Thursday 28 February 2013

Olympique Lyonnais FC

Thursday 21st February 2013 Kick off 19:00 hrs

Europa League round of 32 second leg

Lyon 1 v Tottenham Hotspur FC 1

[Tottenham win 3-2 over two legs]

89 Avenue Tony Garnier 69007 Lyon
Attendance : 38,671
Weather : Very very cold
Customer Service : Helpful

Our story begins at King Cross St. Pancras Station. 

Several items of art on display at the station, one of which is the 20 tonne bronze statue named the Meeting Place by Britist Artist Paul Day. The sculpture received a poor critical reception, being cited by Anthony Gormley (he of Angel of the North acclaim) as "a very good example of the crap out there". Personally, I did n't think it was that bad!

We depart on the 08:11 hr Eurostar train to Lille.

We arrived in  Lille 11:16. You can tell it's Lille by the way the buildings spell out the name of the city ...Li etcetera.


In 2004, Lille became an European City of Culture and whilst investing in a high speed European rail link, they planted some Triffids as well - which are now truly out of control. 


A brief stopover allowed for some in flight refuelling. 

After some light refreshments we boarded the 11.46 TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse) to Lyon. The TGV is a truly amazing trains which links Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Belgium together via the French rail network. 
On board the train we were joined by Chris Evans and Paulo Di Canio (Paulo - only left Swindon Town on Tuesday and here he is in his new role!) 
Our train delighted us with many sights, not least this "Cheval" meat processing site.   
A mobile version of the "Coppermill" London E17

An early afternoon arrival in Lyon facilitated some pre match pics and interviews.  

A rather "chic" looking continental style bus shelter. Very much in "en vogue" this season they tell me.



A typical "fonction publique francaise" building.

The river Rhone - rises in Switerland and runs through France until it eventually follows into the Med.
 
 Cathedrale Saint - Jean - Baptiste de Lyon - is a Roman Catholic Church located in the heart of the old town. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Lyon.
Brassiere Georges a fine establishment dating back to 1826. A family owned business founded by Georges Hoffherr from Alsace. In addition to the fine cuisine, note the Art Deco style dining room - a fine piece of coving if ever there was.  
 
There is a micro brewery on the premises and we can highly recommend the produce.  

I trust you agree, this bar would not look out of place in any 5 * hotel

Would you buy a used Peugeot from this man?
The effects of a heavy afternoon session in Brasserie George!

Now for the match - which took place on a very cold evening

At the ground you can enjoy a wide variety of French cuisine - including our old fav - Cheval a brioche. 

Pre match warm up - is this an oxymoron - the weather was freezing /with a harsh cross wind for good measure. 

The Flemish Spurs contingent arrive in good time. 

Spurs corporate section packed in like sardines  - was it worth it ?

Spurs lay siege to Lyon's goal.

Lyon successfully clear their lines.

Spurs have another go. 
Lyon fans 
With thirty secs to go Spurs grab a dramatic equaliser and progress to a meeting with old foes Inter Milan in the next round.  

As you know by now - no trip is complete without some urban decay a la Francais.



Au revoir






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