Today was another awesome day. We started off the morning with a quick meeting to go over a few things from the games. After our meeting, a group of us walked over to the Chateau de Caen (aka the Caen Castle). The castle was originally built in 1060 by William the Conqueror and expanded throughout the years under different rulers. The castle itself is huge - it is spread out over 12 acres of land in the center of the city. Inside, there are a number of different parts that were all built in different times. For example, there was the original church and meeting area that was built by William the Conqueror, then several hundred years later Henry II and Philip II built additional dungeons and churches inside. During WW2 parts of the castle were destroyed but it is still largely in tact. The thing that I found most amazing was just the shear size of it. To think about how they built this giant castle with these huge walls and a giant moat without modern equipment is crazy.
After walking around the castle (and taking plenty of pictures), we walked across the street to St. Pierre Cathedral. This is one of the oldest churches in Caen, built in the 1300's. The inside was gorgeous, huge vaulted ceilings that all had different paintings and sculptures that were unbelievably detailed. The organ inside the church was one of the biggest I have ever seen. Again, it is amazing to think this was built so long ago and is still in such good condition.
We then headed back to the hotel and had a fantastic lunch out on the patio of the restaurant attached to the hotel. We couldn't have asked for better weather this week, it has been sunny every day and in the 60's or low 70's. Who would have thought I could walk around in jeans and a t-shirt at an ice hockey tournament! After lunch and a quick nap we headed to the rink. The first game was Denmark vs Czech Republic, with Czech Republic winning 7-0. I worked the later game, France vs Great Britain. I was expecting a blow out but the Brits hung on tight and it was 1-1 with 15 minutes left to go in the 3rd. Eventually France broke through and won 4-1 but it was definitely a much better game than I expected. The arena was packed again and the crowd was doing a lot of chants so it made it a lot of fun to work!
Tomorrow is the last day of the tournament. We have a meeting in the morning and if we have time we are going to go to the WW2 museum after. I'm working France vs Czech Republic tomorrow night, which is actually for the championship and the right to move up to Division 1 next year. I'm really excited, it should be a great game! This whole experience has been amazing. I have met so many great people, seen so many amazing things and got the chance to work some decent international hockey! I'm so thankful for the opportunity (and I still can't believe I got paid to do this!).
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