This would be my first solo backpacking adventure and I figured what better place to do it than the UK!?
I started out with the usual research before the trip and watched a bunch of Rick Steves' videos. With a general outline I plotted the course.
Fly into London the head out to see aunt, uncle and cousins who live outside of London in Bobbingworth. Then head into London to see Kat who moved over to London from Hamburg, Germany.
Before I came over I purchased some football tickets to see my favorite club West Ham United. One of my football buddies from SLC who also is a West Ham supporter will be in the area so him and I are going to cheer on the Irons.
After London I would work my way up to York and then into Scotland all via British Rail. I had aspirations of getting out on to Loch Ness in Scotland and making it over to Belfast Northern Ireland, but logistically was not sure how things would play out until I got over there. Once back into England I was either going to hit Liverpool or Manchester, then head over to Conwy Wales.
The following are my journal entries from Euro Trip '07
10/17-18/07
Salt Lake City to London via Atlanta:
Hello from jolly old England. I arrived yesterday tired and weary from the long day of flying. The weather in Salt Lake was rainy with a very nice electric storm rolling through the valley; was a little scared that my flight could have been delayed due to the storm. I arrived in Atlanta with over three hours to kill before my flight to London.
The flight from Atlanta to London was the best international flight to date that I have been on. I basically had the entire back of the plane all to myself. I took up three seats in the center and made a nice little bed to sleep on. I was able to get a few hours of sleep, but I am never able to get really deep restful sleep during flights. Watched a few movies and TV shows on the flight, always helps pass the time!
Arriving in London my uncle James was there to pick me up. We did some running around the Greater London area before heading back to the house. It was very nice to see my Aunt & Uncle along with my cousins. By this time I was now feeling very tired and ready to find the nearest bed or couch. With a few hours of good sleep I was ready to take on England. James and I went for a nice walk around the countryside. My family over here lives in this very nice area called Bobbingworth, They only have a few neighbors, and the rest of the area is farming land. By about 21:00 I was ready to crawl back into bed and sleep. I have found I adapt easier to the time change coming over here than when going back to Salt Lake. I think it is due to the excitement of coming over. After the first day of grogginess and naps I am up to speed by the following day, while back home it takes several days to get back up to speed.
10/19/07
Good morning. I feel so much better today!
James and I are heading out to do some running around and then go see some sights. After that I think we are going over to my cousin’s place to see where he lives. My cousins; Brian & Bethany look great! It is amazing how fast they have grown up. Brian is studying Japanese and is planning to head over to Japan sometime in the next few years. Bethany is in college and is looking into Universities; she would like to go to school somewhere in Scotland.
James and I ended up heading out to see the villages of Saffron Walden and Thaxted, very nice quaint English countryside villages. I am amazed how small the roads are out in the countryside and how few there are. I know see why the British have always been such good rally car racers; the roads are so tight and twisty. Plus everyone drives down them doing 50-60mph, where back in the states if you were on that small of a road people would be doing 30-35!
After a nice little nap James and I watched a few episodes of 24. I have never been into that show, but after a few episodes I will have to go back and give this show a go. The family went over to my Cousin Brian’s place for dinner with his roommate. Brian has a nice little place.
Tomorrow James and I are heading out for a road ride with one of his friends. I am not sure how well this is going to turn out since I have no riding gear over here and it is quite cold here in the mornings.I am calling it a night; tomorrow afternoon I head into London to see my friend Kat.
Goodnight.
10/20/07
London Calling:
Good morning, I just got back from a cold but very fun ride out in the English Countryside. It was quite strange riding on the left side of the road! James’ friend Richard showed up with some extra riding gear for me so I was able to ride in style and comfort. My bike for the ride was a Trek 2300, exact same one I was riding a few summers back. We headed out around 08:15 , it was quite brisk out! I felt like I could sprint forever at this elevation. If I lived out here I would have to buy myself a road bike, the riding is excellent here!
I left for London late in the afternoon, meet up with Kat at the West Ham Tube Station. She lives just down the street from the station. After dropping my gear off at her flat we went into London . The tube was absolutely crazy I have never been on the tube when it’s been so jammed packed with people! We walked around Oxford Street doing a little window shopping. After killing a few hours walking around talking we decided to head back to her place. Back into the abyss known as The Tube we went. After watching two women resort to slapping and dowsing one another with soft drinks I must say it is complete madness. We had to wait for the 2nd train before we could get enough room to wedge ourselves onto the train. I could not imagine dealing with this DAILY!
We decided to pick up some pizzas and kick back and watch a few movies. Kat showed me a great show online about the”Haunted Tube” it was quite entertaining. After watching it I was ready to head back to The Tube, but this time late at night when no living soul would be around. She then had to show me a program about some poltergeist case that happened not far from here in the late 70’s up on Green Street . We then finished the night of movies with Sico; in German. Even with my limited German Vocab, I can tell you this was a good doc. Kat is scared to even come over to visit me in the US after watching this movie. Tomorrow I am off to see West Ham United take on Sunderland in my first ever English Football Match. I’m very excited!!!
Good night from London
10/21/07
Come on you Irons!!
After a nice sleep in I am off to Boleyn Ground to see The Hammers play. West Ham United is my favorite football club over here in England and the chance to see them live is a dream come true. One of my mates from The RCB (my football ‘soccer’ support group for Real Salt Lake ) is over here in England for school, so I meet up with him since he too is a big Hammers supporter. It was pretty cool to be so far away from Salt Lake City and stand in the hallowed grounds of Boleyn Ground with another RCB member. The match itself was amazing!! The level of play is so fast compared to the MLS in the US . The Hammers struck first, Sunderland came back and tied it 1- 1 in the 2nd half. West Ham was looking a little flat but after a few good subs they went up 3-1. The place went crazy:
“I'm forever blowing bubbles,
Pretty bubbles in the air,
They fly so high, nearly reach the sky,
Then like my dreams they fade and die.
Fortune's always hiding,
I've looked everywhere,
I'm forever blowing bubbles,
Pretty bubbles in the air.”
Followed by everyone yelling out
“UNTITED!” along with three fast claps; this is repeated three times.
After the match the queue for the tube was absolutely insane! So my mate Lurpy and I decided to walk to the West Ham Station. Along the way we were too busy chatting about the match we ended up getting lost. We did finally find a Tube Station, but since it was close to the West Ham Station I just decided to hoof it there. Silly me!! I did not take into account that tube maps are not anything like scaled street maps. Long story short; I got lost. With no big buildings to draw any reference too and never being down this area I had to use all my senses for direction. I finally discovered my way back to Kat’s place. Boy was I happy to see her!! We stayed up late watching more haunted ghost stories.
I am off to York tomorrow, going to stay two nights there.So far I have not felt like I have been on a big holiday. It has been nice staying with my family and very nice staying with Kat!
Until next time, this is Judge signing off.
