Tito Vs The World

I am writing this back in Yorkshire. I have come down with a slight cold so I’ve been spending a few lazy days in just taking it easy and recovering. I can’t say I’ve been taking the best care of myself over the last few days in terms of dressing appropriately and just generally looking after myself, so I only have myself to blame. Need to eat better and probably drink a little less. But nothing to be concerned about. So the only really major thing to write about over the week or so since my last post was being in Liverpool. This was always going to be a football oriented weekend. It was only 3 days in Liverpool and it was all centered around Liverpool football club. I had arrived on the Thursday afternoon and the first thing I did when I got off the coach from London was to meet the guy I had arranged to buy a Liverpool match day ticket off. I was starting to panic a little as to whether I could actually get one. The match itself officially sold out while I was still in Melbourne, so I was forced to look for less official means of obtaining a ticket. This wasn’t as difficult a task as I thought it would be. There are people who buy up a whole bunch of season tickets with the sole intention of scalping them. As the guy I got mine of put it, “it’s a business”. I found this guy on Craig’s List, which is the American version of Gumtree. Funnily enough, they use Gumtree in England, so I’m not sure why I found it there. Maybe angling towards the American tourists?

I payed 75 pounds for my ticket and I think it was well worth it. Some people were asking in excess of 100 pounds and the cost price was around 60 pounds, so I think I found a good compromise. I went to meet the guy who gave me a proper membership card, which put my mind at ease in thinking I might be scammed. He told me his brother would be at the game and would come to the seat at half time to pick up the card.

After this was sorted, I walked the 20 minute hike across Liverpool city to my couchsurf host’s house. I was a little nervous about this one because of the minimal contact I had had with them. At one point they had told me that I could only stay for one night, and then in the next breath said we’d sort something out. I ended up staying the whole 3 nights I had planned so it wasn’t a problem. Turns out one of the couch surfers who was meant to be coming on the 2nd night canceled so it wasn’t a problem. It was a great bunch of students I was staying with, and I was particularly happy with the hours of conversation we had about Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. One of the Housemates Sonia even gave me a copy of the original radio series which I hadn’t heard.

The next day was the match. Liverpool Vs Stoke City. None of the people in the house I was staying at were really football fans, so I knew I was going at this one alone. I made my way down to Anfield, a spectacular sight. I got tingles up my spine as I saw it’s glorious spires peaking in the horizon. First thing I did when I got off the bus was to do a lap around the ground. I took a photo of the Bill Shankley gate which has been my computer background at work as long as I can remember. The tingles were increasing. I made my way into the Park Hotel, which is a supporter bar across from the Kop which is the home team stand at Anfield. It was a packed bar full of multi-generational supporters chanting and singing and getting ready for the game. It was hard to strike up conversation with the locals, but I wasn’t overly concerned. I was happy to just observe in awe.

I eventually made my way into the stadium about 30 minutes before the 3pm kick off. The game itself was an average game of football. It ended in a 0-0 tie. A disappointing scoreline considering the opposition. However, I was really just content with being at the game. Being less than 30 yards from my heroes was enough for me.

The next day I went on a tour of Anfield and got a chance to go deep into the heart of the stadium and get a guided historical tour. I definitely feel like I have a deeper appreciation for the club after that weekend.

So now I’m back in Yorkshire visiting my mate Ollie from Melbourne. Like I said, I’ve got a bit of a cold, so I’m just taking it easy before I head back to London. 

Take care!

What a crazy and amazing week it has been. So much so that I haven’t had a chance to sit down and write about it. On one hand I’m glad that there has been too many amazing things going to take the time to blog, on the other I know I’m going to skip over some things now.

I arrived in London last Thursday. It was to be my very first organic couch surfing experience in as much I had no prior meeting of my host. This was a big thing for me. However, my nerves were quickly put to rest. My host Hannah, a 19 year old student living in London was a very accommodating and outgoing host. Her Uni flat was frightfully small much in the way that a hotel room isn’t. I was sleeping on a blow up mattress that took up literally 50% of the total floor space of her room. This made me even more thankful of Hannah, that she would be willing to give up all of her personal space to help out a lonely traveler. The first day was spent cycling around on the public hire bikes. We toured west London cycling through Camden and its surrounding areas. This was a really authentic London experience. Well, as authentic an experience as a tourist can have.

That night was fairly uneventful. Went to a small Uni party at a nearby pub. Nothing really to report. The next day I ventured out on my own. I hired a bike and went riding around central London which was a scary and exhilarating experience. I have a new found respect for cyclists riding in a metropolitan area. Motorists pay as much respect to cyclists as stampeding rhinos pay to grass. Eventually the cold wind and fear of death forced me to continue my exploration on foot. I wandered my way down to the themes and eventually located Big Ben and The London Eye. Both spectacular sights in the setting London sun. This was probably the most touristy of my ventures so far. But it needed to be done.

