There was enough interest in getting fans from Paris out to Le Havre to see the US Women’s Nation team play Sweden that they added another train. They even hauled out these standing cut-outs of soccer people to greet us as we boarded – according to the old French guys that got stuck riding with us: this was a slow slow train. Slow. We didn’t care so long as we got to the game in time… which we did.
The Soccer Train to Le Havre from Paris, June 20, 2019
Le Stade Océane appeared through the train window, and like that we were charged up for the game.
Stade Océane, Le Havre, France, June 20, 2019
We had great seats again, looking down the goal line at Tobin Heath’s part of the field. USWNT v Sweden is always contentious, this game assured their positions in the first and second places in Group F. Sweden would have had to clobber the USWNT to gain first place since the standings after the US played Thailand and Chile. Even still, a great rivalry in this last game of the Group F stage of women’s world cup play.
Tobin Heath, USWNT v Sweden, Le Havre, June 20, 2019
Megan Rapinoe, USWNT v Sweden, Le Havre, June 20, 2019
Not sure the referee saw this hold.
Did the Refs See this? USWNT v Sweden, Le Havre, June 20, 2019
The Swedish fans were coordinated and ready to go.
Swedish Fans Showed Up in Force, USWNT v Sweden, Le Havre, June 20, 2019
We US fans were a bit more rag-tag, but definitely had spirit.
The stadiums were all decorated by FIFA for the event. I honestly felt “Dare to Shine” was a weak slogan, why couldn’t it just be “Shine”? Why did they have to “Dare to”?
Stade Océane dressed for the occasion, Le Havre, June 20, 2019
Megan Rapinoe playing keep-away like she does.
Rapinoe doing her thing, USWNT v Sweden, Le Havre, June 20, 2019
Rose Lavelle was a magician moving the ball down the field. She finally made a score in the final (spoilers!) after one of her runs downfield. But all these games we saw she’d get the ball to the net from the other end of the field and wouldn’t take the shot.
Rose Lavelle and her magic feet, USWNT v Sweden, Le Havre, June 20, 2019
Alyssa Naeher goal kicking.
Alyssa Naeher sending the ball downfield, USWNT v Sweden, Le Havre, June 20, 2019
Crystal Dunn’s a hero, she did an amazing job regaining possession over and over.
Crystal Dunn, USWNT v Sweden, Le Havre, June 20, 2019
Attendance was always reported on the big screen towards the end of the game. Each game had more and more interest.
Attendance at USWNT v Sweden, Le Havre, June 20, 2019
A wide shot of the field, the blue and wavy architecture of the stadium portrays the harbor status of the city, Le Havre.
Stade Océane, USWNT v Sweden, June 20, 2019
Handshakes after the game as the audience disperses.
Game Over 2:0, USWNT v Sweden, Le Havre, June 20, 2019
A core part of the USWNT would always huddle like this after a game, after all the hubbub was over.
Post game huddle, USWNT, Le Havre, June 20, 2019
With groups of merry US and Swedish fans we walked out, in our case to our rental car to drive back to the hotel. The spirit of the games and the crowds were delightful.
Click through this YouTube video for the official highlights.
The day after this we spent the day touring Le Havre, the most comfortable weather we had all vacation with it’s proximity to the ocean. That’s next.
Didn’t plan for it, but ended up getting front row tickets for the Scotland v Argentina Women’s World Cup Soccer game at Parc des Princes in Paris on June 19, 2019. The two teams were vying for a third place slot in their group to possibly make it to the knock out stage. Long story short, Scotland blew a 3 – 0 lead to end up tied with Argentina 3-3, ultimately neither team making it to the knock out stage.
For us it was a practice run on attending soccer matches in France. This game was at the Parc des Princes in the south western part of Paris, we had tickets reserved for the winner of group F: USA, Sweden, Chile, Thailand versus likely France in a week’s time at this same venue.
Parc Des Princes, Paris, June 19, 2019
Our seats were in the front row looking down the line at the goal. The opening ceremony is always a treat as they always have children participating. Look at all the empty seats! Such a great game tho.
Scotland v Argentina, Parc Des Princes, Paris, June 19, 2019Scotland v Argentina, Parc Des Princes, Paris, June 19, 2019
The first half of the game Scotland dominated 3:0.
Scotland v Argentina, Parc Des Princes, Paris, June 19, 2019Scotland v Argentina, Parc Des Princes, Paris, June 19, 2019
The field gets watered at halftime. Another warm evening.
