Day 2 – A Bit of Footie and A Lot of Celebration

Day 2 was highlighted by the first taste of soccer in this European Soccer Excursion.   Newcastle United was in town to take on the Champions of Europe, Chelsea Football Club at Stamford Bridge.  But with kickoff being at 5:30pm local time (9:30am in LA) there was a whole day to spend walking about London and, of course, eating and pre-gaming.

 

My hotel is nicely situated in Earl’s Court, which is a short walk to Kings Road and Fulham Road, two of London’s higher end streets for shopping and eating.  I made my way into the fray and got breakfast at a popular spot called My Old Dutch.  They are known for having massive pancakes with all sorts of toppings; and I don’t just mean your traditional fruit, butter and syrup.  The menu had offerings like spaghetti and meatballs on top of a pancake or king prawns, tuna and olives on top of a pancake. My order was tame with just eggs, ham and mushrooms cooked into the pancake and it was delicious.



 

I'm still obsessed with the small size of the hotel elevator.  It says it can fit four people but I'd like to see that because it'd be like squeezing four people inside a telephone booth.

Enjoying the architecture of London

Thames River that runs through London

 

My Old Dutch on Kings Road in Chelsea

Before - The egg, ham and mushroom pancake at My Old Dutch. Note the size of the plate compared to the silverware...these things were huge!

After

Exhibition Road in South Kensington/Chelsea was lined with cafes and restaurants. The early part of the day was beautiful so everyone was out and about.

 

 

Around 2pm I made my way toward the stadium to begin pre-gaming.  In order to reduce conflicts between home and visiting fans the pubs designate which ones were for Chelsea fans and which pubs were for visiting team fans.  You had to show your game ticket to get in.  Since I had Chelsea tickets, I went to those bars.  I started at a small spot a block from Stamford Bridge called The Fox & Pheasent (no website, they're old school).  From their I went to a more lively place called The Butcher's Hook (British pubs have the best names). 

 

The Fox & Pheasant

 

Pre-gaming at The Butcher's Hook across from the stadium

 



Inside the Butcher's Hook

Made a few friends during the pre-game festivities

 

 

After a few pints and a couple Jack & Cokes, I made my way to the stadium.  By the time I got inside, it was pouring rain.  Fortunately, the stands are covered, while the field is out in the open.  Stamford Bridge holds about 45k people so it's not massive, but it's a loud crowd.  Plus, the Newcastle supporters, which there was about 10k, are equally as loud so it made for a fun, energetic atmosphere. 

 



The front of Stamford Bridge

The streets around the stadium were shut down a couple hours before game time

The match was televised on ESPN UK

The Chelsea FC Marching Band

View from my seats

I was surprised to find that you could bet on the match from inside the stadium

Enjoying the football environment

 

 

Chelsea won the match 2-0.  It was a great game with a lot of fast play, top-flight talent and lots of screaming and yelling.  It ended around 8pm, which left plenty of time to enjoy the Saturday evening in London.  First, I met up with Steve Atkins and Gareth Mills from the Chelsea FC press team for a couple pints at the stadium restaurant.  From there I went with another friend from Chelsea FC named Chris to a few bars around town.  We started at a London institution called The Blue Bird Cafe and from there made it over to Bunga Bunga in the Battersea area.  It's a restaurant by day and a bar/club by night. 

 

Steve Atkins and Gareth Mills from Chelsea FC

 

 

Chris Madsen from Chelsea FC. Big thanks to Chris for taking care of the match tickets.

Celebrations at Bunga Bunga

 

Bunga Bunga

I don't know what is happening here, but it doesn't look like I'm too happy about it.

Mingling with the locals.

Like any good night out, it ends with pizza. Fortunately, I have a few spots near the hotel.

 

 

 

Day three is a recover day, sort of.  Apparently I happen to be in town during the Notting Hill Carnival, which is Notting Hill's version of Carnival/Mardi Gras.  It's one of London's biggest annual celebrations of arts, dance, food and culture.  It should make for another eventful day.  

