2 days in Paris

Maybe it is just me, but all I have ever heard is how rude and stuck up french people are.  Having never been to France I was a little nervous going on my first trip outside of England to Pairs.  The nervousness was all for not, I didn't encounter one rude or mean person my 2 days wandering around the city.  I managed to get by with a couple key phrases and just being nice.  I even managed to strike up a couple of conversations while sitting at a bar.  Once I realized that, I was able to relax and enjoy the city a little bit more.

One of the best things about living in London, and Europe in general, is the vast train network connecting the major cities.  My train left London at 7am and arrived in Paris 2.5 hours later.  It was a smooth calm 186mph journey underneath the English Channel.  Forget flying, the train is the way to travel.

London St. Pancras Internation train station is nothing special.  You wouldn't even know it was a train station, it looks more like a shopping center and an underground station than anything.  Paris Gare du Nord on the other hand was much better.  It is a grand building that you can watch the trains coming and going, people milling about and a sense of a destination. When getting off the train I would a touch overwhelmed, I really just wanted to get a metro pass, some money and then find my hostel, which ended up being simple enough.

The purpose of the trip was to go watch the USMNT play France at the Stade de France.  I might have went for soccer, but I will go back just for the city.

Paris is an hour ahead of London so I arrived at the hostel around 11 and dropped my bags off and took off to explore.  I had no real plan in mind except to see the Louvre and the typical tourist sites.  I figured the best way to see anything was to start walking and walk I did.  I ended up walking around the city till 4pm.

My first stop was to walk down to the park leading up to the Louvre and have a snack to eat.  I took Alan Hunter's advice and packed some bread, cheese and cured meat and made myself a little sandwich.  I figured I couldn't really complain about the view.

You walk along this beautiful stretch of trees and plants in the middle of the city.  It is bordered by big beautiful buildings on both sides.  Then you come to an opening and the Louvre is right in front of you.  There is a huge round about...but then again those are everywhere.

 The end of the tree-lined walk.

 Cars everywhere!

Its hard not to get excited when you see the size of the Louvre and all you can think about is how long you want/can spend in one museum.  You need to pick and chose what to do, it is actually pretty sad when you think about it. 

So at this point I was going to say how cool it was and try to explain the layout, but my good friend Dan Moriarty put is best,

"Yeah, I love the Louvre, 'cause, you know, it's the Louvre. But also: I kind of hate the Louvre. There is no way to see it right. You either have too little time and you feel like a tourist a-hole literally jogging past some of the greatest works of art in the western canon so you can see the Mona Lisa and Winged Victory or whatever, or you spend a whole week there and get so overwhelmed and overloaded that after the first day you're just standing staring at incredible masterpieces and thinking, "Meh. Duh. Where's the snack bar?" And in terms of presentation, it's an awful museum. I mean, those walls with pictures stacked four high all along them? People complain about the Guggenheim in NYC because the slanted floors mean if you are a few yards to either side of a painting you are no longer at the ideal height to view it. In the Louvre, some paintings are 15 feet off the ground!"

I can't speculate on how long the hall was.  Suffice to say I was more than halfway down it and you can barely see the end. 

I figure nothing really to say.  It is small and if people know how to read signs and not take flash photography I wouldn't have had to take 10 different shots just to get this one. 

As I said I spent 3 hours wandering around and I wish I had longer.  I figured I will go back soon enough and tackle another portion.  It is a grand museum and not just because of the paintings, but the architecture of the building itself is amazing.

After that I walked back to my hostel to take a short rest.  I was worn out and had been walking around Paris for the past 5 hours.

I left the hostel again and did more site seeing.  I decided to head down to Notre Dame and then find the pub that all the Americans were going to be meeting the next night.  It was twilight as I walked around the River Seine and I can't put into words how beautiful it is to look in the distance to the Eiffel Tower and then the other direction and see Notre Dame.

 I got lucky that it was close to a full moon that night. 

Not much to say about Paris besides it was just beautiful. I found a nice little pub and had a couple pints and talked to the bartender and called it an early night.  I was worn out from walking.  Nothing else I could do that night.  The only complaint I do have is how expensive the city is.  No matter where I went all the beers were about 5 Euros during happy hour and 8 Euros outside of that.

