Sunday, July 04, 2004
The Vanguard Arrives
Woke up to find several txt messages from K:
K's interest in Euro-ball isn't unprecedented. Last time, for Euro 2000, we wound up inadvertently following the action, starting in England, where we rooted for the home team (and it's brilliant upset over Germany) until Romania put them out of the tournament - thanks to a mind-numbing act of idiocy perpetrated by Mr.Beckham in the form of a flagrant foul during the last minutes of the game, resulting in the penalty-shot that lost the match. I'm not a sports fan, but the national ire (as well as my English cousin's) was so intense that it's been seared into my memory for all time. Fortunately we moved on to Provence, and continued to watch as the home team beat Germany. Our friend from Frankfurt was staying with us in the villa when France took the championship; she was astounded at how quiet the town was. If we hadn't been watching, we'd never have known the home-team had won. She suggested that in Germany, they'd be rioting in the streets.
Maybe that's why I liked Provence so much...
Anyway, K's last txt has me giddy with anticipation:
|
"Arrived safe! Had forogttn. Turkey so diffrnt from egypt. Almost 1st world!"I'm sure it doesn't hurt that The Getty/UCLA have put her up in a 4-star hotel right on Taksim Square (the hotel which will serve as my home-base between several 5-day excursions into Anatolia). But K didn't mention the hotel, or the flight - just the football. Seems K's only been in the city for a few hours, and already managed to find a sporting event to enjoy...
"Watching eurocup outside on bigscreen tv! Big party on street!"Euro 2004 Championship Finals. Leave it to her. Somehow I doubt the crowd was rooting for Greece. But we'll see what K has to say. [UPDATE: E-mail from K suggests just the opposite - it was actually a massive Greek/Turkish Unity rally. So they were all pleased with the outcome. And K came away with a Turkish Flag she was given to wave in celebration. Already, I'm missing the good-times...]
K's interest in Euro-ball isn't unprecedented. Last time, for Euro 2000, we wound up inadvertently following the action, starting in England, where we rooted for the home team (and it's brilliant upset over Germany) until Romania put them out of the tournament - thanks to a mind-numbing act of idiocy perpetrated by Mr.Beckham in the form of a flagrant foul during the last minutes of the game, resulting in the penalty-shot that lost the match. I'm not a sports fan, but the national ire (as well as my English cousin's) was so intense that it's been seared into my memory for all time. Fortunately we moved on to Provence, and continued to watch as the home team beat Germany. Our friend from Frankfurt was staying with us in the villa when France took the championship; she was astounded at how quiet the town was. If we hadn't been watching, we'd never have known the home-team had won. She suggested that in Germany, they'd be rioting in the streets.
Maybe that's why I liked Provence so much...
Anyway, K's last txt has me giddy with anticipation:
"Amazing night but work tmrow. U will luv here! K"Two days to go...
|