10/22-23/07
The Sacking of York:
Just as William Wallace once knocked the gates of York down and sacked the city I too now enter this fine city, all be it with much less fan fair.
The train ride up from London went relatively smooth. This is the first time I am riding in 2nd class or as the British call it; Standard Class. I would have gone 1st class this trip but many of the more northern routes only have standard class so I did not want to waste the money. I jumped on the train at London’s King Cross station only to see all these little papers above the seats; “BUGGER!!” I guess the British really like to reserve their seats; oh and the BEST part is they also don’t like to show up and use them. After chatting up a few people I learned this and just took a seat. The overhead racks for luggage are much smaller than the ones I have encountered in mainland Europe. Fortunately my bag is not so full this year. I heaved my pack up on to the overhead rack. I heard one younger kid sitting across from me say, “My goodness that pack would surely break a neck if it fell on someone.” Without missing a beat I pivoted 180 and placed the pack right above him and gave him a wink of the eye. The rest of the ride I was just waiting for someone to board the train and demand their seat from me. I did end up talking to a nice business man who ended up pirating the seat next to me. He explained the whole thing about how people reserve seats but sometimes never show for them. Well for future travels over here I will be reserving my seat.
The hostel I am staying at is a very short walk from the train station and the center city. It is called the York Backpackers on hostels.com they said it is a nice place but has very squeaky beds. I threw caution to the wind and thought to myself, “If I can stay in a hostel in Sarajevo that has a lot of ‘character’ I can handle a little squeaky bed!”
WOW, they were not a kidding about squeaky beds. I have never heard such noise from a bed before in all my life! I can only imagine that the beds in a Tijuana house of ill repute can only be slightly worse. I would just think about moving and the bed would squeal. If you ever wanted to see how it feels to sleep on a squeaky chain link fence stay here. Nice part about traveling and sightseeing the way I do is by the time you go to sleep it is lights out.
I set out to explore the city and find the closest grocery store. After getting some food in me it was time to see some sights. York’s dominant feature is The Minster. It is the largest gothic cathedral north of the Alps. It costs money to tour it, so being the wise tourist I am, I waited until their Evensong Service to see the entire Minster. In the meantime I headed out to walk some of the city walls. After a bunch of walking around it was time to settle in to hear some choir singing and then tour the Minster for FREE. Well I guess it is not entirely free, one must endure some church service mixed in with some beautiful choir singing. My mom would be proud of me sitting through such a thing.
The choir and organ sounded amazing inside The Minster. After the service I had free reign of The Minster. I took in all its grandness relishing in the fact I saved myself almost 6 pounds, for us Yanks that is about $12! The only thing I missed out on is going up the tower, but the tower is under construction so there is scaffolding all over it. I got out of The Minster with enough time to go grab a quick bite to eat then go on a Ghost Hunting tour.
The tour was run by a very entertaining guide that was dressed much like Jack the Ripper must have been dressed. I could not believe how much this guy must make a night. He makes about 5 pounds a head, and there must have been close to 200 people on this tour, if not more. Imagine making this 7 nights a week for about three hours of work! After walking around the cold and dark streets of York it was time to head back to my squeaky bed.
I woke up to a room that was hovering around 50 degrees!!!! Brrrrrrr!! “Bloody Hell!” was the first words out of my mouth Tuesday morning. I quickly grabbed my gear and went down for the continental breakfast. It was the usual cold cereal, toast and yogurt; just enough to get me to lunch. I convinced the guy at the front desk that we needed a heater that worked in our room, the ones in there felt like they have not been fired up since BraveHeart himself walked these very streets.
My mission for the day was to find some wifi to send of some e-mails and to see the rest of York. I took a free walking tour of York and got to learn a bit more about the walls and York. It was well worth the two hour investment. The guide was very friendly and she tells everyone up front she can not take any gratuities. After the tour, armed with my handy wifi finder I was able to track down a place that had wifi and was charged only a pound for unlimited use. Cities need more places like this! I then took in some sights and walked more of the city wall. By this time the sun was just starting to set. It is very beautiful to stand on the west facing walls and watch the sun set in the distance. That night I went out for some nights shots of the Minster. I jumped in on another ghost tour for a bit but got cold and just wanted to go back to the room and watch a movie on my laptop. I was quite pleased to have discovered a space heater in the room that afternoon and since then have had it cranking away. Walking into a room that was around 70 was quite enjoyable. I started watching the Showtime series Dexter; quite entertaining! If you have not watched it, give it a go. Tomorrow I am off to Edinburgh; I will be there for three nights.
Goodnight From York.
10/24/07
I set off for Edinburgh Wed morning from York . With my reserved seat ticket in hand I entered the train with full confidence that there would be no way I would be standing for the two and a half hour train ride. Funny part there was a ton of open seats; oh well!
The train ride up from York went through some very pretty countryside. I can’t get over how green everything is over here.
It is always fun walking down busy streets with a bag on you back that effectively doubles the size of oneself. Little old ladies who usually stand firm in their place when I am walking down the street without my pack now go diving for cover in the nearest doorway. I have already had a few people not paying attention to what they were doing go bouncing off my pack. I must admit this year my pack is so much more maneuverable, being able to put my daypack inside my big pack makes a world of difference. If any of you ever head off on a backpacking adventure let me know and I can tell you what you will and will not need to take.
The hostel I am staying at in Edinburgh is very nice and modern. It has free wifi in the lobby and has a really cool tower in the lobby where anyone can put their cell phones, mp3 players and other mobile devices in to have them quickly charged. Two of my room mates are working here in Edinburgh . One is a Scot and the other is Greek. Oh, and get this. The Greeks name is Yanni!! I kid you not!! I almost laughed out loud when he told me his name; I thought he was pulling my leg. I forgot the Scots name, out of the two he likes to talk the most. We talked about everything from how the Scots would like Scotland back as their own country, to even US politics. I was amazed how well he knew US political processes; but he did not know where Utah was! LOL…Again I forgot to travel with a small US map so I can show people where I am from. My Scottish friend is an odd guy. He likes to pace back and forth in the room, I watched him do this for a good 15 minutes one of the days.
The first night in Edinburgh I spent getting some laundry done; one of the highlights of any trip..NOT!!! After messing about with the machines I finally was able to get out and see the city at night. I am a firm believer that most cities look their best at night. I worked my way up the Royal Mile towards Edinburgh Castle . I was only able to get so close to it, but did get a few good shots of it. I worked my way back down the Mile ducking back into a few of the darker Closes (think alleyways). There is a lot of history in this old town, and most of it is not very pretty; which I would soon find out the next night on a Ghost Tour.
My second day in Edinburgh was spent mostly up at the Edinburgh Castle . For 11 pounds I was going to see it all! There is a lot of very interesting exhibits to see on the grounds of Scotland , including the Crown & jewels, along with the Stone of Scone. At 13:00 hours they fire a single shot off from a canon. I could go on and on about all the sights at this place; after all I did end up spending three hours at the place.
