Ace!

Our household has been incredibly lucky this year, securing not only rare-as-hens' teeth Glastonbury tickets but also getting drawn in the Wimbledon ballot! So the first Wednesday of the tournament saw Stu, Anthony, Amanda and ourselves comfortably situated alongside Court 9, waiting for the first match, a Ladies Singles where an Australian was guaranteed to win! Because they were both Aussies!

We were literally courtside - sitting on wooden benches, no more than 2 metres from the side lines of the court - and loving it. The whole tournament is just a huge collection of traditions, and nowhere is this more obvious than the outside courts, where the score is still kept by sliding metal numbers into position! We were enjoying soaking it all in (including some very pleasant sunshine) when who should wander onto the court for a warm-up but World No. 8, tennis-playing cyborg Serena Williams!


She hit up for about an hour while we admired her powerful technique and marvelled at the size of her ... backhand ;-)

Next up were the Aussie girls, Nicole Pratt and Casey Dellacqua, who managed to get a set-and-a-bit completed before we got to experience another three Wimbledon traditions in quick succession: Rain, the swift and orderly application of covers, and the rain delay.


The rain came and went all day, but we got to see about 6 hours of really great tennis, including seeing eventual Men's Singles Champion Roger Federer disposing of Juan Martin Del Potro, and the aforementioned cyborg terminate gutsy Aussie Alicia Molik on Court 1:


And of course we couldn't leave without indulging in that other famous Wimbledon tradition, enjoying some strawberries and cream!

Five go to France: Part 2: Paris

The next day we walked (via a pâtisserie of course) to the ultimate goal of our trip: Roland Garros, home of the French Open!


After an absolute shambles of an entry process we finally made it to Centre Court, where we watched Marat Safin outmuscle Spaniard Fernando Vicente in straight sets, before Day 1 of the French Open ground to a halt - rain. And more rain.

And still more rain.


We wandered around pretty aimlessly, until a well-dressed man collared us, asked "Vous venez d'ou?" ("Where are you from?"). When we answered (semi-truthfully) "Australia" his face lit up - "come wiz me!". We exchanged raised eyebrows, but he seemed nice enough (and well-dressed!) so we tagged along after him (no we're not naïve, really!)

It turned out that Well-Dressed Man was from French national broadcaster France 2 - and he interviewed us, live on national TV! Reproduced below is a transcription of the interview (which we had to rehearse about 10 times):

WDM: "...and where are you from?"
Bec: "We are from Australia"
WDM: (feigning amazement) "Australia! Oh so you are here for the whole tournament?"
Bec: "No, we're only here for one day"
WDM: (flabbergasted - almost speechless) "But it's raining! Have you seen any tennis?"
Bec: "Yes, we saw Marat Safin play. He was very good."
WDM: "... and you will watch more tennis today?"
John: "Yes, we hope to see Arnaud Clement play. On aime les joueurs Francais" (We like the French players)

Wow. Seriously in-depth journalism, huh? Some time later, we threw in the (soaking wet) towel and headed back to our usual haunt, the café next to our hotel, for some comfort food - bread, cheeses and red wine. Later on, the rain abated slightly and Bec, Anth and Amanda optimistically returned to Roland Garros and saw a bit of (eventual overall winner) Justine Henin's win over Elena Vesnina. (Kath and Johnny couldn't be bothered)


Later, after some dinner, Eiffel-aholic Bec persuaded Eiffel-skeptic Kath to come and see the mighty tower - and judging by the fact that Kath took even more pictures than Bec, we have a convert!