I woke up pretty early the next morning.  I had breakfast at the hostel and took off for the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triumphe.  I arrived at the Eiffel Tower around 10:30 and it was cold and foggy.  It made for some great pictures and also saved me the 10 Euros to go up the darn thing, 18 if I wanted to go all the way to the top.  Worse than the Space Needle.

I then decided to head off to the Arc de Triumphe and look along the Champs Elysees to get an idea about the last stage of the Tour de France.  I get off the metro and follow the signs to get out at the Arc but none of the exits were opened.  I was getting frustrated and finally the large group of us run into about 5 officers all pushing us in one direction.  I get out of the metro and there are tons of National Police everywhere and fencing that prevents you from going anywhere near the Arc.  At this point I'm just confused so I walk up to the fence to start taking pictures and all of a sudden a ton of people are running in my direction.  I didn't know what in the hell was going on, I look up and about 5 feet away  is the President of France, a short little character that was enjoying shaking everyone's hand.  I was surprised by how few police they had around him.  I took a step back from the fence, I figured I don't need to shake his hand and others probably want to.  It was then that I realized it was Armistice Day.  Which actually turned out to be pretty cool.  They closed down the Ave de Champs Elysees.  The President was giving a speech and it was quite exciting.  They had big screens showing footage of the war.

 The Presidential motorcade.

 The military vehicles

 A view looking up at the Arc.

Looking down to the Champs Elysees.  This is the final circut of the Tour de France.  The road would be horrible to ride on.  Cobblestone and a long slow uphill climb.  They do 6 laps around this thing.  Pretty amazing, especially at the speeds they go.  I might have to figure out how to make a trip to catch a stage or two next year.

I had now been walking around for about 4 hours and decided to go back to the hostel for a short rest and then meet up at the pub for the game that night. Since arriving that was the first time I had really thought about the game.  I was just enthralled with the city itself.


I met everyone at this tiny pub right next to the train station at 5pm.  Game time was scheduled for 9pm but we knew it was take a bit to get into the stadium.  There were probably about a total of 50 of us at the pub just chatting and figuring out where we all came from.  Lots of undergrads from italy, one dude that worked in eastern Europe and a few folks that just flew over for the game.

This was pretty early in the night.  Lots of other young people made the it about 30 minutes later.  The bartender was nice enough to take our picture.

The stadium was amazing.  When I think about where the USMNT usually play when in the states it doesn't give you much of a feeling of grandeur that Stade de France did.  We took the train as did just about everyone else and it was nice to be with a big group of USA fans, though I must say the French fans were extremely nice on the train.  When you get off the train the ramp is about 200 meters long and takes you directly to the entrance.

 Too cold to wear my jersey so I held it the entire game.

The US supports section was in a small corner and we were surrounded by 8 foot high fencing. Which would have been good had not a bunch of French supports bought tickets there as well.  Kinda surprised me that they let them in to tell you the truth.  It did get a little nasty between some of the fans, especially after France scored.

 I was standing on the seat looking down at the fence, but it was too tall to climb over.

 Pretty much USA!

 The flags being waved before first kick, that was cool to see.  The entire lower bowl had them.  All in all it was a great game and it was great fun.

After the game we all took off back to the trains and we had to squeeze in like sardines.  Me and a couple of the other guys made it on the first train.  It was pretty funny though, you could barely breath and we were all in USA gear, no one did or said anything and we had a good laugh about it.  A few of us stayed out drinking beers till the early hours of the morning.  I don't think I made it back to my hostel until around 4, but to be honest I didn't look at the time.  I woke up the next morning with just enough time to grab a croissant and walk down to the train station. 

I had a blast, between the game and the city I couldn't have asked for much more in 2 days.  There is a rumor that the USMNT will be playing Italy some time in February, looks like I have might have another short trip to plan.

