Victoria B.
Yelp
I think I've been spoiled by the American stadiums, because this place is...um... not up to snuff. They tried, but...
The good: sightlines. No issues seeing the play.
I was using a cane due to knee problems and wow, they hustled us straight through the disabled line, no wait for me there. After that, the disabled treatment stopped, however. Get to the bad and the ugly next.
The bad: As someone else mentioned, eat first. We made a mistake with that one. Pre-cooked, pre-assembled hamburgers & hotdogs in a display case (all the better to cool off), premade sandwiches (complete with wilted spring mix lettuce) - chicken (actually chicken SALAD, they didn't mention that bit, it got lost in translation), ham and cheese or "vegetarian"(??)
For nine euros, they throw in a bottle of drink with a souvenir cup. Well, who needs to pack that piece of useless plastic home, no thanks, but I would like the cap to my bottle of water please.
I'm using a cane and to scale the stairs I need both that and the rail, so l'eau needs to go in my backpack, sil vous plait.
NON.
'Scuse me?
"Whee do noht geehv ouht caps, mahdame. Peepul haff yewsed zem ass measles."
Wot?
As I got more impatient and British, she got more French. "Measles! Measles!"
Are you ill?
"Mon dieu!" She mimed flinging a bottle over her head.
OOOOOOOhhhhhh! Missile! I took a deep breath.
Madame, I promise I shall not fling that bottle at anyone, but it is damn near impossible for me to juggle that bottle and scale those remarkably uneven, steep slabs masquerading as stairs. Sheri was already juggling her Coke Zero and our sandwiches.
NON.
Oh, bugger me. Climbed the stairs (actually not that bad) and made it to our seats -- surrounded by Japanese supporters. Since we had no dog in the Japan/Argentina fight, whoo, hoo, let"s hear it for the Land of the Rising Sun!
Especially since the gentleman next to me, a typically small Japanese man, was so generous with out seating. By gum, those seats are not built for the average American bottom. I tried not to encroach on his space, but that wasn't easy.
The Ugly: Other than the seat sizes? The ladies' loo. Okay, I admit, football games are generally not widely attended by hordes of women the way they are at the Women's World Cup, but the line was a total joke.
The stalls ran out of loo paper, the towel machines jammed, water all over the floor, it was BAD.
But despite the facility, I would absolutely go again. That was a ton of fun. In fact, we have tickets for tonight, in another city.
And I am sneaking in a cap for my drink.