Feeling toured out and tired of walking around in queues I began my walk down the Royal Mile. At the end of the mile is Palace of Hollyroodhouse . This is the residence of the Royal Family when they are in town. By this time I was ready for a little sit down back at the hostel.
That night I headed out for the City of the Dead tour. This tour visits a graveyard that has one of the best well documented poltergeist in the world. Over the last 9 years that the tour has been in operation 180 people have been knocked clean out by the poltergeist, many have been scratched and hit as well. They have a big warning before the tour about all this and will not take young children along. At this point many on the group are now looking around seeing if anyone is going to walk away. No one wants to be the first person to leave the tour, especially when everyone can see that you are leaving.
The tour guide then began to tell the wonderful sunny stories of how nice it would have been to live in Edinburgh 400yrs ago. I will leave out the gruesome details, but needless to say this city was literally ankle deep in itself. He told us the fashion of high heeled shoes comes from Edinburgh because of the deplorable conditions; one would want as much distance from themselves and the muck they had to walk through. He then went straight into describing how they would have fun in Edinburgh ; accusing people of witchcraft was the best entertainment around. One most impressive torture methods involved a rat, a cage that had one opening which was placed against your chest and hot coals that were placed into the cage along with the rat. Use your imagination what happens next. This went on until they figured out rats had many bad diseases on them so they then started to use cats. At about this time one of the young guys from the group made a quick exit leaving his friends behind to wonder what was going on. All this excitement and the tour really had yet to begin.
We then departed off for the cemetery. Along the way we passed the café where Harry Potter was thought up. Arriving at the cemetery our guide gave us a bit more history about the cemetery. Nearly 500,000 people are buried in this very small cemetery. After tramping along through the dark cemetery dodging headstones left and right we made our destination. Before the guide would unlock the gate to let us back to the crypts he once again gave everyone a warning about proceeding further. A few people stayed behind, I was quite shocked to see some of the people who were staying back.
We walked back to the crypt that is the epicenter of this most thoroughly documented poltergeist. Inside it was not bigger than 12x12 with about a 9ft ceiling. The guide asked for the tall people to enter first. Everyone stood there just looking into the pitch black crypt. I finally said, “Lets rock!” and made my way through the crowd and was the first into the pitch black. I settled in at that back and watched the crypt fill in with bodies. The tour guide then stood in the doorway and began to tell us about the poltergeist and what we may experience. I knew he was using the power of suggestion to make people feel even more uncomfortable and be open to persuasion. After a bit one person went running out and tossed up whatever they had for dinner outside of the crypt. I was now starting to see movement amongst all the small people in front of me. This was just below my sight line and the movement was moving about the people. Right about this time there was a muffled mooing sound coming from my left. It was the gentlemen standing next to me; his cell phone was mooing. Few of us got a good laugh over that one. The guide went on to tell us the different levels of poltergeist activity. Then a person came running in going..Ahhhhhhhhh!!! Just about everyone screamed and jumped. I heard the rapid foot steps on the gravel outside before he hit the doorway, and expecting something like this I was not startled one bit. After that everyone got a good laugh over how everyone jumped and screamed. The guide said that they do this so everyone has a laugh, because poltergeist feed off fear so they were helping lighten the mood.
This was the end of the tour; a few of us decided to stay behind in the graveyard and look for the grave of Thomas Riddell. I was not quite sure who this was but I just used the excuse to walk around in this cool graveyard. I later found out it is the name of one of the Harry Potter characters. Behind the graveyard is the building that inspired Hogwarts School .
Well that was plenty of action for one night; tomorrow I am off for a good hike.10/26/07
My last day in Edinburgh was quite the busy day. I decided to wake up early and head up to Arthur’s Seat. It is high above Edinburgh atop a mountain; well not high compared to the mountains I live by but high enough to get a great view of the city and surrounding area.
After hitting my snooze button a few times I finally dragged myself out of bed and emerged into a grey cloudy day. Perfect weather for hiking in!
The hike was a nice one; I was flying up the trail not feeling any effects whatsoever. It’s nice coming from the high elevation in Salt Lake City to such low elevation over here! The view for the top was amazing. I had a complete unobstructed three hundred and sixty degree view. Did not spend too much time on the peak due to the fact that a storm was blowing in and the temperature was quickly dropping.
After a quick stop at a nice café for some warm soup I headed off for the next best view of the city. Climbing a few hundred stairs up a winding narrow staircase I reached the observation deck and gale force winds. The view was well worth the walk up the winding staircase. I only stayed up there for a few minutes; at any moment I was either expecting to be blown off the deck or the tower to be blown right over. I then set off to see part of the newer section of Edinburgh and walk around the Royal Mile one last time. By the time I got back to the hostel I was well spent and ready for a little rest and relaxation.
The next day I head off to Inverness ; this is the furthest North I am going on my adventure.
Next stop Inverness and my search for Nessie.
10/27-28/07
The Search for Nessie:
The train ride up from Edinburgh was amazing! With every passing mile the forests became thicker and greener. The dark clouds looming over the tracks ahead did not look good. The train pulled into Inverness and I stepped out into a nice rain storm. I got to the hostel right before it really started to come down.
I am staying in a nice hostel with a lot of “character.” I settled in and broke out my rain gear to get ready to head down to the local Tesco for some food. The rain stopped as soon as I headed out the door! The Inverness castle is right by the hostel; it is not much of a sight to see. The true attraction of this city is the River Ness and the great footbridges and walk ways that run along the river. I would explore all these the next day.
There is something about traveling a good portion of the day that just flat out tuckers me out. Put me in a train for a few hours or on a tour bus and WHAM, I am ready for a nap! After having some dinner I sat in the common room for a bit reading before retiring to my room to watch an episode of Dexter on my laptop. This is the first time on a trip I have had movies and such loaded on my laptop. It is strange after watching a movie I get done and it’s like; “Oh I’m in SCOTLAND !” The first night in Inverness I shared the room with a couple of Germans.
Sunday morning I woke up to a beautifully sunny day; perfect weather for a cruise on Loch Ness and looking for Nessie. I joined a tour that took us out for a cruise on Loch Ness down to Urquhart Castle . Being a native of Salt Lake City it was quite amazing to sit back and take it in that I was actually out on Loch Ness. Growing up I remember hearing and reading all about the Loch Ness Monster(Nessie). I would have never thought that some day I would be in Scotland cruising down Loch Ness! The water is very dark and almost green from all the vegetation. If there is something in the waters these would be the waters to hide in.
