The Scottish Invasion

Scotland invaded France while we were in Paris. And hey, why not? It's the land of cheese-eating surrender monkeys! No no, it was really for the World Cup Group Match on September 12.

But really, over the time we were there, there was an increasing presence of grown men in tartan kilts and sometimes the whole kit proudly striding around Paris. And then they started singing around Paris. And then they set up a camp near our hotel with a giant banner saying *Tartan Army*. I didn't get a pic of that, but here's a video of some of them at Trocadéro.

They seemed kinda dirty and smelly and singing and drunk, but I got to talking to some on the bus to Beauvais after one of the young Scots girls loaned me her Gameboy to kill the boredom. They were really nice! And funny! And great parents - I think it was really nice of him to take his teenaged daughter all the way from Edinburgh to Paris for a few days.

So while they clogged up the Métro, vomited in the streets, sang through the night, and were a bit of a nuisance, the Scots get the thumbs up from me!