line with PacSun inspired by the Midwest, inspired by my home state of Michigan. I photographed it in South Haven, the beaches that I grew up going to as a kid and just got to take a moment to like show off the state that I love. Each of the suits are named after towns that I grew up going to like Ludington and Traverse for Traverse City and Haven for South Haven or Grand Haven. Um,

And of course, Marshall and Kalamazoo made the cut. And Ida even made the cut, which is where my boyfriend's from. I didn't grow up going there, but I spend a lot of time in Ida now because of brew. So it's been so fun and exciting to like bring this new project to life. My first swimwear line was very like California summer, beachy Malibu girlies, like kind of this very just elevated level of swimwear and inspired by the colors of sunrises and sunsets and like California coasts.

When PacSun asked me to come back around and at first initially asked me just to redesign the best sellers and new colorways, I was like, oh my gosh, I cannot wait to see the Ombre swimsuit in like

I think I was going to do blue to purple or something. And I was like, I can't wait to see like me mix up all these colors. I want to have the sparkly one in like a funky yellow or like in an orange. I was so prepared for the mix of colorways. And once I got there, they pitched this idea that I launch another swimwear line at the end of, at the start of August. And I was like, you know what? The first thing that comes to mind, like me, what am I buying a swimsuit for at the start of August? A Michigan Lake summer. Like in August, Michigan is peak weather. The lakes have finally warmed up from like

months and months and months of the winter cold. So I wanted suits that were sporty and fun and usable, but chic, like ones that I would want to wear walking to the beach and walking home from the beach and in my backyard with the sprinklers on. And while I'm getting that like final last little bit of like summer tan,

So this collection is just inspired by my Midwest girls. It's inspired by like, when I think of the colors of this collection, I instantly just imagine like a red barn and a cornfield with a blue sky and a lake. Okay. That's like all you need to know. Um,

And it feels like home. And I love that so much. So while I've been here, I had the launch of my PacSun swimwear line, which is my second one with them. There's so many fun projects to come. I'm so honored to get the chance to do that. I remember when I first started with even like posing videos or I walked to Miami swim week. And now I have a swimwear line with my name on it. Like someone pinch me. I'm losing my marbles. So it's been an incredible journey.

week. So this is the part of the episode where we're going to cut and go on an adventure because like I said in today's episode, it's all about saying yes to adventure. And there's two very special people in my life who did say yes to adventure. And that is my little brother, Michael, and one of my very close friends, Danielle, both live in California and they packed up and came to Paris to spend the Olympics with me. So let's go check out what it looks like on this adventure with the two of them. And on this exclusive episode of the Anna guide over the

in a park. So we're sitting in a park in Paris, like I said earlier, chilling on a random Friday afternoon. It's what, 3 p.m.? We're going to the Louvre after. It's about 81 degrees outside. We just ate sandwiches.

Danielle has a baguette. We're living our best life because these two showed up in Paris while I was here for the Olympics. And I'd like to introduce you to my first two guests. I didn't know I was going to have, I didn't know you guys were going to be my first two guests. I thought this Thursday's episode was going to be my first guest. But on an exclusive episode, on an exclusive podcast with exclusive people, my first two guests, Danielle. Hi. Close friend. And my little brother, Michael. Hey, guys. Slay.

Have you been on a podcast before? No. So this is also your exclusive podcast debut. Good. We have one microphone, so be prepared for me to look like the host with the most, because I'm about to have an arm workout. And we're going to talk to you about the Olympics, because these two decided to fly across the country in a big old ocean because they love me so much that they wanted to hang out with me. What can I say? I could have said it better myself. Thanks. Anything else you want to add? I was pressured into this. Don't say... Okay. Okay.

Listen, it's true. I bought her room and I forced her to come. But they came anyway. Listen, Danielle actually went through a very difficult travel day to get to Paris. And it's our first time. It's her first time. Not my first time, but our first time collectively and her first time individually in Paris. Do you want to tell us about your travel day a little bit? Yeah, just one of those nightmares that delay after delay and was supposed to leave at 4 p.m. and left at 1.30 a.m. Oof.

Oof. Oof. But, you know, we do have. Michael had an easy travel day. Do you want to tell us the first thing you did when you got off the airplane? Got off the airplane, hopped in a taxi, and went straight to the beach volleyball games. I caught the last game of Wednesday morning.

It was Paraguay versus Latvia. Very fun game to watch and a great way to start off the trip, just straight into the Olympics. Right into the Olympics. And I feel like the Olympics have been a different experience than I was expecting. First thing, I feel like the events are smaller than I thought.

