It came down to Spain and Russia

Our plans for the weekend hinged on the Euro semifinal between Spain and Russia. If Spain lost we were gonna go to Strasbourg to check out the wine country and then watch Germany on Sunday. If Spain won we go to Basque country. Spain won, Bierritz it is for the weekend. A lot of people here said Russia was gonna whup em too and then Germany- but i get the feeling the French don't wanna see any of their neighbors win and a team like Russia is neutral to them.
The ultimate sandwich went under some modifications and ended up at the bottom of a very happy belly. After eating Ellwich I i realized that the ham and cheese part(jambon de paris, prosciutto, some purple smoked ham, french emmenthal, french mustard and mayo, toms, capers, onion, and french radishes) was missing something. At first i thought it was cornichon but then on my way to the market i passed by those fist sized figs i've been eating ever since i got here. Duh! Thin slices of fig worked perfectly. Also with ellwich I the 1st part is shredded braised beef cheeks. i thought i put too much onion so i elimated that and extended the mustard from the middle part down to front part with the beef cheeks. the beef cheeks are great but it still needed a little somethin. Raw egg! and since i'm in France i thought the little quail eggs would be perfect. the last part of Ellwich II was perfect from the beginning, thanks mostly to the amazing salamis i picked up at my local horse butcher and at Guilles Verot(which has the best meats and salamis in the world). They were very helpful, much more helpful than the meanies at Maison Pou which is supposed to be sort of famous or something. 3 problems with the Ellwich- one, i can't figure out how it would be split for 2 people. Two, it is impossible to not eat the whole thing, it is so good and the best part is when one part of the sandwich runs into the other- the beef cheeks marrying with the hams, then the saying goodbye to the beef part of the sammy but knowing you have another amazing sandwich after that, and another one after that! it is absolutely impossible to put it down. Three, the ellwich is impossible to reproduce in the states due to the ingredients, and as good as it is i will probably never make another one ever once the ingredients run out. It is just too hard to get all the good stuff. It took all day walking all over paris to 5 shops and 2 markets. I made Ellwich III this morning, which was a mini version, and I have enough to make Ellwich IV for my train trip and then the reign of the king is over.