Urquhart Castle is the one you see in the famous Nessie picture with the castle in the background. The castle has a very long history and was one of the most important castles in Scotland right behind the likes of the Edinburgh Castle . Today it is nothing but preserved ruins with one good tower left that you can climb up to a breathtaking view of the Loch . The tour then proceeded to a very fascinating exhibit on the Loch Ness Monster. It was created by one of the lead researches on the Loch . This exhibit takes a very scientific approach in telling about the history of the Loch and talking about Nessie and the many sightings. Our tour guide has lived in the area all his life(60+years) and on a few occasions seen things in the Loch that he to this day can not explain. If you ever find yourself in Scotland and up by Loch Ness this tour is well worth a half a day of your time. The boat ride on Loch Ness alone was worth the price!
Arriving back in Inverness I set out for a nice long walk along the River Ness. I crossed the many footbridges and headed out on some of the small islands that have footpaths along them. This must be the place to go for ones evening constitutional. Everyone and their dogs were out having a stroll along the river.
Just as I was heading back to my hostel the rain began to come down; again I was lucky enough to get back before the worse of it hit.
I discovered that I had two new roommates; more Germans to replace the ones that had left that day. This would end up being quite the night, one that about ended up with a few Germans joining Nessie down in the River Ness.
For those of you who have never had the pleasure of staying in a hostel it’s quite difficult to grasp exactly what it’s like trying to sleep in one. The typical nights stay in a hostel goes a little something like this. Fall into bed, wake up to people coming in around 1:00 in the morning, try to fall back asleep, listen to a lovely two hour nasal symphony, find earplugs and put them in and finally fall back asleep, only to be woken by yet another person fumbling around in the dark. Not all nights are like this but the ones that stay in your memory are. Now saying all this, the night I was about to experience in Inverness will stay with and make me laugh for the rest of my days.
It started out as the typical night in a hostel. Drunken roommate number one coming in and fumbling around in the dark until he finally fell into his bed. Soon drunken roommate number two would come in, but this time there was a pair of shoes in the middle of the floor. Down goes roommate two. About this time I decide the earplugs were going in. Right when I was beginning to fall asleep one of them gets up to try to go out the room to use the bathroom. He fumbles with the door for a good 2-3 minutes before I have to turn my flashlight on and show him that he has to unlock the door around eyelevel. Just as I was lying back down there came a rap rap raping at the door. He forgot his key! I got up and let the poor bastard back in. Wouldn’t you know it, half an hour later roommate two is fumbling around with the door. I break out the flashlight yet again and show him how to unlock the door. About twenty minutes later there came another rap rap raping at the door. This time I just rolled over, since I had my earplugs in I could barley hear his pleas to his friend to come open the door. He must have been out of the room for a good hour before he finally figured out to go wake the night receptionist. No sooner did he get back in the room and fall asleep, roommate number one got up. This is the one I first showed how to use the door, again he fumbled around with the door. I just watched this all unfold laughing to myself. He then walked over to the window and fumbled around with that; I thought this could be interesting to see him take a head dive out the second story window. He ran back to the door and messed with it some more, before walking to the garbage can in the corner. I knew what was coming next so I jumped up flung the door open and yelled at him to get the hell out of the room. When I heard the merciful rap rap rapping at the door I just laughed out loud and rolled over. I knew that I would be waking early to catch a train and I was going to make sure these roommates heard me getting ready in the morning. That is the one sweet revenge I savor; waking early and letting those who came in late and made such a ruckus hear you waking up and getting ready.
My revenge would be short lived, they woke shortly after I did and began talking to one another…CURSES!!! As I said, that night would go down as one of the more memorable hostel nights.
On to Stirling I go; I will be staying there for one night before I head to Glasgow then off to Belfast .
10/29/07
Stirling & William Wallace
Stirling was originally going to be a day trip for me from Glasgow . I was going to stay in Glasgow for two nights and come up to Stirling for a day to check it out. After talking with a few people I decided to keep Glasgow to one night and stop in Stirling along the way.
Stirling is a small town and very quiet one this time of year.
I headed to the hostel to get checked in; I’m staying at the Willy Wallace Hostel; if you can’t tell already, Stirling is a big William Wallace(Braveheart) city. The receptionist looked like a reject from the band Type O Negative. If you are not familiar with this band Google image search them just so you have an idea what this guy looked like. He had the attitude to go along with someone that was just rejected from a rock band too. After getting settled in I dropped of my gear and headed out to find the TI(Tourist Information) and pick up some info. Along the way I found the public library that has free WIFI. I stopped in there and got signed up so I could get online and look up some train times. I know have a library card from Stirling Scotland ! I was already thinking about maybe skipping Belfast because of how difficult it was going to be getting over there and back. I needed to be in Liverpool by Saturday afternoon for a football match and did not want to miss that since I already purchased a ticket for it. After spending a few hours looking over things and seeing that the sun had finally come out I was ready to head outside and see the rest of this city. I hiked up to the castle and the views from up there were amazing! Words don’t really begin to describe how beautiful the country can be over here. It’s the combination of green hillsides, grey clouds, and if the sun peaks out from behind the clouds…WOW!!! I hope the pictures I took do some justice to what I saw looking out over the valley floor bellow me. I did not have the time to get out to the William Wallace monument and have the time to see it thoroughly.
The rest of the afternoon was spent walking through the small city of Stirling and finding some lunch. Hanging out in the common room at hostel I started talking to a few other fellow travelers. One of them had just come over from Belfast via Glasgow . He told me to skip Glasgow and get over to Belfast . After hearing him talk about Belfast I decided it would be worth waking up to catch the 05:51 train from Stirling to Stranraer to catch a ferry over to Belfast . Now it was off to a local pub to use their free wifi and change my accommodations for the next few nights. This pub was way cool, has free wifi and a very cool atmosphere. If you are in any of the cities listed on the link check The Varsity out.
My place in Glasgow would not let me cancel my reservation for the next night according to the webpage, and this is even after I had purchased cancellation insurance for such a thing. So I called the place and they told me they required 24hrs notice or else they would charge me half the nights stay. So I came up with a great story on the spot about how my buddy was in the hospital from an accident over here and I had to get to him and that my trip was pretty much over and ruined. I was able to talk my way out of getting charged for the room. I didn’t feel too bad since they would have no problems booking the room and that I had purchased cancellation insurance that ended up being a waste of $1. WOW..what a load off my shoulders and mind! This is where it is very nice to have another person along on a trip to help out on figuring things like this out. It took me most of the day and evening to arrange all my train and ferry times to get to Belfast and back, along with my room over there; throw in the research I have done on what to do and see over there and man…I need a vacation!! LOL
Since I was going to be waking up at 05:15 the next morning and traveling for about 12 hours to get to Belfast I went back to the hostel to get some shut eye. I would like to some day return to Stirling and spend a little more time seeing some of the sights that I did not have the time to see today.
Goodnight from Stirling
10/30-11/1/07
Belfast, Northern Ireland:
05:15 came way too early this morning! Not only was it super early in the morning but the room I was staying in was SUPER cold and I did not want to crawl out of bed into the cold. I could see outside that it was dark and colder than inside the room, luckily the train station was a very short walk away from the hostel.