Like swimming was a big arena, but I felt like beach volleyball did not have a lot of seats. No, it's definitely limited. Yeah. Like I was expecting it to be like when I, when you see the videos of like the size of the arena with the Eiffel tower in the back, I'm like imagining like football stadium. It wasn't a football stadium. It was quite small, but it was incredible because then I feel like every seat was like, I could see the sweat on the athletes. It was incredible. Um,

We've attended two events so far. Michael touched on the first. Actually, Michael touched on both of them. No, because you haven't said what your favorite part of Paris has been so far. That was the introduction that just didn't work. So, Michael, retell your story for me about what your favorite part of Paris has been. Okay, well, you know what?

I'll start with talking about going to see Olympic swimming today. So the events we got to see, we went to Men's 100 Breast, and these were HEATS events. They weren't semifinals or finals. Yeah, Men's 100 Fly, sorry. Excuse me. And we saw Women's 800 Free.

The mixed 400 medley relay, which was a super cool race to get a seat. I didn't realize they had it set up that way. It was very competitive, really exciting. The crowd was electric during that. And the other event, it was the women's, it was the 400 IM, right? 200 IM. 200 IM. Another very competitive, like, cool event to see. Really, we got a great array of swimming events and also competitors, too.

We saw Katie Ledecky. Yep. Caleb Dressel. Yep. And then... Katie Douglas. Yes. There's a gal in the 800 that came in second. Emma. We can't remember her last name, but Emma. And getting to go see an event like that where the crowd is just... Everyone's so into it. And honestly, rooting for everyone. The competitors are so strong and just a stunning venue. Yeah.

It's a really special experience, especially having been swimmers ourselves growing up and swimming through high school and now still doing some swimming. It's just, you're nervous for the athletes. You know? You, like, really feel it when you're in there. 100%. That's super special to be around. I think it's so funny. Mike and I were sitting there Googling the ages of, like, the oldest Olympic swimmers to be like, could we make it in the 2028 Olympics if we started training yesterday? And, yeah.

honestly the truth is yeah there's some people who are like in their 40s who go to at least the qualifier which i think is like a huge step to at least go to the other qualifiers that's crazy one of the athletes when we were sitting next to each other they had said this was her sixth olympics i think right yeah six so you got plenty of time we're gonna make it listen if you see us on the mixed relay sitar squad you know why

But do you have a favorite part of Paris so far? Just in general, the whole trip? Of anything so far. It's Danielle's first time, so yeah, favorite part. I kind of, I don't, I do have a lot of specific things that I loved, but I think just my favorite part overall is how, like, relaxed the trip has been. I'm definitely the type to, like, usually plan, like, my schedule to the T and, like, try and squeeze a lot in, especially if it's my first time in the city. Like, hit all the big landmarks and see as much as I could. But it's been really nice to just, like,

Have it be low pressure, like enjoy company with each other, not be rushing around or feeling like we have to get anywhere, except for the one time that we did have to rush the fastest I've ever. We did have to rush. Let's tell this story, shall we? Thanks for that. Thank you for that transition. Also, Danielle, fun fact, was a national champion in public speaking. So if you see Danielle doing like flawless transitions and also is the most well-spoken person you've ever heard, that's the tea. She might end up becoming a reoccurring guest star at this point because I can't even say reoccurring. Um, so.

So we had one day that we rushed, which there's a few things that we wanted to hit this trip to Paris. And that was the Olympics, a couple of dinners. What do we have today? Le Louvre. And Le Louvre. What else did we want to do? What else did we do? We went, oh, we got, well, I say we. It was for me. We made sure that Anna. Thank you.

was able to go to the Jellycat Patisserie, I think it's called. I just love that they're so small and they're just like have little faces on them. So we did go to the Jellycat Museum and then yesterday we had one of like the most important lunches, late lunch at 1.15, 1.30, 1.15. We got a reservation at the Michelin Star restaurant inside of the Eiffel Tower.

which was a seven-course meal. Now, the problem is Anna doesn't check her e-mails.

And I checked her email that morning to be like, how do we get in? What's the vibe? What are we doing? When I say morning, I'm going to say an hour and a half to two hours before the reservation was supposed to start. And I had noticed that I was wearing cute little like bubble shorts and a tank top. And the invite reservation alert specifically says men have to wear sport coats.