Day 1 - Let the Games Begin

Hello hello!  I made it safe and sound to old foggy London town!  Total travel time was 14hrs, which included a brief layover in Detroit.  Perhaps it was the excitement and anticipation for the trip or splitting the flight into two parts or even the numerous complimentary in-flight movies, but it was a short 14hrs.  It felt like I went to bed Thursday night and woke up a few short hours later in London.

London bound

 

My last view of U.S. soil until the end of September

 

Copyright infringement...'Be Safe' is my line!

London from the air

 The tube

 

After a short tube ride from Heathrow to the Earl's Court area, I checked into the Garden View Hotel, a humble establishment in the affluent area of Nevern Square.   It's about a 20-min walk from Stamford Bridge stadium, home to Saturday's showdown between Chelsea FC and Newcastle United.  Now, I've stayed in some small rooms before and I'm not a hotel snob, but my room at the Garden View takes the cake.  The amenities are nice and the building is well-kept, but it's just ridiculously small.  The elevator, aka the lift, fits one person and a bag and my room is the size of a walk-in closet.  Literally, it's the width of my arm span.  None the less, I don't plan on spending much time in the room anyway so I'll make do. 

The front of the Garden View Hotel

The neighborhood in Earl's Court around the hotel

Room with a view - thankfully I have a nice view of the park across the street

 

For lunch I dove right into the local cuisine - sausage, apple and onion pie with chips and steamed veggies

My mini room - it's the width of my arm span

Day one on the ground in London included getting a lay of the land and scoping out the Earl's Court area, which consists of numerous restaurants, bars, pubs and taverns...pretty much the same as any other part of London.  After a brief rest at the hotel I spent the evening in the Piccadilly Circus area enjoying a few pints and grabbing a bite to eat in China Town.  I also did a bit of site seeing and saw Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, and some of the remnants of the Olympics.

Piccadilly Circus tube station

Masses of people walking around Piccadilly, it's like the Times Square of London

The Royal Crest on the Buckingham Palace gate

Buckingham Palace

St. James Park across from Buckingham Palace

Trafalgar Square

Big Ben from a distance

The streets of the West End area were lined with lively pubs and restaurants on Friday night

 

I grabbed a bite at Super Star in China Town

Leicester Square in downtown London

The Round House in Leicester Square was my pub of choice for night one

The first pint of many that I plan to enjoy on this trip

Day two is the first soccer match.  With my favorite team being Newcastle and the team I'm most familiar with from a work standpoint being Chelsea, this match is the perfect way to kickoff (pun complelty intended) this soccer excursion.  I'll be sure to get plenty of photos and video to share.

And finally, I've been enjoying some good music on this trip - both my own iPod/iPad and from different external sources - so I plan to share various songs along the way.  In honor of my arrival in England, the first song is from one of the biggest British pop and R&B singers from the '70s and '80s, Billy Ocean's "Get out of My Dreams and Get Into My Car."  Enjoy!

One Day Until Departure - Fun & Inspiring Travel Videos

We're fans of videos and images that encourage and inspire traveling and exploring so we're kicking off this blog in similar fashion to our first couple of trips with a couple travel-oriented videos.

First, Jason Mraz' "I'm Yours" music video.  The words, images and general vibe encapsulate the positive laid-back, go-with-the-flow mentality that Travel In Sandals has when traveling.

Second, this Louis Vuitton Commercial digs a little deeper and pulls on the heart strings. Along with the amazing visuals, it conveys a quality message of travel and exploration as a form of self-discovery. Best line, "Does the person create the journey? Or does the journey create the person?"

And last but not least is the latest "Where the Hell is Matt? 2012" video.  For those who don't know this series, it's amazing! A few years back a regular guy named Matt was off traveling around the world and he created a blog and some goofy entertaining videos to let his family and friends know where he was.  The videos went viral and now he's turned that into a series of fun inspiring travel videos that are sponsored by big brands.  The link above is the video from this year.  If watching this and seeing all the distant and domestic locations he's traveled to doesn't jar an emotion to explore the world than TravelInSandals.com is probably not for you. 