About 5 hours after I set off on my adventure, I decided I had explored enough and called an end to my expedition. I eventually found my way back to Hannah’s flat where she was preparing to go to another Uni party for new students being held in a neighboring dorm. Given that the students were as strange to eachother as me, it seemed like a nice way to meet new people. And I did. I got talking to 2 really cool students named Keira and Rose. Science and math majors respectively. They were really friendly and we ended up chatting for hours. Eventually though Hannah was ready to leave. I had mentioned to Hannah that I really wanted to see what night clubs were like in London. I had asked a few people for recommendations. All unanimously said Fabric was the place to go. And wax Fabric the place to go! The people, the fashion, the music, the lights, the venue! I have never been to a place like that in my life and doubt I will again. I don’t want to sully the memory by recounting it inaccurately and I know I don’t have the right words to describe it aptly, but suffice to say that that night will live on as the greatest night of my life to date. I eventually made my way back to Hannah’s flat at 9am.

By this time is was Sunday morning and thus moving day. I had arranged to stay with Hannah for 3 nights and they had now passed. I had booked myself into a hostel in Hammersmith in London’s east. This hostel is literally on top of Hammersmith station, which is extremely convenient. However, one bug draw back is that 500m in either direction is a hospital and a police station. This means at any given hour, you will hear a siren blasting. You get used to it though I guess.

On the first day of the move I slept. I was understandably pretty tired from the previous night exploits. The next day though I went on a bit of a wander down to Craven Cottage, home of Fulham Football Club. For those who don’t know, this is Australian goal keeper Mark Schwartzer’s club. It was about a 30 minute walk to the stadium, in which time I got to sample some of London’s more suburban sights.

Glossing over a few less note worthy events, the next night, I was invited to attend a show on London’s west end. The show was called La Soirée. It was a 2 hour production of 5 minutes variety acts. The highlight for me was a tap dance routine to Justice’s D.A.N.C.E. The trapeze acts were also pretty stunning. Basically, the show was a cross between burlesque, circus and comedy acts. It. Was. AMAZING!

Over the last 2 days I’ve pretty much just been doing sight seeing. Went to Stamford bridge (home of Chealsea Football Club), went to London bridge, went to the TATE museum of modern art, trafalgar square, 10 Downing St and a few other London Tourist hot spots. Which pretty much brings me to now. Again, I’ve glossed over some truly breath taking stuff, but I could write novels on the last week of my life and still miss out on some things. This last week will stay with me for a long time to come.

Tomorrow morning I’m off to Liverpool where I will tick off number 1 on my list of things to do before I die. I have secured a ticket to see Liverpool Vs Stoke city at Anfield. Life will be all down hill after this coming weekend. I don’t know if it’s wise to achieve the single greatest moment of my life at the age of 21. We’ll see. Well, at least, I will.

I love London!

Happy new year. I am pleased to report that I have made a safe transition into 2012. The transition was however a little anticlimactic. I guess every year I put these silly expectations on new years eve and expect something grand to happen. Maybe I’ll meet the girl of my dreams, or I’ll have some sort of profound epiphany, or maybe I’ll just have a really really good night. I think because I hold these expectations, inevitably I am somewhat underwhelmed. Not to discredit the night itself. I mean I still had a good night, but I really need to learn to have more realistic expectations. I’ll go back a few days and pick up from where I left off last time.

So as I mentioned, we (being Tristan, Nathan and myself) were pretty keen to go on a ghost tour of Edinburgh. It’s a really old city with some pretty rich history. Most notably of its history with torture, executions and witch burning. We asked the people at the hostel front desk which one was the best tour, and without hesitation, they responded Auld Reekie’s tour. We looked it up and found there were several tours offered by Auld Reekie. Naturally we went for the ‘terror tour’, an over 18s only adventure that cautioned the pregnant, bad of back or weak of heart. Now I’m not a terribly superstitious person, nor do I believe in ghosts, but from the description on the website, I was expecting to come out a changed man. We had a few drinks at the hostel before walking down, to you know, steady our nerves. We kicked around the idea that we might not be able to sleep after the tour. How laughable a notion this would turn out to be. 

The tour took us around the corner walking up a darkened alley way. Atmosphere building, our guide told us a story of a woman who was accused of being a which and in a detailed fashion outlined the punishment she went through. So far interesting, but far from scary. A brisk walk back around the corner to the offices of Auld Reekie where we were shown a few glass cabinets holding old torture devices. Back down the stairs this time into a long, dark and damp corridor. The guide at this point, and I am not joking about this, put a torch under her chin as she proceeded to outline some of the crimes that had gone on in this tunnel. I won’t bore you with anymore shit from this tour, but I will end on telling you that in one of the room was “always inexplicably colder than all of the other”. A silent pause and I could hear an air conditioner. DO NOT go on the Auld Reekie tour in Edinburgh.

