Rugby World Cup GLOAT!!!!!

[Jack E]

:) So who else is going.

SWMBO and I leave on Sep 1.
1 day stopover in Hong kong then we start our trip in Italy.
Fly into Rome, then go to Venice, and Milan.
After that we are off to France.
Lyon on Sep 8 to see the Wallabies play Japan.
Next is a week in Paris then we're off to Wales to watch the Wallabies play Wales at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. A week in th UK, probably Sheffield and London.
Then back to France to see the Wallabies play Fiji in Montpellier.
A nice week lazing in the south of France, probably go to Monaco and Nice.
After that we are off to Bordeaux to see the Wallabies play Canada as well as sample a few litres of the local reds:)
Then we head home, via Honk Kong again, we'll just have to watch the finals on tele:(

Anybody else going over, perhaps we can meet up:)

Cheers, Jack

[bitingmidge]

Ahh Jack!

Sorry about your turn of rotten luck.

Missing us by a week or so that is!

We don't get to France until early October!

Cheers,

P
:D

[Jack E]

Do you have finals tickets or is it a cultural excursion?

Pity, it would be good to catch up more often than once a year at the WWW show:D

Cheers, Jack

[Tonyz]

Hope they win at least something mate..but dont hold ya breath..

ALL BLACKS

[bitingmidge]

Do you have finals tickets or is it a cultural excursion?

Pity, it would be good to catch up more often than once a year at the WWW show:D

Sadly no footy although indeed it would be good to catch up!

We have friends living on a canal boat, so feel obliged to give them a hand to move it a few hundred yards over the space of a fortnight.

Of course visiting the kids in London doesn't count as cultural either! :wink:

cheers,

P

[lesmeyer]

Hope they win at least something mate..but dont hold ya breath..

ALL BLACKS
Now now Tonto, I have asked you before to keep a civil tongue about the "ALL BLACKS". :D
Les

[Jack E]

Ha ha ha, the all blacks.

I love World Cup time because it is usually the one competition that shuts the kiwi's up.

They know they are World Cup BUNNIES, once again they will make it to the semi's only to be beaten by The Wallabies:D

Cheers, Jack

[Jack E]

Peter,

Have you been to France before?

Any tips?

We have a hire car from Sep 20 in Paris to Sep 29 in Bordeaux. We are pretty flexible for this part of our trip except we will be in Montpellier for Sep 22 and 23.
The rest of our trip is pretty well sorted.

I can't believe an Australian is travelling to France while the finals are on and not going to a game:)

Cheers, Jack

[Eli]

I've been to France. If you don't speak any French, at least get a phrasebook and make an attempt. They aren't quite so rude when you do that, and can be positively lovely if they think you're trying. They usually switch immediately to English rather than hear you mangle their language, so everybody wins.

[Jack E]

Thanks Eli,

I had heard that before, although there will be that many tourists there for the cup I am expecting most of the locals to be rude regardless:D

Cheers, Jack

[Poppa]

Jack,

A really good phrase to learn is "Je suis Australien", which means "I am Australian". This is because if you are an English speaker the French will assume that you are English or American. They hate the English with a passion, and these days they aren't much nicer to Americans. But they generally love Australians and Kiwis, so it is good to let them know. If you also learn how to say hello, and leave how to order a coffee and a drink, and make an effort to speak the language, you'll find most French people will be OK. You will still encounter those who think speaking to foreigners is beneath them, but even they will still want your money.

The French are a funny people. They believe firmly in equality (it is enshrined in their constitution and laws) but are among the most racist people I've ever encountered. They are almost universally arrogant (I know this is a generalisation, but it was true for me for most of the French people I worked with and knew) and can be very rude, but can also be very charming and make wonderful hosts if you can get on the right side of them. They take three times as long and use five times as much resource to do any task that could be done by an Aussie with ease. And they have a great sense of history, except when it comes to remembering who saved them in the last two world wars.... :;

You'll have a ball, but if Australia manages to perform a miracle and wins the WC, I'd advise dropping the "Je suis Australien" phrase - the French only like winners if they are French!

[namtrak]

Sold my tickets, including the quarter final.

:C

And as for the All Blacks, you did hear that Richie McGaw thought the Canning Stock Route was an annual event....

Old but true.... :rolleyes:

[Jack E]

Well, I'm back.

We left France just before the Wallabies lost to England (work commitments:()
Haven't quite figured out whether it was good timing or if us leaving was a bad luck charm for the team.
We've been to alot of World Cup games over the years and have never seen the Wallabies lose in person.
Perhaps they should pay us to go to the games:)

Footy wise, Wallabies V Wales at Millenium Stadium was the best game we saw.

Atmosphere wise Montpellier was awesome.
At the game and in the "Place de la Comedie" (town square) before and after the game was just a sea of Wallaby Gold.

Already planning the trip to NZ for the next one. It's the only reason I would ever contemplate a trip there:D

Cheers, Jack

[namtrak]

Whatever you do don't mention the rugby


:sad2::sad2::sad2::sad2::sad2::sad2::sad2:

[rtfarty]

The british press here are gloating about Aus and NZ's premature departure from the cup and going on about how many antipodians had paid out big money for travel and tickets for the cup final that they presumed they would be in. They also rubbed it in that the hotel bookings and travel plans couldn't be altered so they were stuck in Paris and would have to watch the saffa's and the poms play which would be like watching paint dry.

Another report said that english supporters were paying up to £4000 (that is the correct number of 0's) for a finals ticket.

To all those Aussies and kiwis that have tickets to the final I hope they sell them for a premium and make at least a good holiday out of it.