It’s Paris… and rugby!!!

The excitement within Harvey was palpable as we made our way from our last stop in Orléans towards the big city of Paris and a date with destiny.  Yes, the All Blacks were fated for an almighty clash with Ireland, the number one team in the world, at Stade de France.  All our readers will by now know the outcome of that match however please allow us to tell the story and our time surrounding it from a first-hand account.  But before that…

Orléans is a lovely town with a magnificent cathedral – most of these towns have something similar however this building would have to be right up there with the best of them.  Scale, grandeur, and magnificence with a cavernous & ornate interior – and from the outside, just breathtaking!  As we’ve done so many times before, we Woodies spent a few hours wandering the streets, checking out the riverfront and finishing up at a little bar in the main hospitality precinct.  Here we had cause to pause and reflect over a cocktail or two…  this was one of the last times we’d be doing this on our adventure.  Sure, we have a couple of weeks in Paris to come however our entire journey has been characterised by exactly this, a little town, a beautiful church/chateau/schloss etc and some people-watching on the town square to conclude.  We spent a lovely couple of hours reminiscing about some of the places we’ve been, the experiences we’ve had, and what a rich and rewarding experience it has been.  And isn’t that an understatement!!!

Next morning we drove the 130km or so up the road to Paris and settled in back at Camping de Paris where we had stayed a few weeks ago for the opening game – this is a very large campsite right on the Seine and adjacent to a massive park.  Nearby are the sporting landmarks of Rolland Garros and Longchamps Racecourse and our trip to town from there takes about 45 minutes via bus and metro.  Your author was like a little kid and just couldn’t wait to get in amongst the action – by all accounts around 60,000 Irish had descended on Paris for their last group game against Scotland the previous weekend so how many would be in town on the eve of this most massive of rugby matches?!  The ever-helpful Google informed us that there were about 4 Irish pubs in the 2^nd arrondissement so shortly after alighting the metro at Châtelet we could hear the din of people emanating from nearby McBrides.  This would be the spot… and we weren’t disappointed!  The pub was heaving with green jerseys and not just Irish green, there was also a decent smattering of South Africans, a number of French of course, and a small band of our kinfolk dressed in black.  Rugby crowds (and particularly when the Irish are involved) are, in the opinion of this correspondent, the best in the world; everyone is friendly, convivial, loving their rugby and the pint which invariably goes with it.  That evening we made friends with Irish based in Dubai, some living in England, and of course a load from Ireland itself… and had the best craic ever!  Everyone is just so friendly, and a black rugby jersey on your back guarantees plenty of new friends eager to share a pint.

Next day was match day and, although we Woodies like to change things up, we’d had such a good time at McBrides that it made sense to return.  We arranged to meet some other friends there, Shae from New Zealand with whom your author has been friends for more than 20 years, and also Joren, our South African buddy who we met in Antwerp more than a year ago at… yes, you guessed it… a game of rugby at an Irish pub.  We had some tickets to sell for the second quarter final so Joren was kind enough to introduce us to his friends Martin & Annette and both parties completed the transaction with a big smile on their face!  This time at the pub there was an Irishman strumming a guitar and we spent the afternoon listening to Irish folk songs as we caught up with our friends, both old and new.  Public transport to Stade de France is excellent, the 13 metro line goes all the way to the ground – we were hoping there would be a big screen or fan zone outside the ground so we could watch the earlier quarter final being played in Marseille however it was not to be (some aspects of this tournament organisation have left us scratching our heads, the other main one being the lack of any beverages for sale at the ground other than beer, coke or water).  But it didn’t matter, there was food and beverage for sale outside the ground, we were with friends, and it was the most wonderful atmosphere as anticipation built towards kick off.  Talk about outnumbered – there seemed to be about a hundred green jumpers for each black one!!

The game itself was one of the best quality rugby matches your author has ever seen (and he’s seen a fair few over the years)!  Very few errors by either team, not much whistle from the referee, and two teams of mighty warriors battling for ascendancy.  In many respects this All Blacks team was unrecognisable from the rabble who were beaten by the same team in a home series only 16 short months ago.  Their defence was stout, kicking game astute, and we were absolutely dominant at the breakdown.  Ireland never led at any stage and in the end, it was a most clinical performance from the men in black – in fact reminiscent of a time not so long ago when names such as McCaw, Reid and Nonu appeared on the team sheet.  However, one had to feel for the Irish!  One of the top rugby nations in the world, they have been perennial underachievers at world cups, never having progressed beyond quarter final stage.  In this world cup cycle they had been the dominant team in world rugby and were on a 17 match winning streak prior to this game.  Although we Woodies were vociferous in our support of the All Blacks, there’s no other team we would rather have lost to – the Irish really felt it was their time and you could see the pain of disappointment etched all over their faces.  However, that didn’t seem to stop them partying after the game so off we went to a nearby pub to celebrate this most significant of All Black rugby wins – and it didn’t seem to take the Irish long to forget that they had lost and we partied with yet more new friends long into the night.  Too much fun!!!

