Walking in Paris and Last Match

 

On Saturday before the big match with South Africa, we met for breakfast a bit tired from our late night wine party, which included Irish Mist Liqueur. At 10 am we walked out to see the Opera House, stopping at a picturesque covered alley on the way. According to Mary, this “passage” has two famous restaurants. There are other passages throughout Paris, many dedicated to a certain type of business. When we reached the Opera House, the front was covered in scaffolding which was decorated with a picture of the building. Around the back and sides, we could get a better idea of this beautiful building. We then walked toward the Louvre, admiring many buildings along the way. We stopped at Harry’s Bar and took a photo for Helen of this place they supposedly invented the Bloody Mary. We arrived at the Louvre and saw the glass pyramid and marveled at the immensity of the museum. (We did not go inside.)  We then walked toward Sainte-Chapelle via Notre Dame. We strolled along the River and saw some boat tours like the one we had taken. We saw the striking spire of St. Jacque cathedral where the Camino de Santiago starts from in France. At Notre Dame, they have blocked off most of the courtyard and have bleachers where you can sit and look at the facade. There were posters explaining the repair efforts. Since the “wishing spot” was inaccessible, we turned counterclockwise 3 times and made our wishes in the approximate center of the plaza that was open. 

We then went for lunch at a sunny cafe in St. Michel square. We could see the beautiful fountain and statue of Michael the Archangel from our table. Julie had a croque mossieur, Sue had quiche Lorraine, Mary had French onion soup and Nick had fries. Nick was the only one who had a beer. We all had cokes and water. It really hit the spot. 

We then walked to the statue of Henry IV (Mary’s favorite Royal) and through a picturesque square that was described in the book “A Year in Paris.” Then it was time to get in line for our 1:30 ticket to Sainte-Chapelle. Mary bantered in line with South Africa fans. We entered the lower level of the Church which we learned was built in 1242 to house the relics of the passion of Christ. The lower level had a few stained glass windows and some pieces of the facade of the church to demonstrate restoration efforts. Then we climbed a narrow winding set of concrete steps to the top floor. It was incredible with stained glass covering every wall and a huge rose window. The airy outside was done up with carvings including Adam and Eve. We stayed about 15 minutes admiring it all and then climbed another flight of winding stairs down to exit. 

We went back to St. Michelle to take the Metro back to the hotel. As we boarded the busy train, a man slipped his hand into Nick’s back pocket. He got nothing but it freaked us out. We were glad we had arranged an Uber to get to the match. It was several flights of steps and a 20-minute walk back to the hotel. We chilled the hour before we went to our final group dinner. 

Not wanting to be stuck in a small cramped space as at the pre-match dinner in Nantes, we walked to the lovely restaurant before the group and grabbed a round table. Peter, Lorraine and Maria’s husband, Michael, joined us. There was champagne and lots of wine served. The starter was a cheese crepe, the main was a piece of meat like pot roast with mashed potatoes and the dessert was a chocolate lava cake. There were two birthdays to celebrate - Helen and Cieran’s. 

We had ordered an Uber for 6:00 pm at the restaurant. He was waiting by 5:45. The six of us (including Helen and David) boarded and he turned into a street behind a garbage truck. We could not get around the truck and spent at least 15 minutes watching it pick up garbage. It was hot and the air didn’t work well. We finally ditched the garbage truck and then took a circuitous route before we got on a major road to the stadium. That road was packed with traffic. We inched along. Finally we got to the stadium. We were hot and car sick from the experience. We found the S gate and stood in line for beers. The lines were not moving so we gave up and went inside. We had to climb many steps to get to the inside of the stadium. Then once inside, the lines at the beer stand were interminable. Julie and Mary got in line while Sue and Nick went to the seats. Very disappointed to find them in the corner of the end zone second row from the top - and there were no handrails to climb up the 25 steps to our row. Once Sue sat down she was trapped. Everyone else maneuvered gingerly up and down for bathroom breaks. One saving feature was the ability to order beers delivered to the seats. It worked ok in the first half but not well in the second. 

The stadium was packed with 79,000 fans. There were pockets of Kelly green shirts and many forest green and gold for South Africa. Several members of our tour group made it onto the Jumbotron. Meanwhile in the nosebleed seats we were questioning Rugby Travel Ireland’s definition of Tier 2 seats. Finally the game started and we could focus on the epic match between Ireland as no. 1 in the world rankings and South Africa, the reigning World Cup champions. 

The Irish side started sloppily, fumbling away several line-outs near the goal. But when South Africa threatened, the defense held, and possession went back and forth stopped by frequent penalties. Ireland had foregone an early penalty kick but it didn’t end up mattering. South Africa scored first on a penalty kick. Toward the end of the first half, Ireland scored a try and got the conversion. It was 7 - 3 at halftime.  It stayed 7 - 3 until 51 minutes when South Africa scored a try but they missed the conversion. They led 8 - 7. At 59 minutes, Ireland scored a penalty kick to take the lead 10 - 8, and scored another penalty kick  at 77 minutes to make it 13 - 8. The Boks missed two penalty kicks in the second half, which could have changed the result. Ireland got their line-outs working and was strong in the scrums at the end. The final score was 13 - 8 Ireland. Hugs all around!! We stayed and drank in all the emotion. They played Zombie over the speakers and the crowd enthusiastically sang along. 

We climbed down the steps and ran into Lorraine and Peter who said they would take us to the Metro. The crowds were thick. As we finally approached the station, Sue checked the Uber app. Ubers supposedly were 3 minutes away. Remembering our experience of the morning, we said goodbye to Peter and Lorraine and called one. Bad idea. We waited over 15 minutes only to be told that there weren’t any available. Now the crowds were crushingly thick. Julie made a try for an Uber - no luck. Mary flagged a cab - he wanted 120 euros. We got back in line for the metro. They were controlling the number of people through the turnstiles so it looked worse than it was. Mary found a guy in an orange coat going to our destination. We followed him and Sue and Julie secured seats. We had to transfer at a large busy station. It was tiring and confusing. Sue had not been to a bathroom since 5 pm at the restaurant, and she was especially cranky. We secured seats on the train going to our stop and finally could relax. We got off and went to the very first cafe we saw to have a drink and use the bathroom. After that we walked back to the hotel where the tour group was in the lobby celebrating. It was 1 am by then, so Sue and Nick passed, and went upstairs for our second-last sleep on this incredible trip.