Standing on a cold dark deserted train platform in Striling Scotland at 05:30 is not one of those planned things to do in life, but there I stood watching my breath mist in front of my face and the clock slowly tick away until when the train would arrive.
Finally I was on the train and off to Glasgow where I would walk a short distance to another train station to jump on a train that would take me out to Stranraer to catch a ferry over to Belfast .
After making the short walk over to the Glasgow main station I again found myself standing around waiting for a train, but this time I was waiting to find out which track it would be departing from. I started talking to another fellow backpacker that was heading over to Belfast . He is over here on holiday from Bogotá, Columbia . We ended up sticking together chatting on the train and getting to where we had to catch the ferry across.
The boat we got is the fastest largest ferry in operation. It makes the crossing in about an hour and a half where the standard slow ferry takes up to four hours. Cruising along at 40 knots in such a large boat was quite amazing!!
My new friend from Columbia was headed to the same hostel I was staying at so we decided to split a cab together since the hostel was a very long walk from the harbor. Our cabby was quite the unfriendly geezer. He told us to put our packs in the boot even though his cab was large enough that it was equipped for the handicap. In other words a person in a wheelchair could be placed into this cab while in their chair.
I had to explain to my Colombian friend what the cabbie meant by in the boot; the trunk.
The hostel I am staying at is a typical large youth hostel; nothing to special about it. I will be staying here in Belfast for the next three nights. With the amount of time and work it took to get here I am glad to spend three nights instead of the two I was looking at doing.
After dropping off my bag I was off to explore the city center. Belfast has a very long history of sectarian violence, and one which they are just getting over and coming to terms with. I knew some day that I would be in the Republic of Ireland but never really thought I would see Northern Ireland so this part of my trip was quite a treat.
The city center was alive and bustling with shoppers and workers getting ready to head home. Since the time change it is getting dark over here SO early! Come 17:00 it feels like it should be time to get ready for bed. I walked around the city center for quite sometime and was going to head over to Falls Rd. and Shankill Rd. which are a stones throw away from one another; but I decided to save those for another day. The next day I am going to go on a day tour out to see the Giant Causeway along with some small villages along the Northern Coast of Northern Ireland.
I have seen pictures of the Giant Causeway but none do any sort of justice to what it is like to be there with the setting sun and walk on this amazing geological formation. The tour guide was a very cool guy. I talked to him about his days when he was in the armed response unit of the police in Belfast . He told me he had to move twice because he found car bombs on his car, and has had a few guns held to his head in his days. Times were pretty ruff in Belfast not so long ago.
This was a really long day, started at 09:30 and by the time we got back to the hostel it was 16:30. Tonight is Halloween and there is a lot of festivities planned. A large fireworks display is going to happen down at the harbor. Last year on this day I was in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Today I'm in Belfast, Northern Ireland. My life is good!
The Irish love their fireworks!! It has been a nonstop fireworks show outside for the past several hours. I am too knackered from the long day to really care to go partake in any of the festivities.
I spent my last day in Belfast on a city bus tour and walking the rest of Belfast . It was quite surreal walking down the streets where there are still to this day walls that keep the Catholics safe from the Protestants. Some of these walls are as high as 60 feet . The murals on the walls were very fascinating to see. I took some pictures of them and will post them as soon as I get the chance. One of my new roommates is from the states so we headed out and I showed him around the city. We walked over to the harbor where the Titanic was built. Over there is also the HUGE cranes Samson and Goliath these cranes are humongous!!
Had dinner at an American Dinner; I know its cliché being over in Ireland and eating at such an establishment, but a big burger sounded so good. While walking around down at the harbor I saw a poster of a hockey player that I remember seeing play for the Salt Lake Golden Eagles back in the mid to late 80's. I had no idea Theoren Fleury came over to play ice hockey for the Belfast Giants. Was cool to see that poster!
Tomorrow is going to be another long day off traveling. Heading back over to Stranraer, Scotland then hop a train to Liverpool , England.
11/2-3/07
I woke up early Friday morning in Belfast and caught a cab out to the harbor to catch the ferry back over to Stranraer , Scotland where I would jump on a train for Liverpool . It was going to be a full day of traveling with a few changes of trains along the way.
Once in Stranraer I got on a train full of Irishmen who must have been heading over for some kind of sporting event. Most of them were getting pissed(drunk) on the train; it was quite funny to listen to them talk. After they all got off the train it looked as if there was a tailgate party in the train car. Beer cans were all over the place.
Arriving in Liverpool I knew I had a bit of a hike in front of me to get to my hostel. It’s always a bit of an adventure the first time in a city looking for your hostel. The maps in the guide books work but they don’t quite work as well as a detailed city map. After a good thirty five minute hike with all my gear on my back I finally found the hostel. I am staying at the Embassie Hostel. Up until 1986 it was the home of the consulate of Venezuela . This place has a ton of character! The owner and his father run it and they are great guys! The father is such a cool guy. When you check in he tells you a bit about the history of Liverpool and some of the places to see and restaurants to eat at. The whole check in process took forty five minutes. He would be about five minutes into his talk and the doorbell would ring and off he went to open the door. The place is staffed 24hrs a day so to gain entry into the building one must ring the doorbell. I was so dead tired at this point since I had been traveling all day. I just wanted to drop my bag off get some food in me and crash. I finally got all checked in and shown around the hostel. I am staying in a large two room dorm with eighteen beds. This is the largest dorm room I have stayed in on all my travels. I was a bit disappointed when I saw this room especially after paying 35quid for two nights. The place jacks their rates up on the weekend; I think it’s because of the football matches.
I headed back into the city center to hit the local Tesco for some food; since I had not eaten much that day I bought a meal fit for a king. Once I could not take another bite to eat it was time to hit the sack. The next day I will hit the city for a bit then head to my football match. Going to see Everton play; I got to see them play in July this year when they traveled over to Salt Lake City to play Real Salt Lake . We beat them and pretty much made them look bad. I was half tempted to bring my Real Salt Lake shirt along with me for this match but I wanted to leave the stadium under my own power. Did not want to be taken out on a stretcher..LOL
I spent Saturday morning walking around the city for a bit. Went into the Liverpool Cathedral; it is MASSIVE!! I was so blown away by this cathedral, it is truly amazing. Inside they were setting up for a concert that night. I checked into see who was playing. Hoping it would be a classical concert or something like that; NOPE. It was some Christian rock band. What a shame! Would have been such a great venue to have seen a real concert in.
