Congratulations to Spurs.

[IUFG]

And to Liverpool too, of course!

**** the pair of them.

Spurs. They are going to lose at least half of their games this season. That is really, really **** by any standard.

I almost want them to win that Euro thing (caveat: only if The Arsenal win the big one) just to keep Ange in a job. Almost...

[Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult]

The Irish Bar, but there wasn't a Madrid supporter in sight.

Paris is likely to have rather more PSG fans. I'm sure there will be no trouble, but still...

What about going to the Frog and Rosbif near Les Halles and the Pompidou? {Though I'd get off at Chatelet if you're on Ligne 1. Only 5 or so mins walk.} With or without PSG mates.

Nice vibe as the name suggests - perfect for Rosbifs who live in and love Paris but sometimes need a pwoppa pub to show their Frog mates.

Can't remember which bit of the 8e you watched the last game in, but given the rule of thumb in Paris is 1.5mins per metro stop it could only be an extra 10 mins or so on the metro to get to Chatelet. {The pub's actually right next to Etienne Marcel metro but that's Ligne 4 so not much use for you, is it?}

[7sisters]

I have to decide whether to watch it on my own at home or in an Irish bar with a bunch of Frenchie PSG fans.

I?m over in Marrakesh this week and it?s not gone un noticed that it?s overrun with Frenchies, although, I?ve not yet determined if the locals retain sufficient colonial hatred to balance the spectating numbers for the event ?

[Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult]

I?m over in Marrakesh this week and it?s not gone un noticed that it?s overrun with Frenchies, although, I?ve not yet determined if the locals retain sufficient colonial hatred to balance the spectating numbers for the event ?

If it's anything like Algeria they'll be cheering for us. {And do remind them we had a Moroccan, Chamak. And that he scored the twice in extra time for a 7-5 win after being 4-0 down. You don't need to tell them he was sheet the rest of the time for us.}

Do you remember when, after France won the WC in '98 and they were all celebrating the black, blanc, beur multi-culturalism of the team, Zidane organised a France-Algeria friendly at SdF? Most fans were French Algerians supporting Algeria and with France 1-0 up, they all rioted and the match was called off. ZZ was in tears in the centre circle as the CRS battered the beurs trashing the stadium.

{What's Marrakesh like, btw? Never been to the Maghreb. Would love to see it.}

[WES]

What about going to the Frog and Rosbif near Les Halles and the Pompidou? {Though I'd get off at Chatelet if you're on Ligne 1. Only 5 or so mins walk.} With or without PSG mates.

Nice vibe as the name suggests - perfect for Rosbifs who live in and love Paris but sometimes need a pwoppa pub to show their Frog mates.

Can't remember which bit of the 8e you watched the last game in, but given the rule of thumb in Paris is 1.5mins per metro stop it could only be an extra 10 mins or so on the metro to get to Chatelet. {The pub's actually right next to Etienne Marcel metro but that's Ligne 4 so not much use for you, is it?}

Cheers GG, never been but that's easy for me to get to, about 9 stops or so on line 3 from Malesherbes which is just around the corner from me.

Maybe the 2nd leg if we're in control

[Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult]

Cheers GG, never been but that's easy for me to get to, about 9 stops or so on line 3 from Malesherbes which is just around the corner from me.

Maybe the 2nd leg if we're in control

Let's hope you go, then. And let's pray to Ganpati that you and all the other Gooners there are buzzing at our victory in the tie and up-coming final.

You'll like it, it's a good place to know. When I went on the over-night coach for the ECWC final in '95, I wasn't drinking there cos I was just buying cans of huit six from the offie and drinking in the place by Les Halles 'round the corner from the pub.

Got chatting to a French school-kid cos they all have Wednesday afternoons off. Told him that I was from Spiral Tribe {who'd been in France for 2 years by then and were seen as cool as ****} and had lived in Paris in the '93/4 winter doing free raves with Les Nomads.

Say I need another beer and the kid says he'll come to the offie with me. We pass a group of supposed gooners outside another pub. No AFC colours but wearing huge Union Jacks singing God Save the Queen. I sing the Sex Pistols version as we walk past. These huge tossers come to attack me and the kid.

Luckily, all the kid's six-form mates see what's happening and rush over. My mate says it's all them but not me, I'm cool from Spiral Tribe and they were the ones who started on us two.

His mates go to me, don't worry, we'll sort this out. They all pull out flick knives and tell the giant Brits that they'd better run.

I spend the next hour or so drinking with all of them. Say I feel so embarrassed and I'm not gonna support Arsenal any more. They say don't worry about it, all teams have fans like that, they're PSG and some of their fans are Le Pen supporters, it's just the way it goes.

When it's time to leave they all take me to the metro to make sure I'm safe. On the train, Gooners are chanting "If you all hate the French, clap your hands."

