World cup fever hit Paris big time last night. It was France vs. Spain and France won 3-1. As we were sitting at a wonderful, quite authentic bistro Cafe des Musees, the whole city would be silent for moments on end and then suddenly there would be a loud outburst of fans cheering when France won a point. We feasted on the best pommes frites I've tasted since I moved to Paris and other classic French dishes done to perfection such as vichyssoise and chocolate mousse and the crowd in the restaurant didn't seem that affected by the game. This was one of the few neighborhood restaurants that didn't have a TV, so I was surpised how crowded it was. As we walked to the restaurant we passed packed bars and restaurants with TV screens. The restaurant turned out to be an excellent value: We each had an appetizer, main course, dessert, and 2 bottles of an excellent Chinon red wine for 34 Euros($43) each.
When we left the restaurant the streets were crazy people celebrating the soccer win. The cars on the boulevards and rues were honking their horns, people were hugging each other and cheering, young guys drunk in the street pmped up and rejoicing with their buddies. It was quite a night and after we got home the sounds of celebration in the streets lasted till the wee hours of the morning.
