sporty saturday
We had quite a sporty Saturday - UEFA, the European football association, was celebrating its 60th anniversary by holding a portes ouvertes (open house) at its headquarters in Nyon. I'm not a football fan but J is a huge one, so on Saturday morning we took a short drive (25 minutes) to Nyon to check things out. It was free entry and we spent some time queueing for visitor tags but as it turns out, we arrived just before the crowds came so we were quite lucky. (By the way, even though I say 'crowded', the numbers were nowhere near what a similar event in Singapore would have.)
I think this open house is only held once a decade or something like that, so even though I have very little interest in the sport, I could appreciate what a privilege is was for us to be able to step into the building headquarters and have a look around the trophy room. There were information booths and rooms with short seminars and presentations but they were all in French and we had two restless children with us so it was enough for us to get a good look at the memorabilia, like Ronaldo's autographed jersey. We also got to enter Match Central, a room filled with computers and huge TV screens; this was where the live action from all around the continent was edited and broadcast.
The highlight for me probably was the opportunity to hold and be photographed with two trophies. There was a long queue for this but it was definitely worth it. The poor security guys at the photo booth found themselves turned into iPhone photographers, since everyone who wanted a photo simply handed their phone over to them. The big and burly men took it all in good cheer, though.
We were pleasantly surprised to find that lunch was provided and free of charge. All of us were given coupons when we signed in at the welcome centre, and with the coupons we could each get a small meal and two drinks (including beer, much to J's delight). We got some pizza, grilled sausages, and bread, and sat in the sun enjoying lunch.
After lunch we went onto the pitch at the Colovray Stadium, where three football activity stations had been set up for kids and adults to play - a penalty kick, a slalom course, and some ball juggling (told you I know nothing about football). If you could complete the activity, you would get a stamp on your card and two stamps could be exchanged for a limited edition UEFA football. The Bun was a bit hesitant but we told him to just try, and it was a good thing he did because he managed to complete his card and get a football. They tend to be nicer about giving the stamps to the kids, though, because when it was J's turn he had some trouble scoring the penalty goal and doing the juggling thing and the people wouldn't give him the stamps - so it's not just a stamp for participation, it's for an actual result! In the end J finally managed to get a ball for himself, which he is chuffed about and which Bao has hijacked to play with at home. To her credit she dribbled the ball quite well on the slalom course and generally had a great time running around on the pitch.
The Bun trying out the slalom course
The games over, we headed off and Bao crashed in the car, while still clinging tightly onto her (J's) football. We crossed the border to Thoiry to buy some much-needed autumn clothes before coming home for dinner. The weather was lovely and so warm - something like 23C - and it definitely didn't feel like October. This afternoon it began raining, though, and it looks like the sky will be grey for the next few days.
Oh, and J wrenched his leg something funny while trying his penalty kick on Saturday, so he's limping around like me now. This morning we hobbled around the apartment like two seniors, which was amusing until we realised that we couldn't catch up with Bao running half-naked around the apartment. That's why today (Sunday) we didn't do much - popped into the Musée Ariana nearby for a bit and then one of the French supermarkets, and later in the afternoon we went to a Japanese Cultural Festival in Carouge, mainly to check out the food. We managed to get some okonomiyaki, melon pan, gyudon, inari sushi, and yakitori skewers, and they were not too bad.
So that was the weekend. I'm hoping the sun will reappear soon and we can enjoy more of the autumn. I think this is probably my favourite season of the year.
I think this open house is only held once a decade or something like that, so even though I have very little interest in the sport, I could appreciate what a privilege is was for us to be able to step into the building headquarters and have a look around the trophy room. There were information booths and rooms with short seminars and presentations but they were all in French and we had two restless children with us so it was enough for us to get a good look at the memorabilia, like Ronaldo's autographed jersey. We also got to enter Match Central, a room filled with computers and huge TV screens; this was where the live action from all around the continent was edited and broadcast.
The highlight for me probably was the opportunity to hold and be photographed with two trophies. There was a long queue for this but it was definitely worth it. The poor security guys at the photo booth found themselves turned into iPhone photographers, since everyone who wanted a photo simply handed their phone over to them. The big and burly men took it all in good cheer, though.
We were pleasantly surprised to find that lunch was provided and free of charge. All of us were given coupons when we signed in at the welcome centre, and with the coupons we could each get a small meal and two drinks (including beer, much to J's delight). We got some pizza, grilled sausages, and bread, and sat in the sun enjoying lunch.
After lunch we went onto the pitch at the Colovray Stadium, where three football activity stations had been set up for kids and adults to play - a penalty kick, a slalom course, and some ball juggling (told you I know nothing about football). If you could complete the activity, you would get a stamp on your card and two stamps could be exchanged for a limited edition UEFA football. The Bun was a bit hesitant but we told him to just try, and it was a good thing he did because he managed to complete his card and get a football. They tend to be nicer about giving the stamps to the kids, though, because when it was J's turn he had some trouble scoring the penalty goal and doing the juggling thing and the people wouldn't give him the stamps - so it's not just a stamp for participation, it's for an actual result! In the end J finally managed to get a ball for himself, which he is chuffed about and which Bao has hijacked to play with at home. To her credit she dribbled the ball quite well on the slalom course and generally had a great time running around on the pitch.
The Bun trying out the slalom course
The games over, we headed off and Bao crashed in the car, while still clinging tightly onto her (J's) football. We crossed the border to Thoiry to buy some much-needed autumn clothes before coming home for dinner. The weather was lovely and so warm - something like 23C - and it definitely didn't feel like October. This afternoon it began raining, though, and it looks like the sky will be grey for the next few days.
Oh, and J wrenched his leg something funny while trying his penalty kick on Saturday, so he's limping around like me now. This morning we hobbled around the apartment like two seniors, which was amusing until we realised that we couldn't catch up with Bao running half-naked around the apartment. That's why today (Sunday) we didn't do much - popped into the Musée Ariana nearby for a bit and then one of the French supermarkets, and later in the afternoon we went to a Japanese Cultural Festival in Carouge, mainly to check out the food. We managed to get some okonomiyaki, melon pan, gyudon, inari sushi, and yakitori skewers, and they were not too bad.
So that was the weekend. I'm hoping the sun will reappear soon and we can enjoy more of the autumn. I think this is probably my favourite season of the year.