Half Time, Scotland v Argentina, Paris, June 19, 2019
Lettie, the mascot, plays with the children during the break. They gave a bunch of tickets to school children for this game to fill the seats. A teacher saw us looking lost at the bus station and had us follow her and her group so we could find the venue. Again, a great dry run for the group winner game later on.
Lettie the Mascot at Half Time, Scotland v Argentina, Paris, June 19, 2019
After halftime Argentina worked their way back from 3:0.
Argentina fights back, Scotland v Argentina, Paris, June 19, 2019
VAR was a huge part of Women’s World Cup 2019 in France. Not sure what FIFA was thinking. So often the games were stopped so referees could review video in the back.
“VAR” takes over the game, Scotland v Agentina, Paris, June 19, 2019
Basically there was a new rule for the game that the goalies had to stand exactly on the line as the penalty kick took place. Here’s an article at CNN about Hope Solo’s take on it.
Ref tells Goalie to stand on the line, new rule for Women’s World Cup play, June 19, 2019
Argentina missed the first kick, VAR came back saying the goalie stepped off her line so they retook the kick.
Penalty Kick from Argentina, June 19, 2019Penalty Kick from Argentina, June 19, 2019
The second penalty kick take went in, Argentina tied the game 3-3, ultimately keeping Scotland out of the knockout stage.
Argentina Ties with Scotland 3-3, June 19, 2019
After the game we exited the stadium right where a Scottish bag piper was leading fans out of the stadium. This is my video of the piper, who, if you think about it, packed his bagpipes for travel from Scotland to Paris to lead a dirge of fans out of the stadium after a heartbreaking day for Scotland.
This video below is the FIFA highlight reel for the game.
Next in our travels was a train ride to Le Havre to see our first USWNT game.
First full day in France, took a bus tour. We saw and photographed a lot of the famous landmarks during this tour, but I’m not going to focus on the typical guide book stuff if I can help it. The photos I’m sharing here are more about my impressions of the Paris as we worked our way around.
Paris Bus Tour June 19, 2019
Didn’t climb the Arc de Triomphe, but these people did.
Tourists on the Arc de Triomphe, June 19, 2019
Photo from a tour bus of marked off photo line for tourists at the Arc de Triomphe. Paris in a nutshell: tourists, photos, traffic, and more tourists.
Traffic Island for Tourists to Take Photos in front of the Arc de Triomphe, June 19, 2019
One of countless rideshare electric scooters in front of the Eiffel Tower. Definitely ended up using these scooters after a while as it was 95 degrees most of the time making walking and the subway a less attractive way to get around the city.
Eiffel Tower, June 19, 2019
Read the names across the top – the Eiffel Tower is a monument to science! I had no idea before this bus tour, somehow that’s not usually highlighted when spoken about.
The Eiffel Tower is a monument to science.
The statuary on top of the National Academy of Music is quintessential French. Love it.
Still More Statuary at the National Academy of Music, Paris June 19, 2019
Statuary at the National Academy of Music, Paris, June 19, 2019
More Statuary at the National Academy of Music, Paris June 19, 2019
Architects sign the buildings in Paris, why doesn’t this happen everywhere? The varied decorative features on the buildings were lovely, couldn’t get enough.
Building Decoration in Paris June 19, 2019
Architects Sign Buildings, Paris, June 19, 2019
Stay off My Balcony with Elegance, Paris, June 19, 2019
This is one of my favorite photos, people are the same everywhere. Can’t have a cherub in a fountain without turning it into an anarchist with a curly mustache.
Anarchist Cherub Fountain, Paris, June 19, 2019
This Ferris wheel was in varied states of construction during our time there.
Assembling the Big Wheel at the Place de la Concorde, June 19, 2019
Mosaic street art dotted the city. Here are two of the many we saw.
Mosaic Street Art, Paris, June 19, 2019
Mosiac Street Art, Paris, June 19, 2019
This “Religieus” cream puff was gluten free. I think about this cream puff a lot, I’m not gonna lie.
This is Gluten Free, Paris, June 19, 2019
Paris streets as seen from the top of a tour bus.
Paris Street, June 19, 2019
Police on Bikes, Paris, June 19, 2019
Support for women’s world cup soccer wasn’t ubiquitous, a few Parisians we spoke to didn’t even know it was going on. But graphic art posters like these were spotted here and there around the city.
Women’s World Cup posters in Paris, June 19, 2019
We found ourselves speaking to some Scottish soccer fans in a pub, turns out the Scotland team was playing Argentina this night right in Paris. We went onto the FIFA website and got ourselves front row tickets. The stadium wasn’t sold out from lukewarm interest in the game, but we went as a trial run to see how attending these games works so we were savvy for the US games. Turns out we had a great time, that’s my next post.
