Welcome back, Bonnie. Were't you over there last year too? I guess I'll be going again this year.
...
>We were walking back to our hotel (about a 20 minute walk) after dinner and it was amazing to see all the people crammed into the cafes watching the game, screaming and yelling, etc. Everyone went nuts when France scored their goal ... cheering from every cafe, every streetcorner,

In England, substitute "pub" for "cafe" and you have a very similar scenario. Though not any more of course since we were knocked out.

>...every taxi driving down the street had their horns permanently beeping!! It was a nuthouse!

There's the difference - that sort of thing is just not done hear, don't yer know. (Besides, our police take a very dim view of hanging out of sun-roofs and all that, things that go unnoticed in latin countries :-)

>
>And now I hear that they just beat Portugal! Yay! Go France!

On dit "Allez les bleus!"

Terry