I headed out to Goodison Park with the hostel owner and his father. He was taking his grandson to the match and they offered to give me a ride out to the grounds. Kevin is the name of the father and son who own the hostel. Kevin Sr. showed me the old park where both Everton and Liverpool FC use to play. He has been coming to the Everton matches for over forty years. I had a great seat for the match. Just to the right of center and up about twelve rows. The match was a good one; but I was not able to enjoy it as much as I would have liked to. The whole time in the back of my head I was thinking about where I was going to stay the next four nights. I did not have a place reserved for the next few nights and I knew I was tempting fate by doing this. I left the match a little early so I could make it back to the hostel and call a few places in Conwy, Wales about a place to stay.
The only hostel in Conwy was booked up and all that was left for me to try was B&B’s in the area. I decided to splurge on a B&B; at 35 quid a night this would be my most expensive place I would be staying on this trip. I called the B&B and was able to line up a single room for the next few nights, and then I jumped online and got my place in Bath , England booked. I started to look at the calendar and decided I had one extra day before I had to be back in London . Where to spend this day was up in the air. Looking at a map I decided to check into Penzance , England . The name struck me because of the movie and play; Pirates of Penzance . Looking into the city it sounded like a cool place to check out so I booked a bed at the local YMCA Hostel for one night.
From what I saw of Liverpool I really enjoyed it, would like to return some day and spend some more time touring the city.
11/4-6/07
Conway, Wales
In Liverpool I woke to fog outside; this was very cool! I was off to the train station to head to Conwy, Wales . Along the way I passed the PhilHarmonic. Anyone who is anyone in the music industry has played here; from the Beatles to Bruce Springsteen. This is also where the band that was on the Titanic came from.
Conwy Wales is situated on the North Coast of Wales and according to Rick Steves, one of the more beautiful costal cities in Wales that is accessible by train. I’m staying at the Town House B&B run by Alan and Elaine Naughton.
It will be nice to have my own room and be away from the hustle and bustle of the hostels for a few nights. For the peace and tranquility I will be paying 35 quid a night, but well worth it for a few nights.
The train ride from Liverpool to Conwy took up most of the morning and afternoon, and had one train change and a short bus ride along the way. The bus ride was necessary due to the fact that the train was not running the short distance from Llandundo Junction and Conwy on Sunday, or maybe it was just that Sunday.
I loaded on the bus with all the other passengers, some of them were heading to Conwy as well. As the driver started to head down the highway I noticed he missed an exit that said Conwy on it. After a few minutes I could see there was not going to be another exit for Conwy so I headed up and asked the driver if he was stopping in Conwy first or after going somewhere else. Turns out he was looking at something and missed the exit. So after doing a turn around we were now on our way back to Conwy. The bus dropped the few of us going to Conwy just down the street from the B&B I am staying at.
The city of Conwy is surrounded by the best medieval walls in Britan. These walls happen to be right across the street from where I am staying. I walked over to the B&B and was greeted by Allen Naughten, who is a very friendly person. My room is up on the 2nd floor(3rd floor to us Yanks) it is a nice single room with a sink and TV, plus I have access to free wifi. The city wall is right outside my window and I can see people walking along it.
I got settled into my room and felt right at home. It is so nice to have my own space for a change.
I set off to get some lunch and walk around the city for awhile. For lunch I decided to pick up some things at the grocery store and take them down to the small harbor and have my picnic there. The sun is out and so are all the people down at the harbor enjoying some fish and chips. With all the people and food there were hundreds of seagulls waiting to share some food with all these people. I sat down and started to eat my lunch. I tossed a small piece of bread out at a seagull and within a second you would have thought I tossed out a full course meal. The lady sitting to my left was immediately hit twice by a swooping bird going after her lunch. This made me laugh out loud; I just sat there and was stunned by the birds swooping in for food. Next thing I knew I heard a swooshing noise just behind me and had just enough time to duck a bit before half my sandwich was ripped out of my hand by a seagull. This made the people to my left laugh at me. As they sat there laughing I calmly collected the rest of my lunch, stood up took one look in their general direction and tossed what was left of my sandwich at their feet. As I walked off I could hear the birds going crazy and people running away; once again I was laughing out loud.
After spending about an hour I had covered the entire city of Conwy , and that includes looking around in every store that was open. After the sun set and it became dark I decided to go check out the city walls. Most cities you go to that have city walls have gates that close them off after dark. Well in Conwy the walls are open 24/7, and it gets really dark on some sections of the wall. I took some night shots along the wall as I slowly worked my way around the perimeter of the city. I finally decided to call it a night and head back to my room to watch some telly and attempt to catch up on some e-mails.
The next day in Conwy was spent touring the castle.
The castle has a few towers and many open areas. Looks like back in its day this was quite the castle. As soon as I finished touring the castle and its grounds a rain storm moved in and it started teeming down. The castle is a stones throw away from where I am staying so I ran across the street and up to a nice warm room. It is really nice having my own room to come back to and relax.
After the rain finally stopped I did some more walking around and checked out the church and cemetery that is right behind my B&B. There is a headstone for a guy who fought in The Battle of Trafalgar. I talked with a local who was out walking his dog. His dog likes to come to the graveyard to eat grass; his owner said it must be the best grass in town according to his dog.
Tonight is Guy Fawkes Night also known as Bonfire night (5th of November). If you have seen the movie V for Vendetta you will have a bit of a better idea what this is all about. There is a BIG fireworks display planned in a neighboring city. I was going to walk over and check it out, but decided to just stay in town and see what I could from around here. The fireworks went on and on for quite some time. It reminded me of a Fourth of July celebration back in the states.
" Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up King and Parliament.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!"
Well it has been nice relaxing in Conwy. Tomorrow I head to Bath , England . Plan to stay there a few nights.
Goodnight from Conwy, Wales.
11/6-8/07
I arrived in Bath later in the afternoon. Stepping from the train station I looked out across a massive construction project going on in downtown Bath; not the best first impression of the city.
I am staying in the White Hart Inn which is located about five minutes behind the train station. A quick walk over the River Avon and I was in the general area of the hostel. The White Hart is a pub that has some rooms in the back available for people to stay in. So here I was walking the streets in the general area of the Inn but could not see it anywhere. Fortunately I had looked up the White Hart online and saw a picture of it.
Now in the picture there is a sign on the front of the building but today there was no sign. I just spotted the white deer above the door and knew I was in the right spot. Walking through the door I was greeted by Marible the Inn ’s dog. Her bed is right next to the front door to greet all those who enter. I am staying in a six bed dorm room, as of now I have the place all to myself. Just when I was looking forward to getting back to being around some people here I am with the entire hostel all to myself.
I headed out to see some of the city and get something to eat. Bath is a very pretty city; 200 years ago this city was the trendsetting Hollywood of Britain. It has more historically listed buildings per capita than any other town in England . After stopping in at the local Mark & Spencer’s to pick up some food I walked over to the Parade Gardens to sit and enjoy my late lunch in the beautiful gardens along the River Avon. The fall colors are really coming out here in lower England and if it wasn’t starting to get cold out I could have sat in the park watching the sun set behind the Abby well past dusk. With the yellow leaves on the trees and the red & blue sky above; this was quite the surroundings. It is really starting to get colder over here once the sun goes down.
