So the French football team pull another one out of the bag, ousting the Portugese and taking France through to their second World Cup final. As much as football is a team game, France really has to thank the brilliant Zinedine Zidane for coming back from retirement and taking them this far.
As a New Zealander, I don’t have a lot invested in any particular world cup team, but I do have a special place in my heart for French football. 8 years ago we had our honeymoon in Noumea, New Caledonia – a French island territory in the Pacific. 8 years ago France won the World Cup final on the day before Bastille Day. The ensuing days of celebration put an additional sparkle on our already brilliant trip, making it altogether one of my most memorable travel experiences.
So it is a wonderful conincidence that we’ll be flying out to Noumea on Saturday, just in time to see France battle Italy for the World Cup on Sunday morning. Here’s hoping we have another chance to join the semi-French New Caledonians in another huge celebration! With luck they will have stopped tooting horns and dancing on cars in time for our quiet anniversary dinner on Tuesday, yet retain enough energy to spark it up again for the big Bastille Day parade on the Friday.
