Au Revoir, Marseille
My plan had been to get up very early and then drive a couple of hours to Montpellier but, still a bit shell shocked from the drive from Beauvais to Marseille, I couldn't really face two more days of a lot of driving so I switched plans and decided to rough it in the car in the hills north of Marseille again. This way, I'd be much closer to Lyon and have a relatively easy journey there the next morning. Not great planning, I know. Hindsight is always 20:20, as they say. But sometimes you have to learn from other mistakes, even if it means making admit that two mistakes were made, rather than one.
My host, Sabrina, co-incidentally, was planning to visit her mother in Arles the same day so I gave her a lift. After dropping her off I headed for Avignon. On the way, I got a phone call from the BBC, asking if I'd agree to be interviewed about the events in Marseille last night. Of course! It would be a privilege. I love the BBC.
I parked in a multi story car park in Avignon and found a cafe who promised me WiFi access, but couldn't deliver. The BBC called again whilst I was there but we were oddly cut off. I waited for the call back from the BBC but it didn't happen so I set off again.
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| My host, Sabrina - thank you so much! |
Just as I was about to go through another Peage the call came. I was going to be interviewed by Sally Nugent at a few minutes past the hour. Did I have Skype or would we have to do the interview by phone? I said I'd try to find a service station where WiFi access seems reliable and I could sit down to get my Sufrace Pro sorted.
When I got to said service station, however, there was nowhere to sit and, a little more worryingly, it was full of mini van load of pretty grim-looking Russian fans. The BBC guy called again to confirm and decided we should do it by phone.
So, sat in my car at a service station, I was called at about 2:05pm by a technician who asked me if I could hear the news program going on in the background and, if so, to be ready in a few minutes. It was quite unnerving listening to the end of the report of the terrible attack on the Gay club in the Orlando. Then it was onto the trouble in Marseille and a few reporters chipped in before the correspondent in Paris (again, I think Sally Nugent).
Basically she asked me three simple questions: What did I see happen at the match? Did I see any evidence of poor organisation or security? and Did I see any violence? My heart was racing by the end but I think I did Ok.
Time was racing too and I had to find somewhere to watch the first game of the day, Turkey v Croatia. I stopped at a town called Orange to watch it in a bar there. I had a small beer and then a Perrier as Croatia just about deserved their 1-0 win with a fine volley from Modric.
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| A bar in Orange where they sell unlabelled dark ale. |
After that, my plan was to find another bar on the way to the hills. No problem. Just find a reasonably sized village or town with a bar, right? Wrong. I stopped in at least five places and asked them if it was possible to watch the match and each time, the answer was No. I know Poland v Northern Ireland might not be top of the priority list for many, but this is the European Championship and France are the hosts. So, shamefully, I missed my first match. It doesn't sound like I missed too much and I did see a clip of Poland's only goal.
As the game closed out and I conceded defeat I decided to find somewhere nice to eat and I stumbled upon a stunning historical village on the top a hill called La Garde Adhemar. It's stunning. Like something out of a medieval story. I went to the tiny village square and ordered what was basically chicken kebab and chips but it sounded much better on the menu!
It was the best game so far in my opinion, with both teams attacking in a pulsating end to end battle. Germany inevitably scored first (yawn) but Ukraine refused to lie down and fought back. Neuer made two outstanding saves and Boetang made an incredibly spectacular clearance off the line. Then just before half time, Ukraine had a goal disallowed for off side that looked good live. The second half settled for a few minutes before Ukraine started to turn on the pressure again. Germany shaved the post but it was Ukraine who looked most likely to score before Schweinsteiger hammered in Ozil's cross to seal the 2-0- win almost at the end.
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| La Garde Adhemar - yet another gem of a village in France |
The free public car park I used before walking into the walled village seemed an ideal place to park for the night so, having made a note of that, it was back to Pierrelatte to the bar that had promised my the Germany v Ukraine game would be on.
What a friendly lot they are there. The owner (I presume) was really helpful and made sure the tely was on properly and not flickering and that the sound was turned up too. It was the best viewing (apart from actually attending) of a match so far. I had one small beer and then coffee and Perrier. It's not that difficult to watch football without drinking beer. Hopefully more England fans will learn this soon, otherwise, apparently UEFA will throw us out!
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| Germany v Ukraine on a tely in a bar in Pierrelatte |
After saying my goodbyes to the little bar and its patrons it was back up the hill to the car park in La Garde Adhenmar for a sleep.
Aljice
Pierrelatte
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