What a weekend!!!!!! We both enjoyed ourselves and have memories to last a lifetime.
The journey Friday evening took a little longer than anticipated with our flight leaving slightly later than planned and then when we arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport we ended up assisting two young gentlemen heading into the city and who didn't have a clue how to get there. We helped them sort out train tickets and left them on the train to reach their destination when we disembarked at Gare du Nord station. By the time we had arrived (23.15hrs) we chose to get a taxi to the hotel rather than mess around with the metro; our taxi driver however was having a bit of a nightmare with one-way road systems and we finally arrived at 23.45. Room key, shoes off, cup of tea and bed.
Saturday dawned warm and sunny and we headed out for a slow wander around the city centre ending up in Boulevard St Germain at a cafe eating brunch and watching the world go by; we walked back via the Pompidou Centre, stopped for a beer and a full circle tour back to our hotel in time for a shower, cup of tea and then a quick ride on the metro to Hotel Scribe to meet up with the rest of the group going to the game. 16.30 we got onto the waiting coaches along with our hosts for the evening, Victor Ubogo, Mark Regan and Olivier Roumat (you can read up about them on the 'net'); We headed off to Zack restaurant which is located within a 10 minute walk of Stade de France. An excellent meal in a beautifully decorated restaurant, lots of beer and wine flowing and pre-match talks given by our hosts along with live television coverage of the Ireland v Scotland game and then a short walk to the ground.
The atmosphere was electric; the game very enjoyable to watch especially with so many supporters for both nations singing and despite a spirited attempt by England the end result most definately deserved by the French after steaming their way through the previous four rounds. Although it rained heavily during the game, we didn't get wet and on the walk back to the restaurant with waterproofs on, we enjoyed the banter and cameraderie shown by all supporters. More beers and post match reviews and then back on the coach to return to the city and eventually arriving back at our hotel at 1am.
Woz didn't get a very good nights sleep due to the noise from a night club across the road from our hotel which lasted until after 6am! I mercifully slept through it (possibly the beer?). Sunday morning and although a little cloudy and cool, we set off on the metro across the city to visit the Bastille, a fantastic sunday market, the Pere Lachaise cemetary and ate lunch at a local cafe. Then onto Sacre Couer, Pigale and Moulin Rouge and finally back on the metro and up to the Arc de Triomphe and a wander down the Champs Elysees stopping for a little beer refreshment en-route. The sun was by now shining, not a cloud in the sky and so we headed across to the Seine and walked by the river. We ended our evening back in the Grande Boulevards at a restuarant where we sat and watched the world go by whilst eating our dinner. We headed back to the hotel and as we had an early start decided that an early night was in order, particularly as Woz had not really slept the night before.
3.15am!!!!! we were woken by a delivery truck outside the hotel making so much noise that we were both awake until he finished 45 minutes later. 5.30am our alarm went off and by 6am we were dressed, packed and ready to leave. Having checked out of the hotel, we walked along the near deserted streets with dawn breaking clear over the city; took the metro to Gare du Nord and then the train to the airport arriving in plenty of time for a quick breakfast and a wander through the air-side shops; Our flight however was earlier than expected and we boarded 30 minutes early so it was just as well we had been 'on the ball' in getting to the airport. A good flight and then we were back.
A thoroughly enjoyable trip for us both; Woz has a better impression of Paris than before (despite the result, the lack of sleep and having to drinking lager!) and I managed to get to the shops for a new Chabal shirt for my collection! joking apart - it was a memorable weekend and one that we shall no doubt be talking about for many years to come.
What a weekend!!!!!! We both enjoyed ourselves and have memories to last a lifetime.
First thing this morning Woz breezes into our living room with a big grin and a 'Nine More Sleeps' announcement; off to Stade de France on 19th March to see France v England in the final game of the Six-Nations and we can't wait.
"So wise so young, they say, do never live long". Quote (Act III, Scene I).
Very foggy and frosty first thing followed by miserable wet weather that made a journey to the deepest darkest regions of suffolkshire (Red Lodge) a pretty unpleasant experience; the A14 was just horrible with lorry spray and that revolting heavy rain with mist that seems to roll across the road from the fields either side. An added bonus was the Toyota driver who i followed off the slip road of the A11 and when we turned right at a junction seemed to think he was still on a one way traffic roadway and proceeded to drive headlong towards a roundabout on the wrong side of the road nearly causing an horrific accident. As it was obvious that he was doing something so wrong, I stayed well back until he had sorted himself out. However even the roundabout was difficult for him to negotiate so it was with some relief that he turned off fairly soon afterwards and out of my path.
Next Friday will mark what would have been McDuff's 14th birthday; this photo taken on a beach in Norfolk some time ago (and me with shorter hair!) is one of my favourite pictures and memories of a lovely weekend spent camping. Ruby (the majestic lady to the left of the picture for those who don't know) will be 14 years old in June.
So - that was the second weekend of the Six Nations and a mixed bag of results. We watched the Wales v Scotland match - and got very excited up until the 70th minute and then very disappointed with the end result. Good wishes to Thom Evans, Chris Paterson and Rory Lamont following the injuries sustained during the game and subsequently keeping them out of the rest of the tournament if not the rest of the season.