Les Bleus

I've gotten a little behind on updating this...we haven't gone on any more trips, but I forget to update all the fun things we've been doing here in Paris!  I'm probably going to overwhelm you with a new post every day to try and get caught up before we leave for the States (yay!!)

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to go to a Paris rugby game, and it was a blast!

The company that Exxon is contracting for this project has a box at Stade de France, and while normally tickets go to their employees, rather than project people, we were able to snag some tickets for a rugby game in November.

This was no ordinary box...yes, there was free food and drink, but it was not your typical U.S. fare.  No greasy, fried food, but instead a 4 course meal served with champagne and wine.  The French really know how to do food right!  The food was really, really delicious, and because I thought it was so good, I'm going to inundate you with pictures of all the courses. (Well, I think I ate the dessert too fast to have time to take a picture.)

Oriental shrimp, lettuce wrapped foie gras, and salmon gravlax to name a few!

After a delicious meal, we headed outside to watch the match (with blankets, of course!)  The only rugby game I've ever seen is my cousin Dugan's, who played in college, and I really didn't understand what was going on.  Can't say that really changed much this time, but it was still a blast.

One of the most interesting cultural differences we noticed was that when the opposing team was kicking a field goal (that's not the rugby word, I know), not only was there a sign posted on the screen saying "Please respect the kicker" but everyone in the stadium clapped after he made it.  No booing, no screaming to throw the kicker off, just a polite "tres bien!" applause.  A bit strange for us sports-crazed Americans!

All in all a pretty great way to take in my first true rugby game; I think I'm a little spoiled now!  Until next time: "Allez les bleus!"  Go blue! (That's what they call their team)