Women must be in dresses pretty much. No tennis shoes allowed. No shorts, specifically shorts. It's also 96 degrees outside. And we're like, are those rules flexible or do they actually want us in sport coats? And so what do we have to do? We went and bought me a suit. A full suit. And I also had to find a dress because we were out for the day and I was nowhere near my hotels. We were like, we have to go find this now. We had about 25 minutes, I feel like. It was nonstop.

a rush because first we went to one store that we thought maybe we both could get find something at we went to kith and uh the first suit jacket that we pulled off had a price tag with such shock value that i realized i wasn't gonna be able to find a suit in there so danielle we had to leave and we found another store nearby and the uh gentleman working there it was it was it was one man um

running the store and he must have had such shock from Danielle and I because we rush in there the first suit that Danielle picks up I try on and buy immediately and it fit great it's honestly my favorite suit I own um and I'll probably be buried in it now

Not buried. We have a plan. This gentleman was being so kind. He was ready to bring out his best customer service for us. And we were just these Americans that walked in, couldn't speak French, grabbed a suit off the rack, tried it on, was like, we need to check out. And he's like, I'll make an appointment for you to get it tailored. Just was trying so hard to be a good...

like to like be helpful and like give you an experience of picking out a suit and we were like you don't understand and I think I told him we have a reservation in the Eiffel Tower and we need to go and we spent like less than 10 minutes in that store between yeah walking in you trying it on checking out and leaving so we checked out of the store maybe like 12 50 and our reservation was 11 15 I mean 1 15 that sounds about right

I had the same experience. I was like, don't even wrap it. I could literally wear this out of the store. Just give me the dress. I got to go. I did. I didn't even get it back. I didn't try them on. I said, I'm a size 39. She says, okay, we take it. And I was like, nope, I would like to pay. And she's like, oh, what if they're wrong? And I was like, they're going to hurt and we're going to run. And we did. But get this. We ended up sending Josh a smidgen before us to go. And like, he ended up leaving and just making it there like 30 minutes early. Never. Not to say that Josh is never early, but like, that's a,

Josh is an on-time boy, okay? He's not an early boy. And so shocked when he's like, hey guys, I just made it. And it's like 12.55. And I'm like, you sent me the text that he was there. And we had just, like, I don't even think we made it to my hotel room yet to get changed. So it was like, we were still sprinting back from the suit store. And it was like, Josh is already at the restaurant. And I didn't even know. Oh no. We didn't have anything. So we stopped at Danielle's on the way.

changed sprinted out the door gotten an uber fastest super of our life too i've never seen an eiffel uh newber make the eiffel tower in like four minutes so fast so fast so get to the tower we runway walked all the way to the eiffel tower we get in the elevator you get in the elevator that goes up one of the legs of the eiffel tower and then you're like the second tier of the inside of the eiffel tower with all glass windows around it and we had a seven course meal

All like little bites, but delicious. There's a key part of the story that's missing. And this is where Josh really comes in and showed some of his prowess, let's say. The reservation was set just for two people. And it was because we couldn't find any. First off, we couldn't find any dinner reservations, much less lunch reservations that accommodated four people. But we thought we might as well try to see if we can get four of us in there. And sure enough, Josh was able to.

upgrade us from a two-person table to a four-person which I'm talking like weeks out for this reservation we made this reservation like three weeks ago um so we're all able to enjoy a dinner together I mean a lunch together which is super cool I don't know what he did but I was proud he made it happen what I it's extra impressive because we were late like I think not very I mean despite us rushing we only were about like maybe 15 minutes 10 15

Like we actually made it with like some shocking time. So just like extra credit to him because not only did he get us more people at the table, but we weren't even there and they like sat him at a big table with people that weren't there yet. And he let him stay. Yeah, exactly. Like we walked in, they were ready for us once we got there. But that was an incredible experience. I think that might've been my favorite part of the trip so far was like,

The hecticness of that, but then also having, like, one really nice sit-down meal with the four of us. Because I think it's kind of hard right now to get a good time of all of us together. The three of us, I feel like, have spent the most time together. But making sure we kind of squeeze Josh in, too. And, like, you know, get some good quality time. He's coming to the loop tonight. So, we'll make up for it. But it's been so fun just getting a chance to, like, see and travel with, like, family and friends. I feel like we always travel with our parents. This is, like, adulting. Here we are. Look at us now. Look at us now. But so...

Danielle, it's your first time in Paris and I have a question for you, specifically you, because if somebody hasn't been to Paris before, what is something you could have told your like past self or the you right before you got here that you did that you were like, you have to do this when you're there. Like you have to say yes to this or, you know, like. Oh, I have the best answer. Oh, I have the best answer. Take over. Oh my gosh. Okay. This is her moment. No, you all would say this too if you asked yourself the same question. Okay. Um.