A year ago I took the best vacation ever: to France to watch the women’s world cup soccer matches in different cities across the country, and I am reliving the trip this year by posting memories with photos every day, to document all the great experiences in a travel journal that I didn’t get together last year.
We flew direct Boston to Paris, checked into our hotel which was a little bit away from the city center and the sites. After we rejuvenated with a nap followed by an Indian meal nearby, we jumped directly onto the metropolitan subway to figure out how to make our way around on public transportation. We headed for the center even thought it was late in the day.
Right away we found ourselves at Notre Dame cathedral. It was just two months since the date the building burned. We arrived June 18, 2019; the fire happened April 15, 2019. The area around the cathedral was cordoned off for safety and construction work, including the walkway down next to the river. An abandoned ride share bike, left on the river walkway and covered in ash, can be seen in the photo below. The cathedral looked lovely regardless of its trouble.
Abandoned Bike Share in front of the recently burned Notre Dame Cathedral, June 18, 2019
The gargoyles were still impressive against the sky.
Gargoyles on the recently burned Notre Dame Cathedral, June 18, 2019
Tired from our first day of travel we wandered across the river and found the English language bookshop and cafe, Shakespeare and Co. Perfect for a caffeine pick-me-up to get ourselves back to the hotel.
The English language bookshop and cafe, Shakespeare and Co. June 18, 2019
Tomorrow is more Paris and our first soccer game experience: Scotland v Argentina. Thanks for following along.
I never wrote a blog post about the Squam Art Workshops before, though I’ve been attending since 2011. I suppose I never knew how to put it all into words: meeting great people, taking intriguing classes, dodging “woo”, and, well, the food.
I also took Gudrun Johnston’s Short Row class, which was really helpful – I really had no idea there were 4 different ways to do short-rows, and that the one way I knew – turns out I was doing it wrong. I took no photos in this class, as it was a knitting circle, basically. Her designs are beautiful, she had a container full of them where she showed us where she used short rows. Such an inspiration.
But, then, it ends. We say goodbye to everyone at breakfast and we go.
So to console myself on the way home there was a stop at Mr Mac‘s, which really needs to be a national chain.
After this most difficult winter, we Bostonians have Patriot’s Day. Since mid-April is when we can finally step outside without suffering, here it comes, the celebration of Massachusetts’ contribution to the creation of the United States of America. So glad they waited to start the revolution ’til the weather got good.
But I have to say, my favorite thing about all these re-enactors is when you see people in historical clothing mixing in with modern-times. For example, my boyfriend has a photo of a minuteman carrying a leaf-blower, which he really needs to have online somehere.
Here I have this sneak-over-the-shoulder #selfie thing: Minutemen, in line for a port-a-potty.
Priceless. There should be a name for this mash-up of modern and 18th century, a hashtag, something.
so anyways
I had driven by Munroe Tavern, where the British set up their field hospital after that first night of the Revolutionary War, a hundred times. This time we finally stopped in. Here are some iPhone photos that I took. (Aram’s awesome photos are here.)
Red coats getting ready for the battle re-enactment at Tower Park
After the war President George Washington visited the Munroe family for tea, to thank them for all their troubles during this battle. The family saved everything he touched. He sat in that bigger chair in the middle, and the cup he used is in a display case nearby. Gotta love the love people had for the pertinence of these items.
I would be remiss if I didn’t post a photo of the flax spinning wheel. Making linen from flax was important in the avoidance of buying British cotton goods in the 18th century.
Inside the Munroe Tavern.
And here are the lobster-backs getting ready for their part of the re-enactment on the front lawn of the tavern. This Tower Park battle today (Saturday) actually took place after the famous battle of Lexington Green (Monday), they just do it on this Saturday beforehand to get everything done in the weekend.
So much fun nerdy stuff going on around here right now. Can’t miss it if you try, get out there and see some of it.
Thanks for reading and Nerd On – H
P.S. And if all this isn’t marvelous enough: we finish on Monday with the The Boston Marathon.
Had my eye on the World Science Festival for a few years now. 2013 was the year the forces of the cosmos aligned and I was able to go. Fortunately I didn’t have to twist my BF’s arm to take the trip to NYC for this event, as he is a big nerd too.
