The Ultimate Football Excursion - Day 14

Harrods + West Ham Vs Arsenal

Due to significant closure of the London Tube network our plans were considerably disrupted. We ended up making quite a few routing decisions on the fly using both buses and the open tube lines. First stop today was Harrods. This is essentially your old fashioned department store. For those who remember David Jones (Sydney store) of old would feel at home. Lots of designer labels, lots of help etc etc. Unfortunately it is not ideal for the traveler as the only sections one has any chance of picking up that can be returned is clothing, cosmetics and accessories. As it would have been impossible to take our purchases to the ground we returned back to the hotel before making our way to Upton Park for the late afternoon game.

Harrods

Visit to Upton park should have been easy however tube closures meant it took over 90 minutes. We arrived about 30 minutes before kick off. The game was quite entertaining with Arsenal on top early but finding themselves behind after an against the run of play goal by West Ham. Arsenal immediately replied with both teams going to half time on equal terms. West Ham looked on top early in the second half until Arsenal made two substitutes with immediate effect with Arsenal going up 2-1. West Ham had a good chance to equalise few minutes later but shot wide. Thereafter it was all Arsenal with a 3rd 10 minues before full time. Final score Arsenal 3 West Ham 1

Upton Park

Tomorrow - Back Home

Football Tally:

Games: 9

Competitions: Premier League X 5, League Cup X 2, Champions League X 1, Europa League X 1

Stadia: White Hart Lane, Stamford Bridge, Emirates, Old Trafford, Villa Park, Loftus Rd, Anfield, Upton Park

Missed Games : 1

The Ultimate Football Excursion - Day 13

Liverpool - Manchester - London (No Game Today)

Had to wake moderately early due to the early breakfast at the hotel we were staying in Liverpool. Sam had another 40 minute sleep after breakfast (first wake up was not that early at 8.30am). First stop today was back to Manchester to visit the National Football Museum. Not a bad collection of old trophies and some of the older gear. They even have the first copy of the rules of the game (you can also buy a printed version or download an electronic copy). We then hopped on the lunch time train back to London and our hotel for the last two nights.

Virgin Train: Manchester to London

The English know how to run trains - we have had very good service

National Football Museum

We decided to try a suburban Indian restaurant in Harrow for dinner. Much much better than the "up market" types in central London. We will probably go back tomorrow night.

Tomorrow - Shopping in the morning followed by West Ham Vs Arsenal

Football Tally:

Games: 8

Competitions: Premier League X 4, League Cup X 2, Champions League X 1, Europa League X 1

Stadia: White Hart Lane, Stamford Bridge, Emirates, Old Trafford, Villa Park, Loftus Rd, Anfield

Missed Games : 1

The Ultimate Football Excursion – Day 12: 

London to Liverpool + Liverpool Vs Udinase

We are tiring badly!

All we could manage today was a late breakfast followed by a lunch time train to Liverpool. After checking into our hotel (200 meters from Anfield Stadium) we explored the nearby Stanley Park. Essentially at one end of the Park is Anfield Rd with Anfield Stadium (Liverpool FC) while on the other end is Goodison Rd with Goodison Park (Home of Everton FC).

Goodison Pk

Anfield - Outside

Anfield

After collecting our tickets we decided to find a place to have dinner. What a dismal place Liverpool is – at least around the two stadia. There was literally no place to eat – unless you wanted take away Chinese, burgers or pizza. Let’s just say the English don’t know how to do fast food – awful!

Anfield stadium was smaller than I imagined. The seats were hard plastic and very narrow and very close together side to side and front to back. I’m not tall but my knees cramped. The seats were similar to Loftus Road (home of QPR) and among the worse so far.

