Adventures With Harvey

From the North Sea to the Mediterranean Sea With Paris done and dusted for now and our next rugby game not until September 29 in Lyon, there was plenty of time for a bit more exploring with Belgium being our next target.  Last year we visited Ghent however that was during their annual festival and the town was an absolute zoo!  A fun zoo, but total chaos all the same with about a dozen music stages set up and what seemed like a million people.  Although the weather was changeable this time, the town was still magnificent with waterways, churches, cobbled streets and the most stunning architecture.  Team pink actually got caught in a thunderstorm and ended up sheltering under a bridge and making friends with some (thankfully friendly and harmless) homeless people! One nearby part of the world held a high level of interest mainly because of its name – yes, we’re talking about the province of Zeeland in southern Holland.  Although the spelling is different, this is the place that New

Allez les Noirs!!! Colour, singing, chanting, passion – there could be no doubt we were in Paris for one of the biggest rugby games this town has ever seen.   Yes, we’re talking about the opening match of the Rugby World Cup and we Woodies are beyond excited to be here and delighted to share our experience with you.   Resplendent in our AB’s kit and NZ flags we braved a tropical 35deg of heat for the trip into town by bus and sweltering metro.    There we met our Irish friends who had morphed into supporters of the best team down under.   Place de la Concorde has been transformed into a giant fan zone so off we went to soak up the atmosphere, make new friends and prepare for kick off. And make new friends we did!!!   It seemed like every group of happy tricolour fans wanted to have their photo taken with us and exchange greetings/predictions for the big match.   Like most rugby crowds, everyone was hugely convivial and in the most excellent of spirits – we were not foes, but fellow rev