I'm wearing an Arsenal jacket and carrying a huge Arsenal flag. I apologise in French over and over again to the Frogs in the carriage and say please believe we're not all like that.

In the walkway to the Parc des Princes entrance, I'm sitting down slagging off all the Gooners who went past, calling them racists and I'm gonna support Sperz*. A few just stop to say it's ok, mate, you're just drunk. But one comes over and batters me.

Get into PdP, can't find my seat, find an empty one, sit down then pass out in a pool of my own blood. Wake up an hour after the final whistle. Come out and find some fellow gooners to ask what happened. They told me about Nayim. {*Was that my fault for saying about Sperz?}

They say that I was also lucky to have missed the CRS gassing the Gooners as they left the stadium, that's why they''d been hanging back. I told them what had happened to be and they said there did seem to be quite a few English NF types around. The 3 of us walk all the way, past Pere Lachaise, to Gallieni where the Eurolines buses left from and we got the morning coach together with other gooners who'd missed the last bus.

On the ferry we find out Klinsman's left sperz, so as the coach comes off the ferry, one gooner sings:

Sing, sing, wherever you may be.
We lost the cup winners cup in gay Paree.
But I don't give a **** and I don't feel sick
Cos Klinsman has signed for Bayern Munich.

We all join in.

Anyway, all I was saying is the area around the pub and Les Halles is the traditional meeting point for everyone in Paris. But beware of the CRS {doubt the UK fascists would come out for a semi} but as a Scouse made said yesterday when I congratulated hm on winning the league, remember what the Frogs did to us at the CL final? Local PSG fans were stabbing us and the CRS were taking their side.

So you'll be safe at the Frog & Rosbif. The ground itself could be less secure.

Ganpati willing you'll go and have your best night in Paris so far.

[7sisters]

If it's anything like Algeria they'll be cheering for us. {And do remind them we had a Moroccan, Chamak. And that he scored the twice in extra time for a 7-5 win after being 4-0 down. You don't need to tell them he was sheet the rest of the time for us.}

Do you remember when, after France won the WC in '98 and they were all celebrating the black, blanc, beur multi-culturalism of the team, Zidane organised a France-Algeria friendly at SdF? Most fans were French Algerians supporting Algeria and with France 1-0 up, they all rioted and the match was called off. ZZ was in tears in the centre circle as the CRS battered the beurs trashing the stadium.

{What's Marrakesh like, btw? Never been to the Maghreb. Would love to see it.}

Only a couple of days in but living the hustle and bustle vibrancy of the place. Old quarters mixed with the modern. Great for rooftop bars watching the sunset. Visiting the old medina soon. Probably go to see a few of the traditional sites over the next few days. Late 20?s temperature, better then Europe at this time of year but not crazy like Abu Dhabi.
So far so good. I keep hearing that Crosby Stills and Nash tune though.

[Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult]

Only a couple of days in but living the hustle and bustle vibrancy of the place. Old quarters mixed with the modern. Great for rooftop bars watching the sunset. Visiting the old medina soon. Probably go to see a few of the traditional sites over the next few days. Late 20?s temperature, better then Europe at this time of year but not crazy like Abu Dhabi.
So far so good. I keep hearing that Crosby Stills and Nash tune though.

Sounds great. Those ME places like the UAE sound vile to me. But Morocco's always appealed. I had a French mate who spent loads of time there. The plan was that I'd show him India and he'd show me Marrakesh but he's dead now. He said they'd have these sort of lock ins in the Souk where you could stay all night.

[Peter]

Sounds great. Those ME places like the UAE sound vile to me. But Morocco's always appealed. I had a French mate who spent loads of time there. The plan was that I'd show him India and he'd show me Marrakesh but he's dead now. He said they'd have these sort of lock ins in the Souk where you could stay all night.

I went to Dubai last year. 52 degrees. Who the **** lives in a place like that? Ridiculous.

Great food, though

[7sisters]

I went to Dubai last year. 52 degrees. Who the **** lives in a place like that? Ridiculous.

Great food, though

Yeah, that?s mental. I tried Abu Dhabi in late Feb and found it similar but with far less bling. Great, if you?re exasperated from a long UK winter and want some heat in your bones for a bit of respite. The big Mosque is the only landmark tourist visit worth doing, the rest is just copycat Dubai - Ferrari Park, Warners blah blah. The original older parts are more gritty and worth a look around - no tourists etc but aside from the usual malls there?s not much to see. Saadyat Island is a better loafing retreat than anything on offer in Dubai.
Service, safety and cleanliness is where these places score. There is a cost but 7 hours to get some Sun in the winter isn?t the worst call, unless you?re up for a long haul resort.
Minor point. I found Emirates to be better than Etihad on the flights, the food options were a bit grim.