The game itself was entertaining with Liverpool holding the upper hand in the first half going into the break 1-0 up. The Liverpool defence was asleep at the beginning of the second half and Udinase equalised in the first minute. For the next 20 minutes the Liverpool defence looked shaky resulting in Udinase scoring twice to lead 3-1 with 20 minutes to go. The Liverpool manager introduced his heavy guns in Surez and Gerrard with immediate dividends with Surez converting from a free kick just outside the penalty box. Liverpool pressed hard for the equaliser however the Udinase goalkeeper was up to the task making a number of good/lucky saves with Udinase running out 3-2 winners.

Football Tally:

Games: 8

Competitions: Premier League X 4, League Cup X 2, Champions League X 1, Europa League X 1

Stadia: White Hart Lane, Stamford Bridge, Emirates, Old Trafford, Villa Park, Loftus Rd, Anfield

Missed Games : 1

Tomorrow: Liverpool to Manchester to visit the National Football Museum before returning to London.

The Ultimate Football Excursion – Day 11

St Albans + Arsenal Vs Olympiakos (Champions League)

As the days proceed we are starting to tire especially with late nights and early starts. Given the day we had had yesterday with the delayed “mini cruise” to Calais we decided to have a slow day as we had a late game in the evening. After a delayed breakfast we made our way to Wembley Stadium – near our hotel for a photo opportunity before heading into central London with no real plan. We decided to essentially take a random trip to somewhere not too far away. Starting with “A’s” – St Albans 20 minutes away.

Wembley Stadium

As it turns out St Albans is a small town just outside London famous for a Cathedral that dates back over 1500 years. As we walked into the “city” center we found ourselves in the middle of a street market – apparently its market day first Wednesday of the month. We strolled through the stalls without buying much before a nice indian lunch (there are numerous indian restaurants in St Albans). We then walked to the Cathedral and its associated gardens before returning to London for souvenir shopping (you know the type that never see the light of day once you get home). After some take away dinner we headed to the Emirates Stadium for tonight’s Champions League clash between Arsenal and Olympiakos . Entertaining game however Arsenal were the dominant side in the end running out comfortable 3-1 winners.

St Albans Cathedral

Emirates Stadium

Football Tally

Games Attended: 7

Competitions: Premier League X 4, Champions League X 1, League Cup X 2

Stadia: 6 (White Hart Lane, Emirates, Old Trafford, Villa Park, Loftus Road and Stamford Bridge)

Missed Games: 1 (Charlton V Watford)

The Ultimate Football Excursion: Day 10

London – Calais “mini cruise”  - Charlton V Watford

Bad Day!

We had an early start to ensure we get to Dover in time for a round trip cruise to Calais. After arriving at Dover we were informed that due to industrial action in France we would be sailing about 40 minutes late. This was still OK and within our time constraints. We boarded on time however we did not sail until 1hr 20min after schedule. This did tighten our schedule considerably but still possible. Unfortunately things went from bad to worse and we were delayed at Dover port on the return trip and in the end we were 2.5 hours behind schedule. With train frequency reducing in the evening from Dover back to London we were unable to make our game!. We had to content with a dinner of burger and chips and watching the second half of a Champions League on TV.

Port of Calais

All in all could have been a good day as the sailing was good in the Club Lounge provided good food and drinks. Communication by P&O Ferries however was poor and unorganised.

Football Tally:

Games: 6

Competitions: Premier League X 4, League Cup X 2

Stadia: White Hart Lane, Stamford Bridge, Emirates, Old Trafford, Villa Park, Loftus Rd

Missed Games: 1 (Charlton V Watford. Competition – Championship)

The Ultimate Football Excursion - Day 9

Birmingham - Warwick Castle - London

After a very nice breakfast at the Birmingham Holiday Inn we proceeded to Warwick - a short 30 minute train journey. Within 10 minutes of Warwick station lies Warwick Castle. This is historically much more important than either Arundel or Carlisle Castles previously visited. Although of similar age to Arundel it is much larger with a definite military feel. Unfortunately, it is much more commercialised than Arundel or Carlisle with numerous street vendors lining the outet walls and the National Trust conducting various "themed" tours such as Merlin, Old Witch etc. The historic aspects seem to get lost in the hustle and bustle of the commercial ventures - pity!