With the sun down I began to walk the city. After making a few laps around Bath I decided it was time to retire for the night. It has been nice having my laptop along for this trip; on a night like this I will be enjoying a movie on the laptop in my warm room. Check that; there is NO outlets in my room and my laptop needs a charge. There is no common room in this place to sit down and relax, so I checked a few of the rooms in the place. I found one room unlocked and it has a power outlet; now I am in business.
I woke up early to take a free walking tour of Bath; the tour guide was a very nice older lady. Our group walked around Bath for two hours, seeing all the main places and sights along with learning about the long history of this beautiful city. I was going to try to get on a half day tour to head out and see Stonehenge, unfortunately the tour was full. I spent the rest of the afternoon walking through some parks and just relaxing.
Tomorrow I head off to Penzance out near Lands End.
11/8-9/07
The Pirates of Penzance:
The only thing I knew about Penzance was from the title of the movie The Pirates of Penzance. So when I was looking for a place to go to out near Lands End in Cornwall and saw the name Penzance I knew I had to look into that city. Sure enough it is an old English pirate town. Since I had one day to kill, Penzance would be my destination.
The train ride from Bath to Penzance was a long one with one train change.
Arriving in Penzance I knew I had a bit of a hike ahead of me to the YMCA Penzance. It turned out to be quite the hike through town, uphill. Just when I had thought I lost my way, the hostel came into view. It is the typical large youth hostel; if you came across this back in my home state Utah one might swear it is a polygamist compound. I checked into my room and surprise surprise, I am in a room all by myself yet again. Not only am I the only one in the room of four, I have the entire wing of the hostel to myself. This is another one of those youth hostels that treats everyone as if they are thirteen. Not only do they not give you a key to the room, but the room will lock behind you. Just great; I can see it now. I stumble my way to the bathroom down the hall at three in the morning and return to my room only to find the door locked and no one around to let me in. I quickly learn to stick an empty water bottle in the door for a doorstop.
I grab my day bag emptying out all but the necessities for my quick day trip around the city. I decided to ditch my rain jacket in favor for my poncho, since it looked like the beautiful sunny blue sky day would holdout. Walking back into the city I stopped off to get some food for a picnic out on the beach.
Penzance is a very neat little costal town. This time of the year it is very quiet, but I can only imagine the hordes of tourists overfilling this small town during the summer months. On my way down to the beach I ran into a lady out walking a Welsh Terrier; this is the same breed my Spunky dog is. On my last three trips I have seen Welsh Terriers towards the end of my trips. Guess it’s a sign that I am getting ready to head home. After talking with the lady but more so with the dog I headed down to the beach. I was going to head out of town along the beach to check out St. Michael’s Mount, which at low tide visitors can stroll out to it but the rest of the time visitors have to take a boat out to it.
After a long stroll along the beach I decided to get as close as I could and just have my lunch on the beach. I was running out of time and daylight to get all the way out to St. Michaels Mount. The wind had started to pick up a bit while I sat on the beach and watched the boats come into the harbor. Every hour or so a helicopter would come in very low and land just on the other side of the road next to the beach. I got a short video of it on my camera.
The sun was starting to set behind the clouds and so I started to make my way back into the city center. I headed to Chapel St. where all the old pubs are located. The Turk’s Head pub can be dated back to the 13th century, and was sacked by Spanish pirates in 1595.
The sky above me was now beginning to look a little grey, so I began my walk back to the hostel to avoid being trapped in the city center by a rain storm. As I got closer to the hostel the clouds became darker and nastier looking. The rain first came down lightly, much like a nice mist spray. I decided to pull out my poncho just in case. No sooner did I get the poncho out did the skies open and I got dumped on. This was the kind of weather I was expecting to run into along my entire trip. It was a short walk in the downpour, but by the time I got back to the hostel my lower legs that were not covered by the poncho was entirely soaked. After checking back into the hostel and having someone let me in my room I took all my soaked clothes off and sat in my cold room trying to warm up. Another feature about these hostels is that most of them have their heaters on timers. After about an hour of sitting in the room the heater finally kicked on and I cranked the sucker up as high as it could go.
The rain storm passed after a few hours and I headed out for some food. The one thing I have found very boring about traveling alone is eating at night. Going to a sit down restaurant solo is really not that fun! A cafe or a less formal place is fine to sit solo and read a book while eating. I stuck my head into a few pubs but got the usual look from the five or so crusty locals at the bar. I am not a drinker so sitting in a pub by myself is not what I call fun.
So I went with the usual fair from the grocery store; sandwich, salad, fruit, and a drink. I walked around the city for a bit, but there was NOTHING going on. So back to the hostel I went to have my dinner.
Upon arriving to the hostel I am greeted by the sounds of a Steel Pan band practicing in the hostels auditorium. Sitting there listening to the music, watching some football, and having dinner was quite the mix.
I retired to my room after dinner to watch a movie on my laptop and call it a night. I watched a great flick called 'This is England."
Tomorrow I head back to London , should be a nice long day on the train.
11/9-15/07
London/Bobbingworth:
The train ride from Penzance to London was a long one! I passed a lot of beautiful countryside and got in a bunch of reading. I am currently reading ‘The Eagle Has Landed’ by Jack Higgins. That is one very nice thing about vacations; I seem to be able to get in a bunch of good reading while on vacation. My head cold has settled in and is making the train ride not that enjoyable. I want to try to head out for one more day trip after I get back to London, but if I don’t start feeling any better I think I will just hangout with my family and friend. On this last long train ride I have had time to reflect on this great trip. It has been a very unique experience traveling solo for so long. There has been some very fun times, and a few lonely times. Would I do it again? Sure; but it is much better traveling with a good friend!
I got back into London and jumped on the tube to head out to Epping and my families house to stay with them for a few days before I head back into London to spend a couple days with my friend and take in another football match. I spent the rest of the evening relaxing and enjoying the company of my family.
Saturday I hung out with my uncle and helped him set up a dinner party at his church. The theme for the dinner party was an international one. A family from South Africa was at the church helping us set up for the dinner that night.Saturday afternoon I headed back into London via train and then on the tube. I walked over to The Valley; it the home of Charlton Athletic football team. I was meeting up with a mate that I meet on the Flickr photo site; he is a big football fan and his club is Charlton.
There was a lot of good atmosphere in the crowd, we sat down near the pitch by the end of the away supporters, they were quite boisterous.
The match was a good one; I must be a good luck charm for all the teams I go see here in the UK. So far all the teams I have gone to see play have won. Or I just pick good teams to support…Haha. I had a good time hanging out with Keith at the match. Now he needs to come out and see some MLS football action here in Salt Lake.