Fulham vs Tottenham

So I finally went to my first English Premier League game and it is a night I will never forget. The game was at Craven Cottage in Fulham London, a small ground in which one of my favorite American players Clint Dempsey plays.  Fulham is located in West London, Tottenham is located in North London, so it had the added bonus of being a London Derby.  5 of the 20 teams in the top flight are from London! That would be like having 5 football team in NY, it is pretty nuts how competitive the games get.

So here is what my Sunday was like.

7:00: woke up early just due to the excitement of being able to watch some of the best footballers and my beloved Spurs play for the first time.  I managed to kill time by getting breakfast and in general trying to find things to do.

11:00: check to make sure I know how to get to the stadium and sure enough there is a route update.  The district line was delayed to a signal malfunction and possibly closed.  I took off right then knowing that if the district line was shut down I would be fighting tons of people to get to Fulham.

11:30: the district line is up and running, but touch slower due to the signal failure.

12:00: I arrive at Putney Bridge underground station with the only directions is to walk through the park and you will arrive at Craven Cottage.  I start walking, it is about a 0.7 mile walk.

12:20: After wandering through the park along the River Thames I see Craven Cottage. I have arrived!

12:30: I pick up my ticket from the ticket office

13:00: I decided to walk around and check out the stadium.  As I said it is on the River Thames as well as being in the middle of a posh neighborhood.  I really like the look of the outside of the stadium and keeping the original brick facade from 1905 when the stand on Stevenage Road was built!

 Stevenage Road Facade and original stand from 1905.

 On the banks of the River Thames, and a glimpse of the Michael Jackson statue.

A tiny walkway between the park and Craven Cottage.

A look down a street at Craven Cottage.

13:30: I am on twitter trying to figure out what pub the Tottenham supports are and I locate the pub.  It is packed and standing room only with at least 200 supports wearing jerseys, scarfs and other merchandise all with the Tottenham logo adorned.  I had a quick pint and sang songs for a bit.

14:15: I arrive into the stadium on the Putney End where my seat was located.

And yes those are some of the tiniest turnstiles you will ever go through.

The original Stevenage Road Stands, notice the wood seats! 

14:20: I get to my seat and take stock of being in an actual football ground about to watch my favorite team play.  My ticket was pretty good.  I was about 10 yards from the field on the corner flag behind the goal.

The pitch is elevated slightly so I will probably never sit so close to the field again, but pretty amazing either way!

14:50: I see two Tottenham players walk out of the tunnel (right next to corner flag) and it happens to be Gareth Bale and Kyle Walker.  Bale is a left winger and Walker is the right back, both only 22 and some of the best players at their positions.

15:00: I managed to get a picture with Gareth Bale, and to be honest I was completely overwhelmed just being at the ground let alone meeting a player that I have watched for the last 3 years every weekend and this is what happens.

A crazy look and a bad setting for the picture to be taken.  I can't help myself, I didn't know what was happening after shaking Bale's had.  The Spurs supporters have a song for Bale and it starts off as "Gareth BAAALLLLLE, He was born the play for the Spurs!" I didn't know what to do or think at this point

15:30: The Spurs where warming up directly in front of my seat.  I couldn't believe the size of many of the players, some could be tight-ends in American football with their size.

 The front line of players are the starters.

Doing warm up jogs.

15:45: The Fulham players are heading to the locker room after warming up on the other side of the field and I get a picture of Clint Dempsey (the American that currently holds the record for most goals scored in a season in Europe as well as the all time goal scorer in Europe) waving to his wife and kids.  He is also my favorite USA national player.

16:00: My first premier league game ever kicks off! It was a thrilling first half with Tottenham defending my end and attacking the other side.  Tottenham took a 2-0 lead heading into halftime that they didn't deserve.  Fulham had the majority of possession but the Spurs took advantage of their time on the ball.  2 great goals, the end I was sitting on couldn't tell they were goals until we say the players celebrating!  It is hard to tell from that distance when the ball goes into the back of the net.

17:00: The second half start with Fulham still controling possession and finally getting a goal 10 minutes into the second half.  The Spurs fans go quiet and we all start biting out nails and have looks of pain on our faces as Fulham continue to attack.

17:30: Fulham keep pressing and it is hard to tell if the Spurs are going to hold onto the win.  