The next day was an equally big match between South Africa and hosts France and although team pink was a little rugbied (and peopled) out, team blue was keen to be out and in amongst it again.  Joren and Martin and their friends kindly invited me to join them for the afternoon at South Africa’s version of the English Balmy Army – except their incarnation is the Braai Army.  Imagine rocking up to a venue to find you were pretty much the only black jumper amongst a sea of hundreds of green, but this time there wasn’t a vanquished Irishman amongst them.  And although no-one gets close to the Irish for the quality of the craic, your author had a most enjoyable few hours talking rugby with the most knowledgeable of fans, of course including plenty of beer and boerewors!  Anita and I then met up to watch the game at a local restaurant as the SA fans headed off to the stadium.  Sadly for the tournament, France lost that game by a single point meaning that all the best fans would no longer be seen on the streets of Paris.  Although we were delighted that the All Blacks remained in the tournament, it was like the oxygen had gone out of it.  It was goodbye to both types of tricolour ☹

After taking a deep breath on Monday to recover, we Woodies were keen to get amongst it again – we were in Paris and there was no time to waste.  Our exploring included such landmarks as the Jardin du Luxembourg which still had a surprising number of flowers in bloom - since we’ve been back in Paris the weather has turned decidedly autumnal.  Our walking tour later that day started at Hotel de Ville (city hall) and took in such iconic sites as Notre Dame Cathedral, currently well down the track with it's rebuild following the infamous fire a few years ago.  We passed under Pont Neuf and walked past such other marvels as Musée d’Orsay and the Louvre as our guide gave expert commentary on the history of the area.

Our lovely children had given us the amazing gift of a Seine River cruise which we completed one evening.  On this entire trip we’ve largely managed to avoid crowds and stay off the high-season tourist track however this cruise was an exception.  With two large vessels leap-frogging one another, this cruise departs every half hour and funnels through thousands of punters per day.  It’s a little hard to tell but we estimated our boat probably had 1,000 aboard – the parking area on the wharf was teaming with coaches, tour guides, people waving flags to attract their group, long queues, and other general mayhem!  Despite the chaos, the trip was amazing, seeing all the Paris landmarks lit up at night was an absolute treat, the highlight of course being the Eiffel Tower which is right on the river bank.

Next day it was off on the train to visit the Palace of Versailles, the largest royal residence in Europe.  Although sadly stripped of its innards during the French Revolution, the Palace itself it a colossus and a marvel, not only the buildings but the thousands of acres of gardens with which it is surrounded.  Although the furniture and fittings were looted, a huge number of magnificent paintings, frescoes, sculptures and other such regal finery have been reinstated – the tour only takes in a small percentage of the palace however it’s more than enough as you pass through room after room of history, opulence and grandeur.  Rain was forecast so we decided that a couple of hours on the inside was enough and headed out to check out the gardens which themselves are equally renowned.  And we were glad that we had!  No sooner were our tickets scanned at the garden entrance than a few of the staff started waving their arms around and barking orders in French.  By the time anyone was actually telling us to do anything specific, we were at the far end of the main garden and had taken a decent look around, including down at the magnificent park-like grounds which surround it.  In this part of the world just now, everyone is quite jumpy due to the current situation in Israel and Palestine and it turned out the palace was being evacuated due to a security threat – the same thing had happened at The Louvre during the week.  We were very pleased to have got out of bed at a reasonable hour and got our exploring done because there would have been no visit for us if an afternoon ticket had been purchased.

The next Friday was game day and was another catch up with our good friends from Russell, the Drinkwaters.  They are also here in Paris right through to the final so it was lovely to catch up at their apartment along with their son and his partner and another of their local Paris friends, before heading back out to Stade de France for the big semi-final.  I say big, but that is not a comparative term – although there were plenty of rugby fans about and it was an exciting build up, it wasn’t a patch on either day the previous weekend.  Sadly (and not unexpectedly) the locals have lost interest and it’s now mainly only the supporters of each team that you see out & about.  The game itself wasn’t much of a contest however we were delighted that our boys were able to make such a statement so deep into the tournament… but who would we be meeting in the final?  Most around the town seemed to be predicting a South African win by 20 points however your author had a feeling that it might just be a little closer than that.  The Poms have proven during this tournament to have excellent game management and they certainly know how to smother the opposition.  We Woodies had tried during the week to sell our Saturday semi-final tickets however without the home team involved and few English travelling over for the game at the last minute, there was little demand and we were forced (😊) to attend.  Another fine festival of rugby and it was a nice change to watch a tense match without having any skin in the game – well done to South Africa however winning each of your last two games by a single point may be more good luck than good management!