We returned back to Birmingham before catching the train to London arriving at our hotel late afternoon. After a short rest, it was back on the London Underground to watch QPR Vs West Ham. We stopped at a Westfield near the tube station for a quick bite however our time keeper (SAM) decided food was much more important and at 7:50pm yelled "Oh Sh*t". We were still more than 15 minutes form the ground with kick off at 8pm and we still had to collect our tickets. As luck would have it our entry gate was on the other side of the ticket collection point so we entered the ground about 10 minutes post KO with West Ham leading 1-0. The remainder of the game although spiteful with numeous yellow cards (+ 1 Red card) did not achieve a high standard with West Ham running out 2-1 winners. Some good saves by both keepers in the second half.

Tomorrow we head to Dover followed by a "minicriuse" to Calais in the Captains Lounge with a three course lunch. In the evening we will see the Championship game between Carlton and Watford - Both previous Premier League sides.

Football Tally

Games: 6
Competions: Premier League X 4; League Cup X 2
Stadia: 6 (White Hart Lane, Stamford Bridge, Emirates, Old Trafford, Loftus Road, Villa Park)

Loftus Rd Stadium

Warwick Castle

The Ultimate Football Excursion - Day 8 : MU Superstore + Aston Villa Vs WBA

We got to the Man Utd superstore soon after opening spending about 1.5 hours buying a large number of items including shirts, figurines etc.

After lunch at Manchester station we boarded the train to Birmingham. Unlike almost every other train this one heading all the way to the south coast was FULL. We had to stand all the way - 90 minutes. Birmingham as a city is unlike the others we have visited. Poorly laid out and poorly sign posted with a slow and haphazard public transport. We had some difficulty finding our hotel, the ground and getting back from the ground. After checking in we made our way to Villa Park for the game between Aston Villa and West Brom. Villa Park is much smaller than the other grounds we have visited with simple plastic seats with some uncovered. The game was not a sellout with tickets available at the gate. This is not uncommon for Villa games. The game itself was a low key affair with neither side dominating and ended a tame 1-1 draw.

Tomorrow - Back to London for QPR Vs West Ham. Will try to fit in a visit to Warwick Castle.

Outside the Man Utd superstore

Villa Park

Football Tally:

Games 5

Competitions: Premier League X 3, League Cup X 2

Stadia: 5 (White Hart Lane, Stamford Bridge, Emirates, Old Trafford and Villa Park)

The Ultimate Football Excursion – Day 5 to Day 7

Day 5: No game – Eurostar to Paris

With the development of the very fast trains and the channel tunnel it is possible to visit Paris as a day excursion from London. We caught the 8AM train for the 2 hour 15 minute run. Unfortuately due to time zones upon arrival it was 11:15 in Paris. As we had another long day planned for the next day we did not have much time in Paris. We decided to go to the Louvre first. LOOOONG QUEUES. We “wasted” two hours waiting to get in (should have headed my pre-reading and used one of the other enterances rather than through the pyramids). Once inside we decided only to look at the Italian paintings section only due to lack of time. In a word IMPRESSIVE! Even Sam was taken aback with some stunning works of art (yes we saw the Mona Lisa, Venus De Milo etc).

The Lourve

After the short visit (could spend a week ) we moved onto the Eiffel Tower taking a ride on the river bus. Just as we started to have an open air lunch we were greeted with short but heavy shower – soggy lunch.

The ET (on the side)

Next stop – Musee D’Orsay. This was for my benefit as it houses the largest collection of impressionist paintings. Again we only restricted ourselves to this section. I was suitably impressed with such a large collection of originals from Renoir, Monet and Van Gogh. Sam I think preferred the Italian masters.

Our return to London however was not smooth. There was some issues with immigration with some people ahead of us with the end result that we missed our 7:15PM train. We were not the only ones! The staff were very accommodating and found two seats on the 8:15PM train. This did however mean that we returned to hotel much later than expected with an another early start awaiting the next day.