First, well, first off, I think it's hard for me to say like anything I would do differently because the Olympics are here. Like, I think there's maybe certain sites I would have tried to squeeze in like Versailles, for example, but they're doing all the equestrian events at Versailles. So like now is not a good time to be a tourist and try it. You know what I mean? So,

I think separate from that, the number one recommendation is to get a city bike and bike everywhere. I just said that my new passion is city biking. Continue. It's to city bike everywhere. It took us like two days before we had the realization to do it. We're all also walkers. Like we've chosen, if we could, we've chosen to walk everywhere in the city, which is something I also love to do when I'm traveling. It's such a great way to see where you are and get familiar with the place that we've been walking everywhere. But one of the times that we were in a time crunch, we all just...

Jumped on city bikes. And luckily the drivers here are really respectful of people on the city bikes, but... Unless you're me and you go through the middle of a caravan of black Mercedes Sprinters. But I... So two or three times now I've taken the bike from my... Maybe... No, three times. From my hotel to your hotel. And I have to drive past the arc, which is...

One of the best monuments in all of Paris. Yes. Gorgeous. There's also a traffic circle around. With no lanes or directions. So one, taking a city bike in this traffic circle is crazy, but it's been so enjoyable for me that I'm just taking this bike ride to your hotel and I pass this monument every single day. So all that to say, city bike, number one recommendation. You have to try it. It's been a great. Okay.

I love that recommendation because I am going to break to LA and buy a bike.

Also because we're doing a triathlon in two weeks that I haven't started training for. So that's to come. There will be a podcast episode immediately after. Be prepared for that exclusive episode of Danielle and I laying on the beach wondering why we chose this life. But I will agree. I think the city bikes have made such a difference. And Michael, you haven't been back in a while. You came back as a kid. As an adult, what decisions do you like making for yourself? When you're a kid, I feel like your parents are like...

Not to say museums aren't fun because we're literally going to one today. But like when you're with your parents, they're kind of the ones like running the show. What's things that you've enjoyed like in your adulthood being able to do on your own like as a solo traveler on this trip specifically? I think I have two answers for that. So the first thing will be off of something Danielle said earlier where it's a very laid back trip. Just, I don't know, even right now we're enjoying each other's company in a park and just taking things slow and easy and having fun. The other thing is like on the other spectrum, like travel.

I've been walking home most nights, late at night. The girlies, remember to please be safe if you choose to do that. But for Michael, this is... For anyone, I am keeping a keen eye out, you know, as I'm walking around. But I don't know, I like to have headphones in and it just gives me some time to think and helps to get a little tired before I go to bed. But it's just funny because...

Every night I've almost had a different way of getting home. I'm either coming back from Danielle's hotel or Anna's hotel or dinner. And because of all the blockages on the road from the Olympics, a lot of like normal routes or the ways you'd think you'd want to get home are closed. So getting back to the hotel has been really fun and interesting because I run into these weird problems where I find new cool areas and get a problem solved my way out of them and get back to them. I love that.

um okay so we have like one last little thing I want to touch on is the next Olympics is happening in LA do you think you're going to stay in LA for it hot topic I haven't decided I have four years to make a choice which is great um but I can't I can't tell now after having been here I think I would really like I think I would look forward to being a part of it but then the other half of me knows how crazy LA traffic already is and just people in general which makes me want to not be anywhere near the city so we'll see that makes sense I feel that Michael

I'm in a similar boat. I think it, you're also a little bit outside of the city, which is nice. Yeah. Um,

There's just so many cool things going on. I feel like we only have so much time. And while you're doing one cool thing, another one's already going on. So just knowing so much will be going on in L.A. in four years, I think I would want to be there to see it. Yeah, I agree. I feel like even on this trip specifically, it's been incredible to just watch one event after another, like so many wins. We've watched women's gymnastics from inside the Team USA house where the broadcast stream happens every night. We got to see swimming. We got to see Caleb Dressel. We got to see...

all these incredible athletes like one after another just take home gold support the u.s make us all proud but also like you know this is such a fun experience to get to like sit and see firsthand that i would never i don't know not that i mean the olympics feels like a little like distant event that you think about but you only get one every four years so we're ready for it to be in la adventure say yes to adventure say yes to adventure

You heard it here first, folks. Okay, my last little part of this, which I know this cameras are a little bit dying, so we're going to hope that my cameras don't go while I'm recording this part, but on my podcast, we do a rosebud thorn. If you haven't heard of them, a rose is the best thing, a thorn is the bad thing of the trip, and a bud is something that you're looking forward to. So I would like everybody to give their rosebud thorn. Danielle, would you like to go first? Ooh, I have two of the three. Okay. I can think on my own. Do you want me to go first, and then I'll give you time? Sure, sure, sure. Okay. I always start with my thorn because I like to start with the bad thing and then build up to the good stuff. The thorn...