After another recovery and chores day we were back out to see what else Paris had to offer – it’s been nice to spend some time here and dig a little deeper than just the 2-3 days of ‘greatest hits’ we’ve managed to do on previous visits.  Next on the priority list was Musée d’Orsay, built in the old central railway station which is a magnificent piece of late 19^th century architecture and worth the visit just for the building.  Contained within is the most astonishing collection of 19^th and early 20^th century impressionist art – names such as Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, Gauguin, Manet, Van Gogh and many others.  Prior to this trip it’s fair to say that your author was perhaps a little under-educated when it came to matters such as fine art however with visits to galleries such as this, along with the likes of the Prado in Madrid, it’s fair to say that a new appreciation has most certainly been garnered.

Next day was your humble author’s birthday so, after a very pleasant lie-in and being spoiled by my lovely wife, it was off for some birthday exploring, this time to Musée de l’Armée and to nearby Napoleon’s tomb.  Again, the buildings in which both of these were housed were almost worth the price of admission themselves, the army museum had a massive quadrangle surrounded by dozens of cannon and other military parapheralia.  Our visit there happened to coincide with a memorial service which, after asking a few people who could only reply in French, we discovered was to honour the dead servicemen from a campaign in Libya some 40 years ago.  On a rainy inclement day, plenty of top brass were there along with an army band, families and others there to commemorate their fallen, each of whom had their name appear on the big screen and their name read out, followed by “mort pour la France”.  Very moving.  Napoleon’s tomb was equally impressive, built into the rear half of what looked to be an existing enormous church.  His tomb is actually in the crypt as per his instructions, however there is a massive circular aperture on the main level through which visitors may look down and pay their respects.  Also on side chapels were the tombs of other prominent French military leaders including Ferdinand Foch whos statue and story we recalled seeing and learning about at the railway carriage at Compiègne where he was one of the signatories to the WWI armistice.

That evening we were delighted to catch up for dinner with our Irish friends, Tommy and Breda.  These guys are an inspiration – about our parents’ age and still out & about in Paris for 10 days to get amongst the semi and final rugby action.  We met them for a lovely meal just nearby to the Gare de Lyon where they are staying and caught up on the happenings over the time since we visited their farm at County Meath in Ireland last December.  In fact your author ended up making the most of this year’s birthday because last night we also went out for a lovely meal with the Drinkwaters – a most delightful little French restaurant with truly excellent cuisine and wine to match.  Thanks guys, my birthday was awesome!

As I sit here completing this latest and penultimate missive it occurs to me that we are now very close to the end of this epic adventure.  We’re building towards the massive crescendo of the World Cup Final which is a mere 3 days away however a couple of days after that we will be back in the UK and hopefully well down the track with getting Harvey sold.  We have a bit of tripping around, Emsworth to drop off a couple of bikes, then Cheltenham to get Harvey an MOT (similar to WOF in NZ) and a few other repairs before selling, then a final weekend with friends in Warwick to get all our packing and cleaning done.  Our flight back to New Zealand departs from Heathrow on the evening of 6^th of November… not long to go now!

With that we shall, as always, send our love and bid you a cheery farewell… until next time this is The Travelling Woodies signing off from Paris.  Go the All Blacks!

Making friends with the Irish supporters - these guys made the trip over from Dubai for the game

Making friends with French rugby supporters

Anita making friends with our pub musician

pre-match drinks with our South African buddies, Joren, Martin and Annette

McBrides heaving with green - we were only slightly outnumbered :-)

Awesome to catch up my friend! (Mr Shae Goom from Dave's days in the sign industry)

Welcome back to Stade de France - this game is going to be bigger than big!!!

we're sitting here in disbelief - we actually won that game! brilliant work men in black!!!

making friends with fellow kiwis (and some Irish photobombers) after the game

time to explore Paris - this is Le Jardin du Luxembourg

statues in the garden

time for a local culinary specialty

off on our walking tour - meeting point was Hotel de Ville (city hall)

Notre Dame well underway with repairs following the fire a few years ago

The Louvre

evening river cruise on the Seine

the Eiffel Tower at night

time for a visit to the Palace of Versailles

sculptures at the palace

the hall of mirrors

Versailles gardens

now it's semi-final time. so happy to be sharing a second game of rugby with our Russell friends!

still a few French rugby fans to befriend

apparently Dave no longer suits a mullet :-)

favourite banner from the evening

this man has over 130 All Blacks caps and 2 world cup winners medals - such a privilege to meet you Mr Kevin Mealamu

Musée d’Orsay was worth a visit just for the building itself

... but also chock full of masterpieces - this one a Monet...

... and also a Renoir

a visit to Musée de l’Armée - check out the length of this gun barrel!

a painting from Napoleon's coronation as Emperor

looking down into the crypt to see Napoleon's tomb

birthday dinner with our good friends, Tommy & Breda

stumbled across during our travels - the spot where Princess Diana died and her memorial

Dave's second birthday dinner, this time with Sandra and Kevin from Russell - a proper French restaurant, what a treat!

plenty of pumpkins for sale

French onion soup and a platter to graze on

baguette for a picnic in the park

Irish fans are the best in the world!

Celebrating our quarter final win

Will Jordan's try (one of 3) in the sem-final

South Africans getting excited for their semi-final