Day 6: Tour of old Trafford and Scenic rail trip to Carlisle.

We took the fast 8AM service from London to Manchester arriving by 10:10. Then via the local metro to Old Trafford for our tour of the ground. We were surprised at some of the places we were allowed to visit such as the manager’s box and player rooms etc.

Old Trafford

After the our we headed back to Manchester for a train to Leeds and from there we transferred onto the Leeds to Carlisle via Settle service (very popular – essentially full). The journey from Settle to Carlisle is reportedly among the most scenic in the UK.

The journey is indeed quite beautiful with rolling green hills punctuated with small villages with very old stone buildings. Some villages being situated along  shallow low bank rivers and streams. Our journey ended in Carlisle at 5:30. Following a nice Indian dinner we hit the sack early.

Day 7 – Manchester + Manchester United  V Tottenham.

Before leaving Carlisle we strolled to Carlisle Castle for a quick photo before boarding our train back to Manchester.  

Carlisle Castle

After checking into our hotel we made our way to the ground to take in some of the pre-game atmosphere. Our seats (which included a nice post match 3 course dinner) were high on the 2^nd tier of the Alex Ferguson stand offering a nice view of the game. Unfortunately, the game did not go our way with Tottenham coming out on top 3-2.

Football Tally:

Matches : 4

Stadia: 4

                White Hart Lane, Stamford Bridge, Emirates, Old Trafford

Competitions:

                Premier League 2

                League cup 2

The Ultimate Football Excursion – Day 4 

Arundel Castle + Arsenal V Coventry

After all the walking yesterday needed to have a relaxing slow day before the League Cup game between Arsenal and Coventry. Headed to Arundel on the southwest train line – about 100 minutes outside London. Train as usual on time with plenty of seats. Nice relaxing train ride with time enjoy the scenery or dose (as was the case with Sam). Arundel Castle is a magnificent site as the train is pulling into the platform. The Castle itself is only 800 meters from the station and open most days. We took a quick tour inside but were unable to explore the outside too much as persistent showers had set in. Next was a very nice light lunch at a local (quaint) café followed by an up close look at Arundel Cathedral. Would not have minded a look inside however not sure how keen Sam was and we were short on time. Back to London by 5pm for an early traditional steak dinner.

Arundel Castle

Emirates Stadium – Arsenal V Coventry  League Cup Game.

Of the three stadiums visited so far Emirates is by far the best. It is more modern with better seats and amenities. We had excellent seats for the match. Getting home game tickets for Arsenal is damn near impossible unless you are member. Only games such as League Cup games go to general sale. The game was sold out so lucky I did purchase tickets on the day they came on general sale. As would be expected both sides fielded a number of fringe and young players mixed in with some experienced regular Premier League players. The game was pretty even in the first half with Arsenal going to the break 1-0. In the second Arsenal’s class showed as they began to dominate running out comfortable 6-1 winners.

Football Tally

Games – 3

Stadia - 3 (White Hart Lane, Stamford Bridge, Emirates Stadium)

Competitions:

                Premier League – 1

                League Cup – 2

No games tomorrow or Friday.

Paris day drip on the Eurostar tomorrow!

The Ultimate Football Excursion – Day 3.

London Sightseeing + Greenwich + Stamford Bridge (Chelsea V Wolves)

Brief report only as its well after midnight as I type this. Made our way into central London by about 9:30 with the first stop – London Eye. Paid extra to avoid the queues. Verdict – Much ado about nothing! Better views from ground level or from the River.

Visited Westminster hall and Abbey followed by St James’s Park and Buckingham Palace (Crowds++++). Next stop was the National Gallery (free entry). This was for my benefit as I am partial towards the “impressionists”. Highlights included works by Renoir, Monet and Van Gogh.

