Teabags, Penalties & Waterlillies
Nice to Le Havre to Paris...it’s been a busy but brilliant sunny two weeks. We appear to have taken the sunshine with us wherever we’ve been...I’m not saying we’re good luck charms but...
It’s safe to say our hotels have really lived up to their names this trip too...Hotel Splendid, Hotel Handsome (yes really!) and having recently just shared a hotel with the Chinese team, I now know the importance of table football before breakfast!
Paris has been the busiest of the cities by far, having only secured our hotel for two nights, we’re now on the lookout for a new one. Everything, and I mean everything, is fully booked. I have complete and utter faith that it’s because the Tartan Army are here in full force ahead of Wednesday’s game…not that it’s Paris Fashion week! If the England v Scotland game was anything to go by, their fans show up in numbers.
Learning from mistakes, tips to remember for my next tournament - bring my own tea and don’t forget an extension lead; why oh why did I only bring one adapter when I have two phones, a laptop, an iPad and hair straighteners to use! How we didn’t think of that one but managed to pack matching pyjamas says a lot about the two of us this trip!
We’re not even half way through the tournament but I feel France has been a great destination for this year’s World Cup. I’ve enjoyed the stadiums (albeit the shuttle buses and transport are a little iffy!), the weather and not to mention the French cuisine, i.e. the twenty tonnes of croissants and French baguettes we’ve eaten! I’ve seen enough penalties and VAR decisions to last me a lifetime. I’ve been lucky enough to go to four games and on Sunday I saw my fourth penalty...I don’t think a game can go without one!
The various podcasts circling have been great at keeping us across everything as French TV isn’t the best. Not only am I keeping an ear across all our clients but they have kept me fully entertained on our early morning runs.
Having seen two England wins so far, I’m hoping to take that luck with me to Scotland’s game on Wednesday, I have faith they can pull it out of the bag. Having found the Parc des Princes with Jo’s immense navigation skills for Sunday’s USA v Chile game, I am hoping the atmosphere can be recreated by the tartan army. The fans were incredible and the performance from Chilean goalie Endler wasn’t far behind.
On top of games, client meetings and emails I think it’s important to see the city you’re staying in too, so at the weekend we took a Sunday stroll up to the Sacrè-Coeur and Jo fulfilled her wish of taking me to the Musée de l’Orangerie to see a Monet! And yes it was as beautiful as she had made out! Tourism aside we are on match day minus one so come on Scotland- and England down in Nice- you’ve got this.