Then there was Hogmanay, the Edinburgh new year’s festival that started with a torch walk through Edinburgh to the castle, a procession ending with a a pretty impressive fireworks display. The second night (new years eve) was a MASSIVE streetparty, much like Melbourne’s Laneway Festival, but with 100,000 people crammed into an area that would barely hold 90,000 people. It was madness. Probably a little too hectic for my liking. One amazing positive from the night was meeting a distant relative of Douglas Adams, who wrote Hitchikers guide to the galaxy for those who don’t know the name. Long story short, I know the ACTUAL question Adams was thinking when he gave the answer 42. It has nothing to do with life, the universe and everything, but its still cool that I know what Douglas Adams had in his head. I am holding onto this one.

So that was pretty much Edinburgh. I left on the 2nd of Jan and made my way down to York, where Oli (a friend from Melbourne) is living. When I first landed in London, Oli saw my facebook status and contacted me. I didn’t know he was out of the country, but it was excellent to hang out with him for a few days. Not an eventful stay in York, but a relaxing and positive few days. One of Oli’s housemates who is away for the next week is said to be the best FIFA player he’s ever seen. So obviously, I challenged him. I’ll be going back to York in a few weeks to represent Australia in one of the biggest FIFA matches of my life. Oli bet a slab on my winning. Can’t let him down. 

So that pretty much brings everything up to date. I’m sitting on a train to London now where I will be couch surfing for the week. It’s worth noting my amazement with technology. This train has wifi. Hurtling 80mph through the English country side and I have a broadband connection. We are living in a golden age!

Peace!

I finally made it. I am writing this from Sunny Scotland. I kid, I doubt Scotland has seen the sun in the last 40 years. I have honestly never experienced cold like this in my life. The wind blows in every direction and cuts through you like a knife. At times the wind is so cold, you actually cannot breathe. Having said that, I have been here for only 1 day, and Edinburgh is a breathtakingly beautiful city. Pun intended. Every building looks like a castle, so you can imagine how spectacular Edinburgh castle must be. I will get some photos of it today. But first a recount of the last few days.

I left Ohio on the 6am flight to Chicago, and transferred to London on the 8:05am from Chicago. I wish there had been some sort of delay in this process, because it got me into London at 11:30pm on the same day. This was a shitty time to get in. I couldn’t go to a hostel or hotel, So I bit the billet and sat in the coach terminal at Heathrow airport until the first coach to London was due at 5:35am. I knew that the bus coming wouldn’t really improve my situation all that much, but at least it would be progress. I had arranged with Tristan and Nathan, (friends from Melbourne) to meet in Edinburgh, but I had messed up my flight times and I was in England a day early. First port of call would be to get a British sim card and make contact with them. They were in Manchester and I figured it would be best to meet them there and go to Edinburgh together. I got into Lodnon at 6:30am. A quick stroll around the block and I found Victoria station, which seemed to be a central train hub. Not unlike Melbourne Central station. Some boutique stores and a lot of hustle and bustle of people on their way to work. Thankfully there were three different phone stores within the station. It was kind of funny that the three companies were 3, Vodafone and Orange. Back home these are all one company. I went with Vodafone. Not sure why. Unfortunately, none of these stores opened until 11am. I had been awake for 40 hours now and i had been sitting staring at a clock for 12 of those hours. Watching paint dry or waiting for a kettle to boil would have been more entertaining. Thankfully my ipod was charged and I had “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” to read.

After what felt like an eternity, the store finally opened and I was able to get a sim card. I called Nath and Tristan and confirmed with them that I could meet them in Manchester and stay with them over night. So I made my way back to the bus terminal and bought a ticket to Manchester. Another 2 hour wait for the bus then a 4 hour bus ride. If I have learnt anything about myself in the last few days is that patience is a virtue.

It was so good to see Tristan. Tristan has been studying in Manchester for the last 8 months, so seeing him was worth the wait. We made our way back to his house which was a 5 minute bus ride away Greetings from the United Kingdom stopping on the Curry Mile, which is a strip of middle eastern restaurants. Apparently this is quite a famous spot in Manchester. I got a Kebab for 4 pounds. It was the biggest Kebab I’ve ever seen and it… was… delicious.

We had to be up early to catch the bus to Edinburgh. the bus was at 9, so we were up at 7 to pack and get ready. I could have slept for 24 hours, but we had to move. The bus was cramped and uncomfortable, but I’m getting used to that with all the flights and coaches I’ve been taking. Watching the Scottish landscape unfold out of the bus window was amazing to see. Especially from the warmth of the bus. Rolling meadows and mountains. Just stunning.

We had a bit of a wonder around Edinburgh that night just exploring. It’s such incredible architecture. Edinburgh is split into Old Edinburgh (where all the castles are) and New Edinburgh (which is a more contemporary city). We’re staying in Old Edinburgh, right across the street from Edinburgh Castle.