Westminster from London Eye

Westminster Abbey

Buckingham Palace

Next to Greenwich via the Thames taking the Tower of London and The Tower Bridge. Did the usual thing at the Royal Observatory of having a look and taking some photos  standing on the Prime Meridian.

Me on the Prime Meridian

Next Stamford Bridge after some nice Indian dinner. Immaculate ground- Amazing security. League Cup game between Chelsea and Wolves was very one sided with Chelsea on top from the opening whistle and running out winners – 6-0

The Ultimate Football Excursion: Day 1 and 2

Text Only Post - Sorry. It amazes me why it is so hard to get mobile wi-fi in the UK even when you are prepared to pay for it.

Day 1. (Weather – Moderate to heavy showers all day)

Arrived London essentially on time (7AM - Local Time) after a total 25 hour flight. Feeling the full brunt of jet lag with sleeplessness, nausea, headache etc etc. Luckily we were able to check in early and got in a couple of hours of sleep before heading to White Hart Lane for the first of five (5) Premier league games - Tottenham V QPR.

The London public transport is impressive once you can get your head around terms like "Bakerloo line to Elephant and Castle". Getting to White Hart Lane looks complex on paper with a couple of train changes followed by a bus ride but wasn't too bad. Asking the bus driver to let me know the correct bus stop to alight earned a terse "Away Supporter I See". He was very friendly after I told I was from Australia and this was my first day in London. Should have followed his advice regarding post game buses but we followed the crowd and were worse off with delays and finally had to go the area where the driver had advised.

Although not feeling the best we still enjoyed a good game from excellent seats. The pitch looked immaculate even though it had been raining all day. If you read the net one would think that Tottenham home games rarely go to general sale however this year every game has gone on general sale and I was able to secure tickets in advance and requested pick up at the ticket office. This is not as easy as you might think as there are different ticket offices for home and away teams and these can be quite a distance away - the local police were able to provide directions.

White Hart Lane

The game itself saw QPR dominate the first half with Spurs very lacklustre - only Lennon and Bale seem to be putting in an effort. This showed with QPR going into the break 1-0. Should have been 3-0 if not for some fine saves by Friedal. The second half Spurs came out blazing earning an unfortunate own goal from a well-directed corner followed by a second by Defoe tapping in after the excellent shot from Bale was deflected by the keeper on to the crossbar.

We made it back to our hotel by 8pm (game finished 6pm) - could have been earlier - see above. Immediately to bed for a looooong catch up sleep.

Day 2 (Morning drizzle – fine afternoon)

After a leisurely breakfast we made our away to London Waterloo station (on the Bakerloo line to Elephant and Castle no less) for a late morning train to Salisbury followed by a short bus trip through some very nice country to Stonehenge. My personal impression was that the site was smaller than what I had in my mind’s eye. It was in a very exposed part and at all hidden. Major roads run right past the site and the structure is visible from over 1km away on the main road.

Stonehenge

Salisbury Plains

What we were more impressed with was the inner older part of Salisbury itself. The very narrow streets and mall with a variety of shops and cafes but still with the feeling a country town. Also amzing (to me at least) was the age of some of the buildings. There is pub built in the 1400's. Its amaxing how the city has tried to incorporate modern transport while keeping the street scape of yesteryears. On the return journey stopped off at St Marys Cathedral - built in the 1200! Quite an impressive structure!

St Marys Cathedral

Returned to London around dinner time for some fine Indian dining ay Covent Gardens.

Tomorrow - London Sightseeing in the morning with visit to the National Gallery and Greenwich (it’s not all football - some culture, history and scenery as well) followed by the League Cup game Chelsea V Wolves at Stamford Bridge in the evening.

The Ultimate Football Excursion

So it Begins

Our ultimate football excursion begins - Sydney to London.

We hope to see 10 top level games over 15 days in England. 5 Premier League games, 2 League cup games, 1 Europa League, 1 Champions league and 1 npower championship game.

Off to a good start - upgraded to PE so will have a more comfortable trip.