Wednesday 06/07/2016 evening – THE MATCH

Metro and tram were our route to the ground, which is 7km outside of Lyon and unlike many stadia in France was built and paid for by the club.  It was only opened in February this years and so is the newest of the Euro16 grounds.  In the bright evening sunlight it was an impressive sight. 

Inside the ground Danny and I were lucky enough to once again have seats close to the action, 5 rows back. 

Danny made sure that I told everyone in the UK where we were sitting   He was very happy to see some pictures of his dragon cousin and also Oscar asleep under the dragon blanket.  That made him laugh.

He also liked it when Gareth Bale and the team started their exercises in front of us. We settled down for the game, played out once more in front of a wall of red. 

To reach half-time goalless kept the dream alive.  Two goals in 3 minutes saw that evaporate, everyone decided though that living the dream for the last month had been more than any of us could have realistically expected.  That was why at the end the team were given such rapturous songs, applause and thanks, which the team reciprocated.  They were as disappointed as we were.

What they and the supporters has achieved made up for the loss and as we made our way back to the tram for the first leg of our return journey the Stade stood out as a beacon of our achievements.

Wednesday 06/07/2016 – Danny and his many friends

It was never going to be an early start with the threat of a very late finish and the more likely threat of trams, buses or Metro going on strke!!!  Danny had a croissant and orange juice.  He ate the croissant so quickly that I only managed to get a photograph of his empty glass of orange juice. 

The café was on the route to the ticket collection centre so we had various Cymru fans sitting down with us for a chat whilst they re-hydrated for the walk to the Collection Point. We decided to stay in the café and Danny met lots of new friends.

The proprietor of a Lyon taxi firm had his lunch with us.  His wife was from Didsbury and they had a renovated farm house outside Stratford upon Avon. They hope to open a deli there in the future but Brexit may ruin those plans for them.  He was a true Anglophile and waxed lyrical about the benefits of the UK over France, although the implications of Brexit worried him as his wife had not had a vote.  He had a love a rugby and this was an indicator of his wish that Cymru should emrge victorious from the game.

After he left us we were joined by a group of five fans from Guernsey,  They had won four tickets for each of the semi-finals and had drawn lots to see who missed out on each of the semi’s. 

Time flew by and it was time for our pre-match meal.  Danny thought we had made a wise choice with a jambon pizza.  It looked delicious when we chose it.  After it had been baked the base turned out to be puff pastry – it tasted great but was very, very heavy.  Danny will be flying low tonight. A short rest and we were ready for the very hot and sunny journey to the Stade.

As usual the journey was again by tram and as efficient as we had come to expect. Danny gave a gasp when he first saw the impressive stade in the distance.

Tuesday 05/07/2016 – From the freezer into the oven

A late start this morning, 9.51am from Combourg with a wait of 1 hour plus in Rennes for the direct train to Lyons.  Even allowing for this it’s a quicker journey than driving the 500 miles. The most noticeable thing about the journey struck us as soon as we alighted in Lyon.  We had left Combourg in rain at 17* and we arrived in Lyon to bright sunshine and 27*.  To go and collect the tickets I needed to put on suncream, it was that hot. 

Danny loved the heat and ran straight up the fence telling us the direction to collect tickets. 

With it being so hot we had couple of orange juices before retiring to bed in the air conditioned room.

Friday 01/07/2016 – I Don’t Believe It…HAL ROBSON - HAL ROBSON KANU

Once inside Danny was impressed by the ground and the view that we had. 

Belgium were the first to break the deadlock and at that point the only thought was “Please don’t let it be a rout with the world watching”.  That wasn’t to be.  Slowly working our way back into the game, Ashley Williams, scored the equaliser that made it game on as Cymru pushed on to get another goal before half-time.  Through the 2^nd half the Cymru started to push for the 2^nd.  That goal as a peach from none other than, HAL ROBSON – HAL ROBSON KANU!!!!  What a goal but an header from Sam Vokes made sure that it wasn’t the winner although the quality of the turn and shot made it for many THE GOAL of the tournament. 

