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Published: October 9th 2007
I will write more about my internship at a later day, but I thought I'd just fill ya'll in on the biggest news in Paris. LES BLEUS beat the ALL BLACKS!
Do you even know what that means?
Well... I learned this weekend. Apparently, Rugby has become quite popular around these parts, especially given that the Coupe du Monde is taking place (mostly) in Paris. There is a huge TV set up outside the Hôtel de Ville (center of government) in the middle of Paris with areas to sit (including alcohol checks.. odd.. it just encourages people to stand around the perimeter drinking beers until they decide to jump the fence to sit and watch)... but everyone who isn't there goes to a bar and watches. On Saturday my friends and I decided we should do our duty as Parisians-for the season and go to watch the quarter-final, although sadly in the St. Germain area there were no bars left with any space. So instead we descended on an old friend of Kevin's apartment and actually sat and watched the entire game. It was great, actually. At the beginning, both teams face each other, and instead of shaking hands
as they do in most sports, the All Blacks do this sort of tribal dance and growl at the other team, who happened to be the french. Interestingly enough, this game was played in Cardiff as the French have to play a certain number of games away, even though the rest of the Coup du Monde is being played in Paris, which is sad because usually thousands and thousands of rugby fans from both sides spend the weekend in Paris, drunk and singing and amusing. So tucked away in our little apartment near Odéon, we watched the game, then after it ended, we went down to the street to join in the celebrations. It was incredible. The All Blacks are apparently the best team in Rugby, and France hasn't been playing up to par according to many, so this was a HUGE win. And it means that they will be playing in the semi-final against ENGLAND next Saturday... Camille invited me to go out with her and her rugby playing friend (who will explain the rules to us)... ah.. the dilema... do I want to have national pride and wear an England shirt (and possibly get beaten up), or do
I want France to win so that I get to experience the festivities the weekend they play the final? Eh... I'll be in Italy the weekend of the final anyway, so I'm going with England... plus, English men are more likely to buy me beers if they win than the French!
After the game, some of us decided to embark on the treck through the crowds to the Tuileries to see the art that was erected in the gardens around Louvre. Nuit Blanche is a big celebration of art around the city, and most galleries and museums and bars stay open all night (except not the metro... weird). We didn't get far as there were so many people around, and also our group was so large that no one could make a decision, so after a while, we just went to celebrate the French Rugby win in a bar near the Bastille, then went home to bed.
Sunday was fun though. Camille mentioned earlier that we should go to a museum together, so on Sunday she made a yummy picnic and we went to the Tuileries and ate it, then to the Louvre. We mainly hit the most
famous parts of the Louvre, although we did go into an Islamic ancient art exposition as well, that was really cool. After Camille left to meet a friend, I somehow found myself wandering to get a nutella-banana crêpe and then ended up at the Luxemburg gardens rekinderling fond childhood memories.
Ok, that's enough for now. I'll post some pictures, and say good night!
Bonne nuit!
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