Trip: England

I arrived on time Friday morning with out a wink of sleep. Compound that with 2 previous nights of lackluster sleep made for a nice bout with exhaustion. Either way, I made it, AND they let me into the country! Found the guy that had my name on a sign and we got into the Audi A8L and made our way from Gatwick Airport to downtown London.

I have had days of driving crazy but this guy took it to another level. I kept my cool because I was buckled in and it wasn’t my car. There were several times I thought we would for sure clip someone or some other car but we made it unscathed to the Brown’s Hotel.

Upon arrival I met up with my dad and we ate breakfast at the hotel. I ate something called a bacon bap. It’s basically a roll with some thick slices of ham. I have since learned that the Britons do not seem to have the same understanding of what bacon is.

I won’t bore you with too many details but a nap ensued. After the nap which left me more tired than I started we got our walk on into the city. Without a plan we wandered aimlessly through the streets of London and eventually made it into St. James’s Park; where like Japan, the cherry trees were in blossom.

Thai for dinner, an ambient and I woke up the next morning. This time we had a plan: The Big Bus Tour. I did this tour last time but it was a lot of fun and this time we stopped by Trafalgar Square at the National Museum where we took in Picasso, Cezzane, and some other guy who was famous, van Gouh…you may have heard of him.

Lunch at a pub to watch the Tottenham vs Man United game and then it was off to the Emirates for Arsenal versus Manchester City. Arriving to find our seats only 6 rows from the field we took it all in. The game, a little dull and ending in a 0-0 draw, was often made brighter by the fans. They chant and cheer and sing in unison. Sometimes they were in the act of praising their players, sometimes deriding the other team. It is truly a site to behold.We came across this little gem outside the Highbury Underground station and I felt it deserved a spot in my blog. Upon arriving back at the hotel we found out that the Man City coach came to our hotel and ate dinner there after the game. We saw his Rolls Royce Phantom. Dinner at an Italian place down the street and I was finished.

Another terrible night’s sleep. Jumped on a train to Birmingham. Got to the hotel, dropped off the bags and a quick ride to Villa Park for our next match. This was a game between 2 local teams, so it was a bit more heated. Our seats weren’t exactly on the field, more like the top corner but even more exciting than yesterday’s game. Much more heated, louder, passionate fans. It came to a climax when Birmingham was called for a penalty and then converted to a goal from the penalty spot. The crowd went INSANE and I loved it.

An added bonus was when a guy 2 seats down got crapped on by a pigeon. I've had that happen and its ALWAYS funny when it doesn't happen to you.

We got rained on as we searched for a cab after the match. We got back to the hotel and got our walk on up the street and ate lunch at an African chicken place called Nondo’s. It happened to be right next to a movie theater and it worked out the How to Train Your Dragon was showing at exactly the right time. We caught that flick and now we are back at the hotel on the 22nd floor. It has been a grand times so far. Tomorrow we are off to Edinburgh and then to St. Andrews on Tuesday. I’ll catch you up after we golf on Wednesday.