We head to Seville airport and head for hopefully a sunny Paris.
Touching down at Charles de Gaulle at 8:30am and it's a little on the chilly side. We get the RER into town, and then swap over to the metro to Republique before swapping again to go to metro stop Temple. Turns out Temple is literally only 150m down from Republique and we could've walked but oh well. We check into our hotel. Only 2 stars but nonetheless it's awesome. Was expecting a shoebox with a 600mm square for a shower. Happy to say it's much bigger. And there's a cool view down Rue Tuborg, a large boulevard.
It's now 10:30 and we venture out to begin our French leg of the trip. I must say it feels great to be back in Paris. We were here only 28 months ago and it feels a little like coming back home to something familiar. That being said we slip up a few greetings with Ola instead of Bonjour and Gracias instead of Merci. In need of a coffee I stop at one of the typical cafe bistros and sit in the sun on the wicker chairs on the street reluctantly paying €4.50 for the privilege.
Oui Oui. It's all coming back now, Paris is expensive!!!!
We head down Rue du Temple before passing by a familiar face, the Pompidou. It's a Saturday morning and lots of people are out and about including lots of families. We then wander some more into the newly completed Les Halles station and shopping market. This was under construction last time we came and now that it's complete its a huge gold steel mesh structure that envelops the space below.
The Lego store at Les Halles was awesome!
We've only been walking for an hour and already we've noticed quite a strong police and military presence on the streets. Much more than when we were last here. Wandering somewhat aimlessly we head back along the river and up to the Hotel de Ville, the Paris town hall.
All the bistros and bars are filled with red jerseyed Brits, prepping for the Wales vs Northern Ireland game tonight. By prepping I mean getting off their face drunk! We head to a monoprix for some water and they are all in there loading up on 6packs and cases of beer. Drinking in the street here seems to be ok.
It's now nearly 1 and we head into the Marais for lunch. Lunch in the Marais means only one thing, falafel in the Jewish quarter. We head into Rue des Rosiers to the place I went to last time we were here, L'as Du Falaffel, however it's a Saturday and they are closed Saturday's. Luckily there's a few other falafel options nearby. It's awesome. So filling!
We stroll up the street and peruse the shops as we eat. Sim struggles with the size of the sandwich, but in the end gets through it. We venture out along Rue de Rivoli before crossing the Seine and heading for our next Parisian eating highlight from last time, Maison Berthillon, on Ile Saint Louis. A scoop of Salted Caramel and a scoop of Roasted Pineapple and Basil. I love Paris!!!!!!
We head over to the Ile de la Cite to visit another familiar face, Notre Dame. Approaching from the east and it feels like a different place with the beautifully trimmed green trees in the park leading to the cathedral. We go to head in but it's closed until 4 due to a private ceremony being held there. We stroll some more heading back over the river over Ponte Notre Dame then up rue de Temple to our hotel.
After a little rest (been a long day already after early start) we head out for the journey to our first euro game. The metro from Republique to Parc de princes is 21 stops so it takes a good 30 minutes. Slowly the train fills with more and more people going to the game. Many of them are the same if not similar drunk Welshman we saw earlier. It's a pretty raucous train ride as you could imagine. Lots of yahooing and mob mentality stuff. Finally we get off the metro and walk the 10 minute trip to the ground. Wow, the amount of rubbish and broken glass bottles lying around. Crazy, it's like circular quay on New Year's at 3am. We head to the gates, watching our step as we go. So much broken glass. Quite disgusting really. Fans have just trashed the streets.
Getting into the ground proves to be quite the ordeal. First, riot police hold the already drunk and impatient crowd of spectators wanting to get in back, slowly releasing them to he next security check point intermittently. Once there you are frisked and man handled quite extensively. Next you get your ticket marked off before then entering the gate with your ticket where another search happens. Honestly, it's great they're going to these lengths with security but it's quite poorly done I feel. Not a great experience going to a football match. We get to our seats with only 10minutes left til kickoff.
The atmosphere inside the ground is great. The Irish are going off and despite there being more Welshman in the ground I feel the Irish make more noise. After the kids finish the pre match show to the sound of that slightly annoying David Guetta theme song, the anthems get belted out and then it's game on. It's a tense first half followed by an even more tense second half. The quality is average I feel but the tension makes up for it. Finally a goal, an ugly own goal, but a goal nonetheless. Wales 1-0.
The game ends with a spirited effort from Northern Ireland but ultimately an inevitable victory to Wales led by Bale.
Leaving the ground and surprisingly everyone is in pretty good spirits. The Irish fans are congratulating welsh fans and commiserations and hard luck is being offered in return. Quite good to see. I must admit I was expecting some violence. We walk past the same dirty streets that we did prior to kickoff and the French authorities have miraculously cleaned most of it up. The log jam onto the metro however is painful and after a tight and unpleasant 10 minute squeeze we get on a crowded metro back to Republique.
All in all it was an enjoyable experience. Glad we saw two British teams. The singing, banter and passion (even that of the drunken kind) was interesting to see in person.
Back at Republique and we head out for a quick meal. I order a steak frites and sim a veggie stir fry. Both are pretty average which is annoying due to the price but we finish them needless to say before heading back to get some much needed rest.
Bonsoir
mat + sim
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