On the day that Beau and Steph flew home to Oxford, the group except for Birg who had a swollen foot, went to Sete and Agde for a dip in the Mediterranean. The boys were going to wear the budgie smugglers (skimpy nylon swimmers for those non-Aussie readers, like this picture of the guy at the Wales game). Fortunately the day was too cold and windy, so the locals and tourists were saved
On Friday we headed west for the Wallabies vs Canada - the final pool game. A phone call to the Bureau de Tourisme in Bordeaux indicated there would be “plenty of accommodation available, Madame, there is no need to book”. You, dear readers, know that while the McWillsmiths are ready for most adventures, we are not ready to battle crazy French drivers or for a repeat of the group of six sleeping in the Trafic. A little Internet research showed that the town of Langon south of Bordeaux has good transport connections and hotels with vacancies, so we had a plan of sorts.
En route we passed the medieval town of Carcassonne, the snow-covered Pyrenees, the Canals du Midi and Lateral, the industry of Toulouse and heaps and heaps of vineyards. We were able to get three rooms at the first hotel we tried in Langon. An exploration of the town showed many businesses with windows supporting ‘Le Coupe de Monde’. As Australians we were greeted and acknowledged in friendly way be the locals, so we knew we were in a good place. Lee and Birgit’s language skills were challenged and inproved in the hotel, restaurant and Internet Café. Birg was able to buy some ear plugs at the local pharmacy knowing only the words for ‘ear’, ‘would like to buy’ and a creditable imitation of snoring. The highlight however, was the shopping expedition to Intersport ( a Rebel-type sports store) where everyone EXCEPT Nez found some gear to buy.
Over dinner at a Chinese/Vietnemese restaurant we decided to stay an extra night instead of driving home after the game. We successfully negotiated (so we thought) with our English speaking hostess for rooms and keys in case our transport connections to the game went awry. However, on Saturday morning we found ourselves at loggerheads with a new receptionist who was upset that we hadn’t fronted up for breakfast (we thought ‘sans’ meant without), wasn’t prepared to give us keys for a necessary change of rooms and was peeved about our packs left in one room as organised with the other lady. We left not knowing if the Trafic would have to come into its own again. ‘C’est la Vie’ said Lee. The travel Gods however, were with us thanks some great advice from the Langdon station guy and we managed great connections with the train, tram and bus system. This allowed us time to see the centre of Bordeaux including the Garonne River. The stack of Aussies here in France must make Oz a lot lighter at the moment.
At each of the games we’ve arrived early to watch the crowd build and the teams warm up. One nice touch with the French has been the bands that play outside the stadiums and then at various points inside, to keep the crowd involved. Some of the stuff they play is obviously traditional to the French, but they did break into ‘Waltzing Matilda’ a few times when the Wallabies scored.
The boys compiled this match report:
A valiant effort by the Canadians, characterised by their ferocious defence. The Wallabies showed patches of brilliance but were frustrated by the do-or-die effort of Canada. The superior play of the Wallabies gave a comfortable win, with Hugh McMenniman named ‘Man of the Match’ and Drew Mitchell continuing his try scoring spree. We were sad that Central West boy David Lyons was injured in the first half. The knowledgeable French crowd applauded the good rugby. Sitting in front of us this time was former test cricketer Greg Mathews and friend, and Doreen and Birg had a photo taken with ex-wallaby Ben Darwin (not the same as Stephen Larkham, Mel). Unfortunately we were not prepared for the rain, having left our perfectly good ponchos and umbrellas at the hotel.
Later,over a great dinner at the hotel restaurant, we had a mellow discussion over everybody’s best moments so far:
Doreen loves London and the Wales game.
Bruce loves Villiers Bretonneux.
Nez just loves everything in Belgium.
Birg loves the helpfulness of the French we have met – very different to the stereotype we read about.
Lee loves the sausages, especially those at the Aire de Toulouse Nord service centre.
Ross said he loves Birg best, but sitting in the front seat with Lee and singing Eagles songs was a close second.
On the way home to Soubes, we did consider a detour via Lourdes to see if we could get some healing for our assorted ailments, but decided the daily red wine would probably be sufficient. We did stop and tour Carcassonne, and were all totally in awe of the history, architecture and restoration of this beautiful medieval town. It was an eye-opener to think of the events in time in this fortified city over thousands of years.
The icing on the cake to a 60 hour excursion, was the news that came while we were travelling home. Joel and Bek have a baby daughter, Chella. Mum and baby both well after a short labour. Not that we needed an excuse, but this gave us an opportunity to have a toast prior to dinner at home and several glasses to help Nez and Lee cope with the emotion of the moment. Congratulations, Joel, Bek and Harley.
Also have a few new house photos.
