Last year marked our return to the Flip Expo show in Le Tréport, France after a few years away. We had a great time then, so returning this year was, to coin a phrase, a “no-brainer”.
The town of Le Tréport in Normandy
Of course there are several other reasons why we’d want to make a return trip – the relative proximity to the Pinball News office in London, the attractive local scenery, the opportunity to stock up on some French wine and cider, the local cuisine, and the friendly nature of both the show and the inhabitants of Le Tréport who clearly embrace the event and look forward to its return each year, as evinced by the many, many posters we saw around town. Even the local paper got in on the act.
Posters near the dock and the local newspaper’s front page
So we arrived in the town around 3pm on Friday, checked-in to our hotel (where our rudimentary French language skills proved sufficient to get us a nice room) and made the ten-minute walk past the port to Salle Serge Reggiani – the main hall where the bulk of the pinballs were being set up.
The port in Le Tréport with the church of St. Jacques overlooking the harbour
Serge Reggiani is a famed film and stage actor, singer, writer and artist who moved from Italy to the region around Le Tréport at the age of eight before moving to Paris where he went on to become internationally renowned. This hall is named in his honour.
Salle Serge Reggiani (Salle is room or hall in French)
Last year the temperatures were in the mid-20s Celsius (upper 70s in Fahrenheit) which meant there were lots of people lounging around outside, enjoying the warmth and the bright sunshine. There was plenty of sunshine over the weekend this year, but the temperatures were way down into the mid-teens at most which spoiled the fun a little.
So, it was inside the hall was where the fun was happening and when we got there, work was underway to set up the machines and the tournament area.
Setting up in the main