I don’t have any photos of this event as I followed instructions and didn’t take any inside the theater, tho if you search instagram and flickr you can find plenty of other people’s photos of the show. 🙂
Going in I was expecting the typical panel discussion, even though we were in a swanky legit Broadway theater. Turns out it was Brian Greene doing rehearsed stage schtick about Quantum Mechanics, spooky action, quantum entanglements, etc, with 3 other actors and a nice multimedia show projected behind him. My nerdly self was thrilled. Through this show they got complex ideas across as well as taught a bit of the history of how physicists like Einstein and his contemporaries worked through these game changing ideas.
How do I say this? Truthfully, “Infinity” my least favorite talk. The description for this one said “Does infinity exist? Can it be found in the physical world? What types of infinity are there?“. Really the group ended up speaking about the last question: “What types of infinity are there?” One guy was working on infinity past the highest number you can count to, another guy was working on the infinity that exists between numbers 3 and 4, i.e. 3.11111111111, 3.1415927, 3.99999999998, etc. Interesting to think about, in and of itself, but I felt like the group of guys was arguing a point without having that point defined, and so no one came to any conclusion. The whole discussion was nebulous, and I felt like I was watching a pissing contest where no one knew what they were aiming for.
I, an aetheist, found myself agreeing most often with the person representing philosophy and religion, Philip Clayton. He cut to the heart of the matter a couple of times, finding a point to the discussion where the others were often speaking about their own research as an answer to a question that wasn’t explicitly asked.
If you watch one video from this post, watch this one, as it will give you information that will help you understand things happening in medicine right now, and more widely so in the next few years.
Epigenetics.
The premise of this talk was that, before recently, scientists believed that we inherit our DNA cleanly when we are conceived. Turns out this is not the case, we instead inherit our DNA with our specific markers already turned on and off depending on the lives our parents and grandparents lived. Different genes and traits are favored by the software that runs on the hardware of our DNA.
There was a NOVA on this topic, btw, which, of course, explained the topic beautifully.
Things like a predisposition to be overweight, or to be stressed, or to be super fit, or the ability to live to the age of 100, are influenced by things including the nutrition and stress levels of parents. The speakers were always very careful in how they spoke, because they realized there can be implications if, say, someone decided to go out and sue their own mother for being stressed and therefore causing them to be unhealthy.
All of the members of the panel had their own interesting research to share, as well as ideas on more research that could be done.
And then, members of the audience asked the best questions, my favorite being about culture and such influencing the health profiles of entire populations.
oop, look, here’s Brian Greene again introducing the discussion.
Brian Greene introduces the talk about the Multiverse
This talk was very good, basically because of this guy, John Hockenberry.
John Hockenberry moderated the Multiverse discussion
John Hockenberry (great name!) kept everyone grounded and added just the right amount of snark to keep the tone of the discussion in the realm of accessibility by the audience.
The discussion was between Andreas Albrecht, Alan Guth (MIT!), Andrei Linde, and Neil Turok. Each working on different theories on the origins of our universe including the possibility of other multiverses, the “uni” goes away when we open up to the possibility of having more than one. Three of the four were working with the theory of the existence of multiverses, and one, Linde, landed on the side of ‘nope, just the one’.
My favorite part of the talk (besides Hockenberry carrying us nicely through the discussion) was towards the end when Turok opened up the possibility that there’s not one, nor many, but TWO multiverses that exist in tandem, constantly influencing each other. Guth laughed at Turok’s video, calling it two universes clapping, and dismissed the theory outright… ‘cuz what is science but the proving and disproving of theories with experiments and calculations… or just outright mockery. The moment was funny because it was fun seeing the scientists “throw down” over REALLY abStRacT concepts. My own opinion would be to give the two multiverses clapping theory a chance, yeesh.
Oh, and check this out, people getting the physicists’ autographs.
Physicist signing autographs
Good times, to summarize: go to this event. The World Science Festival is a wonderfully unique experience connecting brainiacs with the curious public.
P.S. & as a post script let me point out the three places I got tasty gluten free food at while we were down there. Nizza, just west of Times Square in Hell’s Kitchen, had great dinner and brunch, completely gluten free savvy, reasonably priced, and delicious. Bareburger, near NYU, served just what you’re looking for when you order a hamburger. And Pie by the Pound, for GF pizza downtown, yum.
I got to go! The World Science Festival is usually on the same weekend as the Squam Art Workshops, so I hadn’t been able to make it in the past. My life is normally about Nerd Fun without enough art and creativity so I will always pick SAW over the WSF if lucky enough to have the choice. Here are my photos of the trip, I’ll do another post with details on the WSF events that we attended. Took AMTRAK, pretty relaxing so long as the train stays on the rails. Shot and edited with my iPhone5, fun shots of Queens on the way into town.