17:45: Jermain Defoe scored a 3rd for Tottenham putting them up 3-1 and the full time whistle sounds seconds after the goal.  A great grinding result for the Spurs that would have been a loss in previous years, there is talk that Tottenham might be title contenders ( I don't agree).  The win means that the Spurs have 7 wins and 1 tie in the last 8 games!

18:00: After the final whistle the Spurs fans are in full chorus chanting and singing in support for our boys as they leave the pitch.  My favorite is for Ledly King, the Spurs captain and arguably the best defender in England but he has major injury problems that prevents him from training during the week. The song goes " Oh Ledly Ledy you only have one knee and are better than John Terry!" John Terry is the England National Team captain...no love loss between him and Spurs.

As the players left the pitch they were more than willing to acknowledge the traveling fans!








18:00: I knew that it would be pointless to try to get on the train so soon after the game so I decided to stop at the pub that I went to before the game with all the Spurs fans and sure enough we were still singing and chanting about the win while drinking a few pints.



I will never ever forget my first English Premier League game I went to.  It was one of the most amazing experiences that I have ever had.  I might have been freezing and worried that the Spurs were going to lose but it was worth every second.



I love the Seattle Sounders and am impressed with the support that we generate at each home and away game, but nothing compares to what I experienced at Craven Cottage.  A true footballing display of which I have never known before.  The fans were amazing from both sides.  I had no trouble wearing my teams colors. 


I am now more excited for the next game I get to go to which is Spurs v Aston Villa at White Hart Lane.  I'm excited to know what being the home team feels like!  In the mean time I'm off to Paris to watch the USMNT play France with 750 other US supporters, should be another great experience.


I wish I was able to convey the excitment and how amazing this game was for me.  Hopefully you got an idea of what I experienced while I was there.

Occupy London

So I decided that I should go check out St. Paul's Cathedral and see what all the fuss was about in the news about the Occupy London movement.  Now I don't know much about how this "movement" is doing in the states, but it seems to be shaping up much differently than I would have expected in London.

The Cathedral was just reopened this week following a short closure for what was billed as health and safety reasons.  During this period it was apparent that the City of London Corporation (the municipal governing body) was going to start eviction proceeding with the backing of the courts, but since have halted.  There have been 3 very surprising resignations since the start of protest, many due to the handling between how the City is going about its business in relation to the encampment.  The one thing that is very clear, the Church of England nor St. Paul's Cathedral sanction the protest.


Something else that needs to be said is the location of St. Paul's, it is in the heart of the financial district/stock exchange.  The first thing I noticed after getting off the underground was all the new shiny glass buildings, and in the center of them was a commanding cathedral.  Remember it was rebuilt after WWII so it doesn't look as old as many of the other cathedrals scattered around London.  This doesn't take away the odd feeling of standing amongst business suits on their iphones while looking at one of the most iconic cathedrals in the world.

To get to the tube station you must walk past the encampment.  Even with the proximity the two hardly notice one another.  There are also gates closing down sections of "private" walkways.  It makes you chuckle as all of the suits have to now walk the entirety of the encampment.

 

 When you come around the first corner from the SE on the main road you see the back of St. Paul's.  Nothing looks out of the ordinary except for the placement of a building. You keep walking along this extremely busy road till you get to the front, and thats when you see all the protesters.

I find it pretty interesting, the set up and the dialogue that has been created in London over this experience.  I didn't stick around too long as my camera started to die and I had more reading to do.  I don't know what will happen and I don't think either side does at this point, so the next few weeks should be interesting.


I tried to keep the politics out of this. I don't know the entire back story nor do I have a defined opinion on this yet, but I think it goes without saying that I have my hopes.  


My next post should be coming soon and will most likely relate to soccer, I will try to stay away from the dividing politics.  I am going to Craven Cottage to watch Clint Dempsey play my beloved Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.  It will be my first EPL match since arriving in London.  I leave for Paris on Thursday the 10th to watch France take on the US Nation Soccer team so I will hopefully have lots of fun adventures to tell you all about in the coming weeks.