Enjoy!

Introducing the 2012 European Soccer Excursion

Travel In Sandals (TIS) is back in action for 2012...sort of.  Unfortunately, we couldn't get the whole band back together this year...in fact, this edition of TIS is going to be a one-man show.  However, you can expect the same fun exploration of food, culture, sites and of course nightlife.  Plus, it’s a lengthier trip - 33 days total - and I'll have special guest Q&As with fellow travelers, one-on-one discussions with locals, and I'll be posting a lot more video footage of the various adventures.

The theme of this year's trip is "European Soccer Excursion," which means I'll be hitting 10 cities (at least) across Europe and attending soccer matches in about five of them.

The theme for this 2012 soccer trip stems from a month-long soccer work project I just wrapped up here in the U.S.  I was fortunate enough to help manage press and public relations for the Herbalife World Football Challenge, one of the largest and most successful soccer exhibitions ever staged in North America.  During this project I established several relationships with European soccer clubs such as Chelsea FC, Real Madrid, Celtic FC, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, and others.  I am now taking advantage of those relationships and going to their hometowns to experience how they do “football.”

Here’s the itinerary and a map of the proposed trip.  I have some trains and hotels pre-booked, but several of the accommodations and travel arrangements will be coordinated on the fly. 

Aug 23 - Depart LA to London

Aug 24-27 - London - (8/25 Chelsea v Newcastle)

Aug 28-31 - Glasgow/Edinburgh - (8/29 Celtic v Helsingborgs in Glasgow)

Sept 1-4 - Madrid (9/2 Real Madrid v Granada)

Sept 5-8 - San Sebastian (north shore of Spain)

Sept 9-13 - Barcelona (no games)

Sept 14-16 - Milan - (9/16 AC Milan v Atalanta)

Sept 17-19 - Villa Dianella in Vinci, Italy - www.VillaDianella.it

Sept 20-22 - Bastia on the island of Corsica (9/22 Paris Saint-Germain AT Bastia)

Sept 23-25 - Paris

Sept 26 - Return to LA

Day 15 - El Dia Final

Since our last day was mostly travel - Santo Domingo to Miami, a layover and then Miami to LA - we figured our last post should feature our final thoughts on the trip along with a few of our favorite photos. 

GARRETT:

Thinking back on every major trip I've ever taken, there are always a handful of memories or experiences that stand out. They are the stories that you find yourself telling over and over when people ask you about one vacation or another. This trip had a lot of those: from standing next to one of my best friends as a groomsman while he got married in Mexico, to off-roading to some of the most beautiful (and deserted) beaches I've ever seen in Puerto Rico, to playing golf on a course that rivals pretty much any other in terms of ocean views and breathtaking holes in the Dominican Republic.  But at the risk of sounding cheesy, what I'll remember most about this trip is that I got to spend it with Lauren and three of our closest pals.

For me, traveling with friends makes a trip even more fun.  Five people equals five times the laughs and goofy experiences that inevitably come up on a trip to strange places.  A waitress of ours in Cabarete put it best when we asked her where we should go one evening to have fun.  She said (in shaky English), "You are five. You bring your own ambiance wherever you go."  And she was right. Even when it was just us, we had the best of times, building up a mountain of inside jokes that we'll be able to laugh about forever. ("In esta area...!")

As Mark Twain said, "there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them."  Well, el Caribe Cinco, I like you guys, and I look forward to our next adventure...

