When I made the decision to go to England in 2022, a friend of mine mentioned hostels. Until that time, I had never heard of such a thing and, being the introvert that I am, I was unsure about this concept of staying in a dorm like atmosphere with people I had never met before. However, everyone who worked at the Astor Hyde Park Hostel and those who were staying there, along with the friend who traveled with me, made the experience comfortable and fun and unforgettable for me. In fact, due to my great experience here, hostels will typically be my way of staying whenever I do go on my travels.

Wembley Stadium. To be more exact, the new Wembley Stadium that finally opened in time for the 2007 FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Manchester United. This is, in my humble opinion, the stadium that a soccer player should have a desire to go and play at. The facilities were amazing and it was such a beautiful stadium to go and get to spend some time in. The tube ride from the hostel I stayed in to Wembley was a little under an hour, but once I got there, man it was worth it!

So, I decided that instead of just showing a slideshow of photos from my trip in May of 2022 or just referencing it, it would behoove me to talk about it some. Again, I had not been to the UK in over 15 years, so I wanted to be able to do some things as an adult that I was not able to do as an 18 year old. No, not drink (which I did), but things that were not allowed due to the constraints of the trip I was on. This time, it was all going to be about what I wanted to do, and some of what my best friend Samantha wanted to do, as she was going to meet me on the second day of the trip. I got in on a Thursday, just to have a day to explore, and she got in on Friday morning, but I will go over all of that in later entries.