AMTRAK in NYC
Queens from the train
Queens
We showed up in NYC for the first weekend of the invasion of Citibike. We hemmed and hawed about using the bikes to get around the city all weekend. We are accustomed to seeing this sorta thing in Boston already, and thought it might be fun. We walked around Midtown and Times Square, visited the International Center for Photography (does no one take museum worthy photographs when they’re happy? whole? away from warzones? not bleeding? just gimme just one happy picture??), visited a friend who works in the city… all while thinking about going in for Citibikes. The ICP is near the lovely Bryant Park where we saw four fellas playing Pétanque (kinda like Bocce) AND, there was a girl, maybe 10 years old, doing tumbling runs on the grass, cartwheels, back-flips, all sorts of gymnastic awesomeness… didn’t take a picture, since it was a girl and this IS the internet, I mean, duh. But, wow, she was fantastic.
Still tho, Citibike? do we or don’t we? After pricing bike helmets knowing we each had helmets at home that we didn’t pack to take with us, we decided to get a two day pass for a hop-on-hop-off tour instead… more photo opportunities, more witty tour guide commentary, and more cool air (it was in the 90s and humid).
NYC Bus ride on a hot day.
I took a vertical panorama Times Square from the bus.
Vertical panorama from the bus
The Empire State Building from the bus.
vertical panorama with the Empire State Building
City shots … from the bus.
City Shot from the bus
City Shot from the bus
Eataly.
Eataly
Marimekko over Madison Sq as seen from the bus.
Marimekko over Madison Sq as seen from the bus.
city street panorama
We hopped off the bus at Battery Park with the intent of going directly to the Skyscraper Museum. Now, Aram and I are pretty lucky in the stuff we happen upon. And by lucky, perhaps I mean intrigued by a lot of what we find, where maybe other people don’t give a damn. So then we found this: The National Museum of the American Indian, which is an offshoot of the Smithsonian Museum in Washington that we didn’t get to see when we were there last…in we went. So worth it.
Not to mention the building itself, Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, is lovely to visit.
The National Museum of the American Indian
Skyscraper Museum
And inside World Trade Center area … the Freedom Tower is almost complete. The memorial is such a beautiful design
Freedom Tower
Memorial at the World Trade Center NYC
World Trade Center Memorial
beautifully done
World Trade Center Memorial
Woolworth Building Ceiling
Vertical Panorama of the Freedom Tower
After the WSF talk that night we checked out this insideout project in Times Square. Showed up for its last night, right before midnight. Stationed ourselves on the red TKTS stairs and watched the crown for a reaction.
Inside Out Project Times Square
Inside Out Project Times Square
Times Square for the Inside Out Project
People kinda didn’t notice.
Images Changing in Times Square for the Inside Out Project
Inside Out Project Times Square
And so we watched the Statue of Liberty shake down tourists for $5.
Statue of Liberty shaking down tourists for $5
Times Square is perfect for these vertical panoramas.
Times Square
Spiderman telling a Danish woman that he couldn’t really hang upside down from the post.
Batman with Chewy and Ironman
Times Square Vertical Panorama
The Woolworth Building
Ad for the Fung Wah bus (it’s shut down now, no?)
Over the Manhattan Bridge
Manhattan Bridge entrance in black and white
Going to Brooklyn over the Manhattan Bridge on the top level of a double decker bus is no problem. Coming back there’s no apparent railing, cable, fence, gate, protection of any sort that I could tell to keep tourists from plummeting from great heights into the East River. I spent the trip back over the bridge petrified, but trying to recall seeing any news stories about tourists getting dumped into the river… couldn’t think of anything… so I just focused on Manhattan Island and the guy in front of me… who also schooched his way towards the center aisle after he looked over the edge. Glad I got a lot of shots on the way out of Manhattan ‘cuz I didn’t get any on the way back in, even if only for the fear of loosing grip of my smartphone.
Loved this building, btw. Reminds me of e.e. waveforms.
And here’s a few more shots from around NYU and Washington Square while we were coming and going from the WSF events.
Detail on the “bow” of the Flat Iron building.
The last thing we did was see Alan Cumming in MacBeth… he played all the parts in the play by himself, including the three witches, and it is a travesty that he wasn’t even nominated for a Tony. He was crazy awesome (literally).Most of the rest of the time was at the WSF lectures, which will be a separate post.’til the next adventure…