The end of the match brought wild celebrations and non-more so than the team the spirit epitomised by Ashley Williams’ and his refusal to be substituted.  A word of thanks to the Belgian fans and their supporters band who played and applauded the Cymru fans out of the Gare de Lille.

So Danny and I made it back to the hotel and a quiet celebration watching a replay of the game.

The next day was warm and sunny so while I packed Danny sat on the edge of the balcony.  I was worried that he may fly away but the promise of dragon treats worked. 

We spent some of the morning looking around Lille before catching the train (just!!).  our train stopped at Charled de Gaulle Airport and Danny was amazed at how empty it was. 

Not too long and then we were back in our gite in Combourg where we spent a restful weekend, if it can be restful attempting to book accommodation in a city which is going to host a semi-final of Euro' 16.  Now it's we're on our way to Lyon for the match with Portugal. 

Friday 01/07/2016 – Au Revoir Danny?

The Metro took us directly to the ground with a 15 minute walk and t the first security checkpoint the heavens opened.  Quickly I finished off my water and rushed inside, only to realise that there was no Danny. 

He must be outside and there was no way that we could be re-untied as Dragon’s can only enter the Stade when accompanied by an adult.  As it was raining he had been sheltering inside my bag that meant that both Danny and my bag had become a security risk as I had left him dangling on a pair of handle bars 10m away from the checkpoint.  Would the kick off be delayed or maybe even the match postponed?  To the folk on the security gates this went beyond what they had been trained for, someone telling them that they had left a bag on the handlebars of a bicycle by the first security check.  This was how I managed to meet the Head of Security for the Stade who personally escorted me back through all the security checks out of the ground to the bicycle with my bag (and Danny) dangling from the handlebars.  We then returned by the same route to re-enter the ground, although after being giving the most thorough search yet by the steward who the Head of Security left me with him, I wonder why?   After all this getting inside the Stade was a relief.

Friday 01/07/2016 – It’s a fair cop…….

This was to be the biggest game in the history of Cymru (ok you can debate re play-off games and the '58 World Cup but this is here and now…. And my call is now!  The local press and tv were all leading with the story that up to 160,000 (one hundred and sixty thousand) Belgians were expected for the game.  The pictures show just how many were there and their numbers swelled as the day went along. 

 It was going to be a late night, a 9.00pm ko with the possibility of extra time and penalties.  Following the late night and long journey this meant a long lie in, I didn’t want to peak too early.  For lunch we had a Gallette, Danny chose it because of all the red bolognaise sauce that came with it.  Around the Grand Place the crowds were starting to gather.  Danny disappeared and I though he had been arrested when I saw him in the hands of 2 members of the Police Nationale, but it turned out he had only gone  to get directions for me to the Metro and Stade later. 

On our way back we stopped off at a bar where yesterday we had a coffee on the way to collect the tickets It was awash with Belgians and had run out of pression bier, all it was selling was bottles of Duval, an extremely potent 9% Belgian brew.  The uninitiated were probably not being too careful!! 

 

Thursday 30/06/2016 – Lille and the quarter final

Look out Lille here we come!!  The usual route Combourg – Rennes but this time direct to Lille, calling at Charles de Galle T2.  With all these early starts Danny was asleep after a coffee by the time we arrived in Le Mans, not having to change in Paris was a luxury to be enjoyed. 

We arrived at Lille Europe and the Fanzone is in between Lille Flandres and Europe stations.  As usual with Lille it was raining so we waited for the rain to abate and ventured towards our hotel – Mr Bed – which was situated above a shopping mall. 

On the way at the Fanzone Danny wanted his picture taking with the giant logo which was very impressive. 

The hotel  though was quiet, but close to bars and restaurants away from everyone who didn’t want to stay and drink more beer.  Like all the host cities we’ve visited Lille has some dramatic architecture and a wonderful Grand Place where people can meet and chat. 

After pestering me after tea I agreed that I would take Danny to the Fanzone to watch Poland v Portugal. 

There was even time for Lee Johnson to put in appearance. 

After the first 20 minutes the Fanzone was more exciting than the game.  Extra time and penalties meant that we were there much later than mine and Danny’s usual bedtime.  When we arrived back it was straight to bed.