After the match I walked back to the tube to head back out for the dinner party. The dinner party was great; there was a lot of good food from all over the world. I stuffed myself with some of the good South African food. After dinner some of the people at the party got up and shared some traditional songs from their homeland. That was one of the highlights of the nights; especially when the older generation got up to share some old English songs.
Sunday I went back to West Ham to hangout with my friend. She and I decided to go out and check out a few scary sights in London. After watching a bunch of ‘Most Haunted’ episodes online we headed off for the London underground and then headed down to the Tower of London; I took some good night pictures of the Tower Bridge.
It was very surreal walking around that area with Kat. Back in July of 2005 I flew her over from Hamburg to see The Phantom of the Opera. I would have never guessed I would be back here in London walking around with her. We ended up walking all over for hours, by the time we finally got back to the tube we caught the last one of the night to get us back to West Ham.
Monday I headed out on my own to see some more of London. I jumped on the tube and headed down to the Elephant & Castle area. I worked my way over to the Imperial War Museum. This is one of the most amazing museums I have ever been in, and it was FREE to get in!
I spent a good 4 hours walking around this museum taking in everything I could and snapping a bunch of pictures of all the neat displays. When I first walked into the main hall I was greeted by all the war planes hanging from the rafters. There is very good displays on WWI & WWII. I am a huge history buff when it comes to WWII; so naturally I spent the majority of my time in the WWII display. There was also a major display on the Falklands War; it is the 25th anniversary of this war. I am not too familiar with all that was involved in this war, but now I am very familiar after visiting this museum. I grabbed a quick bite to eat in the museum café and then headed out on foot toward Parliament.
Darkness was beginning to fall upon London and I wanted to snap some more night shots. Walking towards Westminster Bridge I decided I would head over to the London Eye and check into going for a spin on it. There was no queue to get on it and the price wasn’t too bad so I got a ticket and took a spin on the London Eye. If you find yourself in London this is a must do, especially at night! I shared the pod with 4 other people, so I had plenty room to walk around and snap a bunch of pictures of the lit up London skyline. Another great part of traveling this time of the year is that there is not nearly the amount of tourist to compete with for such sights.
After the ride on the London Eye I walked across Westminster Bridge and snapped a bunch of pictures of Parliament and The Clock Tower. For those of you who don’t know this; Big Ben is the name of the bell inside The Clock Tower, but The Clock Tower is commonly referred to as Big Ben. I then walked over to Westminster Abbey. Sunday was Remembrance Day here in the UK, much like Veterans Day in the US. There was a very nice display in front of Westminster Abbey for Remembrance Day.
I headed down to the Apolo Victoria Theater to meet up with Kat. I got us tickets to see 'Wicked' the musical. What a fantastic show this was! If you get the chance to catch this show do it! After the show Kat and I headed back to her place and watched a few more ‘Most Haunted’ episodes before calling it a night.
Tuesday morning I said my goodbyes to Kat as she headed off to work. This was my fifth goodbye with Kat over the last two years; always hard to say goodbye to such a good friend. Never know when I will see her next.
I headed back to Upton Park to walk through the West Ham United team shop and pick up a team shirt and some other gifts. After drooling over all the West Ham gear I walked into the main office to try my luck on getting a tour of the stadium. They told me they don’t do tours during this time of the year, but they told me they could tell by my accent that I had come a long way to see the stadium. They arranged for someone to come down and show me around and take me out to the pitch. I sat in the VIP bar while I waited. I got to go back into the stadium and see the Home and Away Dressing Rooms. What a difference between the two! I then took the walk down the player’s entrance and out on to the pitch. I had goose bumps all over my arms walking out the player’s entrance. Never in a million years did I think I would be standing on these hollowed grounds. I was in complete shock the whole time! I took a bunch of pictures and in my shock I forgot to get some of me standing on the grounds. The guy was kind enough to take me back in and take some pictures of me on the grounds and by the player’s entrance. He had some very cool stories to tell me about the club; he has been working there for well over 20 years.
I headed back into the heart of London to see some more sights. I began in Hyde Park at the Speakers Corner. Not much speaking going on today being it a rainy day. I took shelter under the famous Marble Arch. Donning my rain gear I walked through the park making my way to Buckingham Palace. Walking under Wellington Arch I worked my way down Constitution Hill along St. James Park ending up at Buckingham Palace. From the flag flying above Buckingham Palace I could tell the Queen was home. I should have rung the bell and see if I could come in for some warm tea, haha.
I headed back through St. James Park and walked through Horse Guards. My next stop was Downing Street to say HI to the PM. Next stop, Trafalgar Square. The sun began to peak out behind the clouds and the rain had stopped, making for some very nice pictures of Trafalgar Square. Catching a quick bite to eat while hanging out in the Victoria Embankment Park I decided to walk down the Embankment to the Millennium Bridge. By this time I have been walking for hours, but I find that the best way to see a city is by foot or on a bike.
I worked my way under Waterloo Bridge, Blackfriars Bridge and finally ending up at the Millennium Bridge. I walked halfway across the bridge to get some pictures of St. Paul’s. I walked around the grounds of St. Paul’s before heading in to see it from the inside. It is an amazing place; such a beautiful building. By this time I was tired from three very long days of walking and was ready to call it a day.
Jumping on the tube I headed back to Epping to meet up with my Aunt for a ride back to Bobbingworth. That night I got out my laptop to watch ‘28 Weeks Later.’ The start of the movie takes place in the English countryside with a very intense scene of zombies chasing people down. So there I was lying in bed late at night out in the English countryside watching this. After that scene I kept a weary eye on the window expecting at any moment a zombie to come breaking through.
Wednesday was my last day of my trip so I just planned to take it easy and relax with my family. My uncle and I decided to go out for short hike. This short hike ended 6 hours later! I had a good time talking with my uncle about life, religion and all sorts of other things. With good company a hike like this goes by very quickly. My aunt picked us up and took us tired hikers back to the house for a warm meal. The rest of the evening I spent getting ready for my departure the next day. I had to get up very early to catch the tube to a train station to jump on a train that would take me out to the airport.
Thursday morning came very early! James dropped me off at the Epping Tube Station and off I went. No sooner was I a few stops away did I have my first delay on the tube, go figure. I finally got to the train station and jumped on a train to Gatwick. I arrived with just enough time to get checked in and hit the duty free shops before boarding my flight. My flight to Atlanta was a full one so no three seats all to myself.
I always find the flight back to the states to feel much shorter; must be the fact that one gains time by flying back to the states from Europe.
Arriving in Atlanta I had to stand in the customs line for a little over an hour. I had a four hour layover in Atlanta; so I tracked down a power outlet and watched the movie ‘Last King of Scotland’.
I had a great trip over in the United Kingdom. I got to see some amazing country side and wonderful cities. It was great catching up with my family, my friend Kat, catching three football matches and one with my English Football buddy Keith.
I will return to the British Isles someday, hopefully in the not so distant future.You can check out all my pics from this trip on Flickr
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