Rugby World Cup 2023, France. Troyes, Lille then Manchester

 There were no plans for the next three days, just an idea to stop on the way to Lille. 

The drive from Zermatt to Lucerne was very easy and took less that three hours. 

We didn't stay in Lucerne, but went on towards Troyes, but got lost in road works and ended up driving through rural France and part of the Champagne route. It was a very long day, at last we arrived in Troyes. Only to find that all the reasonably priced hotels were booked up. We did eventually find a hotel with a room, the Hotel La Maison De Rhodes. It was far above our budget but by now we were beyond caring! Note to self- Next time communicate and plan ahead! 

Troyes turned out to be a a city full of Gothic churches and timber framed buildings from the 16th century. In the past it was famous for stained glass, and this was on display in all of the churches, and it is part of the Champagne region and has may champagne bars. As it was wet and raining we sampled a few glasses of the local brews!

Before we set off to Lille for the next rugby match I booked a hotel! 

The journey to Lille was uneventful, it was dull and raining most of the way. we didn't have time on this occasion to visit the battlefields around Lille, but hope to do this on another occasion. This time it was to watch England v Chile at the Stad Pierre Mauroy. The fan zone in the town was again a disappointment, but we did find a great pub near to the stadium, the V & B Cave and Bar. 

This place had a great atmosphere, good food as well as large screens to watch the other matches. 

The next day we had to get from Lille to Charles de Gaul airport - it was very easy - drop off the car, that was rather confusing! then get the Easy Jet flight to Manchester. it all went according to plan.  That was the end of Rugby World Cup part one.