Biarritz - What Goes on Tour Goes on ERE (some of it)
They get everywhere!
By Mike Senior
January 25 2011
Mike Senior gives us a flavour of what it is like to be on tour with the Supporters' Club.
So, it’s 02-15 on Friday morning, and my taxi arrives to take me to Pultney Street for a 3 am pick up for the journey to Basque country!
The coach trip to Gatwick saw most of the intrepid Bath supporters snoozing their way on the first leg of the trip
Check in went ok and we find ourselves in the bar having a full English (and for those of us who chose) a nice early morning pint (after all we were on tour) and off we went on 2nd leg of the trip to Toulouse. Arrival in Toulouse on time, then a coach trip down to Biarritz which we were informed would be around 3 ½ hrs. (mind you I don’t think that was taking into account our coach drivers fascination with roundabouts) and around 5hrs later we are checking into the hotel.
It’s time for a quick shower and freshen up before introducing ourselves to the local bars, where we meet up with others who have made the journey in their own methods. Lots of lager and a wonderful meal (and 2 bottles of wine) later and back to hotel ready for match day Saturday.
So here it is then!
Lucky scarf, check! Cap, check! Bath shirt! Check! (Oh and jeans etc.) And we’re off! (To a few bars en route to ground!) We had been supplied with a few BRSC badges and decided to use these as our trail to be able to find our way back from the ground by handing them to local (enthusiastic) bar staff.
The match is covered elsewhere so will not re-visit that!
Post match a wander back into town finds us once again in “Café Rouge” where we find the Bath rugby shirt which was left on a previous journey by a Bath supporter, and a beret and scarf were “acquired” by this correspondent. A “few“consolation beers and a few fitting songs later it’s time to head off for dinner. As usual in France the cuisine was excellent, and we end the evening in above mentioned Café Rouge with old and new Bath rugby supporting friends.
Sunday was very much our own and we (a group of four of us had spent much of the weekend drinking together) had a relaxing time sipping coffee and beer and watching rugby on TV before an early night in preparation for our long (although not as long as way out) journey home.
I hope this give you all a feel of the weekend, Badger, Stir Crazy and others will, I am sure, fill in gaps, I have pics posted onto face book.
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