EURO 2016 BLOG: Planes, NO trains and automobiles

Arrived in Cagnes sur Mer about 10 miles from Nice after a long arduous trip.
By The Newsroom
Published 12th Jun 2016, 15:41 BST
Updated 13th Jun 2016, 12:32 BST
Brian Dougherty and his intrepid fellow travellers who made it to Nice.....eventually!Brian Dougherty and his intrepid fellow travellers who made it to Nice.....eventually!
Brian Dougherty and his intrepid fellow travellers who made it to Nice.....eventually!

It didn’t start well though as having arrived at Foyle St depot I had to return home to collect my phone, and with the news that due to train cancellations we had to hire a car at Lyon and make the 400 mile trip to the camp.

Fair play to our chief organizer Willis Millar though who had anticipated the rail disruption and put Plan B into operation. He also took it upon himself to drive the majority of the journey in France apart from a less than successful stint from our chief photo bomber Graeme Philson who just about kept our insurance policy intact.

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Spirits were lifted at Dublin airport as I was greeted with a healthy rendition of ‘Green and White Army’ stumbling upon an impromptu flag parade up and down the escalators at Terminal 2 to a bemused airport security.

We have already bumped into the Ballymagorry GAWA and Bapper and Co from Drumahoe and the pleasure of sitting beside a friendly French couple just returning from two weeks touring Ireland. Remarkably I was able to recall some of my French ‘O’ level oral with broken versions of ‘Bonjour, je m’appelle Brian, J’habite a la Londonderry etc..’

They couldn’t though quite work out why they needed to know the name of my dog, that I had brushed my teeth, that I wanted to order to train tickets to Paris, and why I had just riden into town on a donkey!

Any-way we settled in to the news of Ireland rugby and Creevedonnell victories and after watching England capitulate at the camp bar we had a relatively early night in anticipation of match day. Bring on the Poles!