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Real Football

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

After nearly a year without watching a pro football game, we were shocked and excited to find out that there would be a game in London of all places during our visit. While the actual game between the Pats and Bucs was a blowout and not the best example of American football, for us it was a treat.

The game was at Wembley Stadium and it was cool just to see it and be among the 84,000 people streaming into and out of it. The atmosphere can only be described as a spectacle – the NFL pulled out all the stops to make it a “home” game for the Bucs. There were the usual cheerleaders and pyrotechnics, but also huge hot air “helmet” balloons, pirate flags for everyone in the stands, live music, and of course two national anthems before the start (Toni Braxton sang the US one).

The craziest thing was the fans. I think that anyone in England who owns some sort of NFL jersey wore it to the game. Between us we spotted every team represented except for the poor Jaguars. It was really strange to be at a game and see fans and colors from all the teams, not just the ones that are playing. Aside from the Pats, the Dolphins and Green Bay seem to have a lot of fans here too.

The final part of the experience was getting back to central London on the Tube with everyone else. The police kept everyone moving, but slowly enough for the trains to handle. The queues were orderly and it was amazing how quickly everyone got out of there. Other cities and venues should take note.

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Goal!

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

For the last week and a half we rented a little house in Brixham, which is along the south coast of England in Devon.  There’s not much to report here because it was meant to be downtime to chill out and think about our future plans.  It was very enjoyable, even though we didn’t do much other than sample the wares of not one, but all three fudge shops in town.  Our one big day out was to attend a local football match in Torquay.  We learned a few things about the game here and how they prevent trouble.  They separate the home and away fans, there is no beer served at the game, and strangely there is no photography allowed.  Here’s a contraband picture that I snapped before the security guard caught me.

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But is the meal plan included?

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

After we said goodbye to the narrowboat and canals, we headed to Oxford for a quick stop before bidding my folks farewell on their journey back to the US. I didn’t really do much research ahead of time and didn’t know quite what to expect from the town or the university. It turned out to be pretty interesting and we spent a few hours strolling around the colleges. The buildings are beautiful and I can’t imagine living and studying in them (much less paying that tuition). My favorite was Christchurch with it’s very “Hogwarts-ian” style dining room:

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A Family Afloat

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

We’ve been offline for a while, but are back and hope to be able to update the blog more regularly. However, we have a good excuse because we were on a narrow boat for the last week with no internet access. “Narrowboat” may need some explanation because I had never heard of them just a year ago. Throughout England, Wales, and Scotland there are hundreds of miles of canals and rivers that were once used for transporting coal and other goods. While those days are long gone, the routes remain and there are thousands of boats that you can rent to cruise them. The boats are fitted out in style with cabins, kitchens, bath, and saloon. They range from about 30 to 70 ft. long, but to fit through the canals are less than 7 ft. wide, hence the name “narrow.”

My parents met us for a vacation in England and we decided this might be a unique way of seeing a different part of country. We opted for a 65 ft boat, which proved to be a challenge around corners, but was otherwise a very comfortable way to travel. You don’t cover much distance in narrow boats – they only go about 4 mph – but it does give you a lot of time to enjoy the views of the countryside, the ducks, the swans, and the other boats. We followed parts of the Ashby, Coventry, and North Oxford canals during the week, stopping most nights near some of the pubs along the way for hearty food and a pint. It was generally a pretty relaxing week, aside from a few moments of excitement each day when one of us would drive the boat a little too close to a bridge or a tree (I swear those scratches were there before!).

Here are a few pictures to help explain our week.  You really can get almost anywhere on the canals…

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This a view of the tight squeeze at one of the locks.  We only had to do four of these each way, but it was a good workout – the gates can be heavy to open.

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A more serene moment along the way.

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Back in England Again

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

We arrived in England to meet my parents and find our way to Stratford Upon Avon. The four of us spent the last two days doing a little sightseeing on land before we head off to board our narrow boat. We drove throughout the strangely-named, but incredibly picturesque villages of the Cotswolds. The beautiful old stone buildings and churches made for perfect breaks from the car. The next day we ventured out further to Wales and visited each of the “Three Castles” built in the 1200s – Skenrith, White, and Grosmont – and then finished with a stop at Tintern Abbey (see below). While they are all in ruins, there is more than enough remaining to give you a great mental picture of what they must have been like in their prime. This will be a short post because we haven’t had much internet access, but we’ll be back in about a week with an update from the boat.

　

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