Rucksacks packed and voices in tune, Zoe and I made the 5 hour journey by train to Paris to mark the start of what would be a fun-filled week at the Football Euros 2016.
We had always planned to go to Paris on these dates as Zoe’s sister was cycling from Portadown to Paris, an unbelievable 520mile journey to raise money for the organisation Ambassadors Football which she is a part of. Zoe and I were at the finish line of the campsite to boost team morale and congratulate the 6 cyclists who had made the journey.
“Paris is always a good idea.” {Sabrina, 1995}
After a great nights sleep and a lie in for 6 tired and sore cyclists, we headed into Paris to enjoy the sights and soak up some of the atmosphere. We climbed the Eiffel Tower which was a breathtaking view of the whole of Paris. I couldn’t help but notice how symmetrical everything looked from a bird’s eye view.
We spent the rest of the day walking around the Eiffel Tower, to see what it looked like from different angles as well as stopping for a Nutella crepe (how could I resist when in France).
In the evening we headed down to the fanzone to watch France play Switzerland on the big screen. This was a brilliant atmosphere, surrounded by French fans and being in the minority who wanted Switzerland to win since I had been living there for the past few months. It also got me excited for the big match Germany versus Northern Ireland, which was happening in a few days time.
One of the best things about visiting Paris was hearing people talking English again! I could actually understand what people were saying as I walked down the street. It was also great to see so many people from Northern Ireland. It wasn’t hard to spot the fans as they were all in green, at all times, despite not even being match day.
On the Monday, we spent a rather wet day at Disneyland. We still made the most of our day here by making sure to go on every single ride. My favourite was probably the Crush Coaster – which was Finding Nemo themed.
Finally, game day arrived. Germany versus Northern Ireland, a day that would go down in history. Having not been able to secure any tickets, Zoe and I were going to have to watch the match in the fanzone, despite her sister and all the team heading to the match.
We all headed to the large gathering of green and white shirts, where the Northern Ireland fans were warming up the vocals by singing a range of different songs and chants. The excitement was building and the atmosphere was estatic! Last minute a friend of mine managed to source a ticket for me and the best part about it was that it was FREE! That just meant getting one more ticket for Zoe. We decided to follow the green and white colours to the stadium in the hope of getting a ticket at the ground.
Getting the underground subways in Paris with thousands of excited Northern Irish football fans was an experience in itself! There was just a sea of green and white as we were packed like sardines onto French tubes. This did not dull the singing spirits however, as loud renditions of Will Grigg is on fire, echoed the underground trains system.
We made it to the stadium and we were happy to discover that a man was selling tickets for the match. We were going to the match! What an incredible experience it was and I am still proud of our tiny country only loosing 1-0 to the giant of a country that is Germany!
“We earned the right to be here. I’m immensely proud that we are even playing here against the world champions in Paris.” {Michael O’Neill}
The best part about it, was that despite loosing, the Northern Ireland fans stayed for another hour just singing and dancing together, just so happy to be a part of the tournament. It was a brilliant day and one that I will never forget. It was also great to discover that night that Northern Ireland still made it through the group stages and were still in with a chance to reach the quarter finals. 
On our final day in Paris, we visited the Notre Dame, walked along the Champs des elysees and gazed in wonder at the Arc de Triomphe before heading back to the train station to catch our train home.
As our wait for our train turned into a 30 minute delay and then 2 hours, we were a bit frustrated at missing our connecting train. This however did not matter as the train company sorted us out with a taxi to take us all the way home from Zurich to Kreuzlingen as well as offering us free food and money back. I think this was certainly a cultural difference as at home we would still be expected to find our own way home.
As I look back on this week, I can honestly say it was one of the most fun times. It was incredible to be a part of the history of Northern Irish football and soak up the atmosphere with ‘the best fans in the world’. It is a week I will never forget.
REFERENCES:
Sabrina (1995) cited by http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114319/quotes ; 1990-2016 IMDb, Inc.
O’Neill, M. (2016), http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/36524213 , BBC Sport; 2016
Schweinsteiger, B. (2016), http://www.bastian-schweinsteiger.de/
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