Up, showered and into Paris on the train before 9am. Bray was okay with this kind of timeline too! Reason being the All Black’s game vs France, kick off at 1030 Paris time today.
We caught the train to our usual St Michel stop and headed for an Irish pub with RWC coverage that we spotted the other day. They weren’t open yet (it was barely after 9 so we didn’t blame them) so we wandered down the road to a Canadian RWC covering pub. There was a little more life visible here so we chatted to the staff as they set up then Bray set about choosing the perfect place to sit (vitally important). The barman gave his 10c worth but Roni kept out of the way until Bray had made his decision.
We set up shop, ordered a hot brekkie to share and made sure our support was visible – joined eventually by one very vocal family set on celebrating and two couples on holiday. They were the AB’s supporters and the rest of the pub packed out with French rugby fans. It was an awesome experience (especially since the AB’s won). Bray was wowed by the fact they had TVs in the loo so he of the multiple pit stops didn’t have to miss a second of the game.
Good times all round! We headed out into the sunlight at full time and in the direction of Eiffel. Enjoying the Pantheon and other Paris monuments en route, on arrival the lines were MASSIVE as always. We had wanted to purchase tickets online but no capacity to print and Bray’s phone is having a few ‘senior moments’ these days so to no avail. The entrance for ‘ticket holders’ is always pretty deserted. We joined the queue and patiently waited our turn – even gutsy enough to have words with a couple of queue jumpers trying their luck nearby!
As we waited the list of things to do back at camp prior to our departure in the wee hours of tomorrow was weighing heavy on our minds. Eventually common sense won out and we left to catch the train home... Deciding to come back and go up the tower that night once everything was sorted for the morrow.
Back to camp, packing our lives out of the car and into massive packs again, made dinner, tried to sort out the access issues (we could get in with a security pass after 10pm but car had to stay on the street...if car inside gates no way to exit until after 0730.....). Turned out we packed EVERYthing except the tent and clothes for tomorrow then put the car outside, Bray common-sensed us into an early night instead of heading to the Eiffel again and this was the wisest thing we could have done...
