5-1!

Fantastic night for the Dutch team! Much less can be said for the Spanish
;-)

I made plans earlier in the week with some friends to go to the Dutch pub in Soho to watch the first game for NL. Those who know me know I am sooo not a fan of football, but that said, I do pay attention and enjoy the odd game for things like the World Cup. One of my friends said we should go even though neither of us are football fans, and we thought it would be a great night and atmosphere in any case.

I decided not to tell guy friend I was going in case he put me off. I am such a wuss- I actually did my first solo train trip into London- at the age of 30! Ridiculous! But I am so glad I did. I went straight home after school and got changed. Wasn't sure what to wear as it was such a hot day. I drove to guys place in Woking and was pleased to be able to use my usual space, as it's technically an office car park and it was a work day. I walked through the town centre to get to the station, and managed to catch the fast train to Waterloo- only 20 mins. Once I arrived at Waterloo, on such a bright and warm evening, I managed to find my way to the taxi rank outside. It turned out to be less than £10 to get to Soho, and I was just so chuffed with myself for getting there without assistance!

I arrived at the pub at 6pm- to a sea of Orange! There was a queue going round the block to get in! I should have realised it would be busy...

My friend arrived just after me, and we both looked disbelievingly at the queue. We thought we might be able to go straight in being friends of the DJ, but decided not to ask and dutifully joined the throngs of people in orange shirts in the queue.

We queued for 3 HOURS to get in!!!! We had a great catch up, and spirits were high outside, but everybody was well behaved considering. There were a few people trying to push in, but my friend sent them packing! We missed the start of the game, but joined in cheering when they scored- multiple times! It looked hopeful when lots of people came out at half-time, but they poured right back in afterwards...

Finally at 9:30pm, we were let in! We went straight upstairs, and the heat hit us. It was a sauna in there! There were so many people it was hard to breathe! We made it to the bar, and Holland scored again. Cue everybody cheering and jumping around, showering us with beer....

We decided to go downstairs to try to find our friends and see if it was less crowded. We soon found their table, and he was really surprised that I turned up. Another goal for Holland, and he grabbed me and my friend and started jumping around cheering! The other girls moved so we could sit up high on the back of the seats, and we could actually watch the last part of the game.

It was a fab night. Holland whooped Spain 5-1, and the party continued till the bar kicks out at midnight. We danced and had a great time. So worth going, even the queueing and all that. The floor in there was disgusting, and my new shoes took a bit of a battering. We were dishevelled and soaked in sweat, but it was great!

Once it was over, I waited for my friend to get paid, and then we walked back to Waterloo together. We bumped into two ladies on the bridge trying to take a picture of themselves in front of the London Eye. We got chatting and it turned out one was Spanish, so lots of post-match discussion ensued!

We caught the very last train back. We got caught in the rain at 2am, just before the thunder and lightning. We had to run all the way back to my friends apartment.

I had such a great night, and I'm so proud I managed to get myself there independently. I stayed over. But the next day there's the come-down...