We began our journey with a healthy breakfast of pain au chocolats and juice, and then made our way through the entirety of Luxembourg, which took many an hour tops. We made a stop in Luxembourg city for a little exploration. I had been here when I was much younger - 13 to be exact. I remember buying a Swiss army knife at a market. While this seems silly, it actually makes sense now because everything in Switzerland is ridiculously overpriced. 13 year-old Brian was unknowingly a very wise consumer. We walked into the old part of the city and looked over the city walls. There were a few pianos placed around the city and in squares. I tickled the ivories for a spell with the few songs I could recall such as Star Wars and the theme to Apollo 13. . . the classics if you will. Our parking permit was only for an hour, so we weren't in the city too long.
We also wanted to make sure we got to Reims in France with enough time to chill before the upcoming match between Thailand and the United States. It was another two hours on the road to reach Reims. We weren't staying in the city, but rather in the town of Hermonville, about 15 minutes to the northwest. It's set in the heart of Champagne country, where they make . . . champagne. After watching the rain fall outside our windows, we got decked out in our various U.S. attire to support the American women. I was wearing a t-shirt with a profile of one of the player's, a defender named Becky Sauerbrunn, the unsung hero of the defense, who has never scored a goal. Nicole had an old jersey for Carli Lloyd, one of the veterans of the team, but layered it with a t-shirt for Tobin Heath because we thought it might be cold. Greg had purchased the new official jersey. Representing in style, we drove into town, parked, and had crepes for dinner. From there we walked across the bridge into the stadium.
We made sure to purchase some merchandise and I bought a sandwich since the crepe had not adequately filled me up. It wasn't long before the game was underway. The United States was well represented in the stands, but not just by Americans. There were many French in the stands cheering on the U.S. women, which I admit surprised me a bit. If any other team wins this tournament, it is likely to be the French. They benefit from playing in front of their own country as well as being well stacked with talent. Earlier this year, they beat the U.S. 3-1. While there were fans for Thailand, they were few in number. At first the U.S. looked a little sloppy, missing some passes, and it seemed like they were nervous for their first performance of this World Cup. Within about 15 minutes, however, they started finding their groove. First Alex Morgan, then Rose Lavelle scored the first two of the match. Having had a large Fanta before the game, I had to pee and wanted to beat the rush at halftime, so I decided to duck out with about 15 minutes before the half. I didn't think I would miss anything, but as it turns out Lindsey Horan scored while I was away. As we all settled in for the half, the score was 3-0, a fairly normal and expected score for the U.S. playing Thailand. What happened after the half however was otherworldly, and everyone around me began to notice. Every time there was a corner kick and the U.S. women began pushing toward the Thai goal, everyone brought up their cameras because there was almost a 75% chance that it would result in a goal. The game ended with a staggering 13-0 with Alex Morgan scoring five alone. It was a spectacularly entertaining game, one that of course ended up in controversy, because nothing's allowed to be fun anymore. I will get to this in a later post.
In any event, it was an amazing thing to watch and we walked back to the car. On the way, a French man asked who won. I responded in French and gave the score. I don't think he believed me, but he congratulated us and said it was great. The following morning, our hosts at our B&B-style mansion joked that it would not be the same result when they played France. We, of course, agreed. I doubt the rest of the tournament will see anything quite like that record-breaking performance.
As we left Reims, we reflected on the previous evening like it was some kind of dream. We had actually watched a game at the world cup, and not only that, a historic one. We drove a bit around Hermonville and the surrounding villages where we saw vineyards and poppy fields. After this,
we drove steadily north until we reached the town of Leuven in Belgium, just outside of Brussels. It is a college town, but a historic one with very pretty dormitories along the river and an old town square that was ripe for photographs. As we exploring the town, we got caught in a massive downpour. It lasted for about 15-20 minutes, and then we were able to continue our stroll about town. We ate at an outdoor cafe where I had some Belgian fries and a chicken sandwich (and of course a beer). The town was not large, so we were able to see a lot of different parts of it without too much effort. We did not encounter many (if any) tourists. Nicole did a fantastic job of getting us to some relatively unknown locales that gave us a more authentic experience as a whole. While incredibly brief, it was a very memorable trip.
We made sure to purchase some merchandise and I bought a sandwich since the crepe had not adequately filled me up. It wasn't long before the game was underway. The United States was well represented in the stands, but not just by Americans. There were many French in the stands cheering on the U.S. women, which I admit surprised me a bit. If any other team wins this tournament, it is likely to be the French. They benefit from playing in front of their own country as well as being well stacked with talent. Earlier this year, they beat the U.S. 3-1. While there were fans for Thailand, they were few in number. At first the U.S. looked a little sloppy, missing some passes, and it seemed like they were nervous for their first performance of this World Cup. Within about 15 minutes, however, they started finding their groove. First Alex Morgan, then Rose Lavelle scored the first two of the match. Having had a large Fanta before the game, I had to pee and wanted to beat the rush at halftime, so I decided to duck out with about 15 minutes before the half. I didn't think I would miss anything, but as it turns out Lindsey Horan scored while I was away. As we all settled in for the half, the score was 3-0, a fairly normal and expected score for the U.S. playing Thailand. What happened after the half however was otherworldly, and everyone around me began to notice. Every time there was a corner kick and the U.S. women began pushing toward the Thai goal, everyone brought up their cameras because there was almost a 75% chance that it would result in a goal. The game ended with a staggering 13-0 with Alex Morgan scoring five alone. It was a spectacularly entertaining game, one that of course ended up in controversy, because nothing's allowed to be fun anymore. I will get to this in a later post.
In any event, it was an amazing thing to watch and we walked back to the car. On the way, a French man asked who won. I responded in French and gave the score. I don't think he believed me, but he congratulated us and said it was great. The following morning, our hosts at our B&B-style mansion joked that it would not be the same result when they played France. We, of course, agreed. I doubt the rest of the tournament will see anything quite like that record-breaking performance.
As we left Reims, we reflected on the previous evening like it was some kind of dream. We had actually watched a game at the world cup, and not only that, a historic one. We drove a bit around Hermonville and the surrounding villages where we saw vineyards and poppy fields. After this,
we drove steadily north until we reached the town of Leuven in Belgium, just outside of Brussels. It is a college town, but a historic one with very pretty dormitories along the river and an old town square that was ripe for photographs. As we exploring the town, we got caught in a massive downpour. It lasted for about 15-20 minutes, and then we were able to continue our stroll about town. We ate at an outdoor cafe where I had some Belgian fries and a chicken sandwich (and of course a beer). The town was not large, so we were able to see a lot of different parts of it without too much effort. We did not encounter many (if any) tourists. Nicole did a fantastic job of getting us to some relatively unknown locales that gave us a more authentic experience as a whole. While incredibly brief, it was a very memorable trip.
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