of the trip hmm okay it's like two-ended double-ended is that brew's working so i feel like he's missing a lot of our little experiences that we're having as like little family moment um but i i'm so proud of him for what he's accomplishing on this trip and like the fact that like what he's missing it for is something so worth it for his career and such a huge step for him to be working with such like a heavy hitter production company like nbc and on the news um

It's okay, but I still get a little bit sad and a little lonely. My bud is that I'm looking forward to more travel with the two of you. My bud is that we mesh really well together. We've realized that on this trip, so we're a traveling trio. And my rose is that...

Oh, honestly, I'm going to say swimming this morning. Swimming's going to be my rose. It was like electric. Like Michael said, both of us swam in high school. I tried a little bit in college and I had an injury. So it was incredible to just like sit there and be like, these are the people that like I like. It's like who I admired the most for a lot of my childhood. So, yeah, that's mine.

ladies first sure okay I'm still I'm still noodling on my last one but we'll figure it out uh starting with the thorn you said right I think my my thorn was just my travel debacle getting here uh because I was supposed to land my first day here I was supposed to land at six in the morning and I didn't end up landing until six at night so it just sucked to lose an entire day um or at least it felt it felt that way to me to like miss my whole first day here and we had stuff planned that we didn't get to do so that was that was a bummer um

Just the beginning of trip, but it picked up after that. We made up for it. Yeah, we did. The bud, I was going to say the same thing. Like, I think, yeah, I think. The across the board bud. I think, I mean, Michael can still say something different.

But, yeah, I think just even the last, like, two days, we've really enjoyed just, like, spending time together. And we've already been talking about our next trip. Nashville. So maybe we'll, like, pick one out of a hat. We'll see where we go next. But that's a buddy. I'm just, like, looking forward to, like, the rest of even today with you guys and then doing more trips in the future. I think the rose is just, I think, being able to just go to the events. Like, it's one thing to be in an Olympic stadium.

city while it's happening there's so much excitement um and like special events but actually getting to like witness it and like this morning at the swimming event I didn't realize like Katie Ledecky was going to be swimming and I kept like freaking out to Michael because like I'm witnessing like a legend like I can't believe I'm seeing with my own two eyes like this swimming legend no yeah so that's been so much fun yeah incredible yeah great Michael Mike

Bring it home. I hate to say it, but I don't know if I have a thorn. I'm really trying to pick one out. You know what? It was carrying the yellow Louis Vuitton bag with all the podcast equipment in it. That was my cross of this trip.

That bag is a 45-pound child. It was more than 45 pounds, I hope. Anna acted like there was no weight in that bag, and I was like, oh, please, just give me the bag. I carry it alone. Yeah, no, you were like, no, it's not a big deal. I was like, you know what, I got it. I'll take care of it. I thought I was going to collapse. So that's my thorn for the trip. Now I'm going to follow right along with you guys on the bud. Being able to, I don't know, spend time together and...

mesh so well I think it's been a lot of fun we've had a lot of good conversations for only being here for like two three days it's amazing like dinners and I don't know every part of the day has been fun with you guys so that's really special to me and it means a lot getting to meet a good friend of yours and also getting to spend more time with you we love Danielle in this house yes okay and bud wait Rose Rose so much good for the trip already

You know what I'm going to say? My rose for the trip was going through the travel from LA to here, figuring out the train ride and taxi situation from the airport.

to the hotel, and then hotel over to the Eiffel Tower, and then walking up the stairs and seeing all you guys waiting at the top of the beach volleyball stands was super cool. It was kind of like the reunion when that happened. It was pretty amazing. I feel like it's in my brain a core memory. It's going to be engraved in my noggin of Michael coming around the corner, I was like,

He's here! So it was wonderful. That was such a good moment. Yeah, and such a cool way to start off a trip. Yeah. Also, shout out to you for the independence of like popping on a flight and figuring it all out yourself.

Independent, baby. Independent. I'm so proud of you. I'm proud of both of you. And I'm so happy that you're here. Thanks for sharing this podcast episode with me and also sharing this trip with me. And you guys, we did it. A little exclusive two-in-one episode this week. I hope you guys enjoy it. If you don't forget to follow me on The Anna Guide on Instagram and TikTok. Also, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel. Don't forget to give this...

a five-star review wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a little heart on it because I love you so much and I can't wait to share even more of these podcast episodes with you and so much more to come. Thanks so much for listening.