Hey guys!
Well, that was a somewhat quick three days in London! I was able to knock out two stadium tours, a Watford FC match, and the biggest prize of all, a Chelsea FC match!. I will make sure to post my time at the stadium tours later, but this will be only my experiences within the city from Saturday morning (October 5th) to Tuesday morning (October 8th).
I won't bother anyone with the horrible tale of the overnight in Chicago and how American Airlines kept me from getting in a day late...but I will tell you all that I had a great time, met some cool people (which is a big deal for me), and saw somethings new and old.
The slideshow to the right is of some photos I took from Leicester Square and near Westminster Abbey and the Elizabeth Tower, that houses the famous bell Big Ben. Until my trip in 2022, I, like most of you, thought the entire clock tower was called Big Ben, but that is not the case. The last time I was there near the Abbey and the clock tower, there was construction and maintenance going on about the building, all in preparation for the Queen's 75th anniversary of her reign. This time, I was able to get closer and get some better photos. It was great to be back and be able to soak it all in and just enjoy the atmosphere.
Heck, there were two moments when I was able to sit and just enjoy being in the country and being alone. The first one was at Leicester Square, where I sat and people watched and enjoyed listening to conversations (although there were a few I did not understand) and watching people take their photos and enjoy their time as well. It was a very calming experience for myself. I comment on it more on the second moment here.
Loftus Road
Vicarage Road
Wembley Stadium
I went to four different stadiums during the first jaunt to London, I will touch on the Chelsea experience later...because it was something absolutely amazing!. Of course, I will touch on the tours I took of Loftus Road (top left) and Wembley (top right) in later posts as well.
I did get to go to my first men's English football (soccer) match. Watford FC hosted Middlesbrough FC, in a game from the English League Championship, the second highest tier of football in the country. It did go to a goals first half, but after Middlesbrough scored a very, very soft goal, Watford came back with two late goals to win the match! It was a great experience for my first men's match in England, and to get to see the home side win was even better. And the seat that I had was quite remarkable as well. Midfield, five rows up from the field!
After the match at Vicarage Road, I had dinner with a group of Austrians. I had never met anyone from Austria before, so it was really neat to hear about their culture and what it was like in their country. We ended up going to a Raman place near Leicester Square and while I am not normally a Raman fan, the dish I chose was fantastic and something that was quite enjoyable.
The big occasion of the first part of the trip was my first ever match at Stamford Bridge! Like I said before, I will touch on that full experience in a later post. For now, this is going to be a little smaller of a post, as I am currently working on other posts and videos for everyone to enjoy!
Until next time,
Tc
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