LAUREN:

It was an honor to be the first "official" female Travel in Sandals companion, although I'd like to think the first REAL Travel in Sandals adventure was Thailand in 2005.  While the obvious highlight of the trip was the Hanniston wedding, I have to say all of the pool and beach time topped my list. We really lucked-out with the weather this time of year - every time we departed a city, we took the sunshine with us and made it rain behind us. I enjoyed spending time relaxing with friends, playing Hearts, eating some delicious meals, taking my first real dip in the ocean (in a long time), and drinking 'Ron Punch.'  Low points for me would have to be Montezuma's revenge and roughing it at the Bananas guesthouse, but I got past it.  It was an adventure, as always, and I hope our readers enjoyed following us along the way.

MO:

As the fourth chapter of Travel in Sandals has come to a close, I am once again thankful for the memories, experiences, discoveries and laughs we had along the way. This trip was made even more memorable as we kicked off the trip with the wedding festivities of two very special friends, Dustin and Hannah! Thank you so much for letting me be part of your special day. It was perfect in every way!  From there, our adventures were highlighted by private beaches, off-road exploring, sunny skies, bioluminescent bays, new cultures, amazing food, new friends, shiny shoes, historical sites, incredible waterfalls and an unbelievable golf experience! Thanks again to all my Travel in Sandals pals who were there to make the trip another great one! I look forward to our next adventures! Boom!

GREG:
Another Travel In Sandals trip is in the books, and once again it was a great success. The weather held up throughout the trip and no one would have ever known it was hurricane season.  Despite my extensive travel experience, this trip included my first ever destination wedding, and I must say, spending fourdays at an all inclusive resort with a bunch of your friends and seeing two great people get married is pretty awesome.  Some other highlights of the trip included kayaking and playing with the water in the bioluminescent bay, which needs to be seen in person to be fully appreciated, and exploring deserted beaches and a rain forest. But perhaps the greatest discovery of the trip was finding out that casinos in Puerto Rico and the Dominican serve free food as well as free drinks at the tables.  It really brought my gambling experience to a whole new level.  Thanks to the rest of the TIS crew and everyone else who contributed to another amazing experience.  I can’t wait for the next trip!

MATT:

I enjoy listing things so here are a couple thoughts...

- Weather - Talk about lucky...in the 15 days we were in the Caribbean during "hurricane season," it rained a total of 2-3 days and most of that was at night after we'd gone to bed. Hurricane season my ass!

- Off-season v. In-season - The cost in the off-season is significantly cheaper but the amount of activity and people in restaurants, bars and beaches is also greatly reduced. We enjoyed the exclusivity and the pampering but I think I'd prefer visiting when the towns and beaches are really bustling.

- Adapting - Plans change, cultures vary and things can always go wrong so you must be able to adapt.   We were constantly discussing changes in itinerary and different options and everyone was always more than willing to go with the flow.  Having a group that is so willing to adapt makes a trip much easier.

- Accepting - The people you travel with can be as different as the countries you visit so you have to keep an open mind and be accepting of other people's ways.  It's ironic that the things that irritate you at first end up being the things you like about a person...most of the time.

- Adventurous - Taking the traditional path is essential for experiencing the basics but I'm a believer in testing the boundaries and exploring a bit further.  Whether it's a dirt road to a secret beach, a club in the heart of a supposedly all-local area, scarfing down a whole fish head to tail, a night-time kayak tour, or accepting a round of golf from a stranger, willing to go outside your norm is the only way to travel.

- Family - I think we've reached a point that we're beyond friends, we're family.  Only family members argue and get on each others nerves one second and are right back to laughing and having fun the next.  Only family make fun of each other and point out each other's flaws but love them because of those flaws - snoring, picky eating, mispelling, bathroom breaks and always needing snacks.  Only family can spend two weeks with each other nonstop and within 36 hrs of being home be excited to hang out again.

Like with all great things, you can't be sad that they’re over, you have to be happy that they happened.

Thanks for following along on our Caribbean journey and for chiming in with comments, e-mails, suggestions and support. We'll do this all again on our next trip so be sure to log back in when Travel In Sandals hits the road in 2012!

Until next time, travel whenever possible, and if you do, travel in sandals!

A few of our favorite photos: