Deuces UK

Leaving Scotland was bittersweet. I had such a great time and met so many amazing people that it was hard to say goodbye. Getting on the bus was great however because I knew that my trip was continuing and I still had so much more to do and see. Over the next few days I spent a lot of time on the move going from Glasgow to Manchester, Manchester to Bristol, Bristol to Salisbury, Salisbury to Stonehenge, Stonehenge back to Salisbury, then back to Bristol, then back to Manchester, and then finally back to London. And every mile was totally worth it.

My best friend back home Jeff, and I have a rivalry in just about everything that we do. From video games, golf, chess (which he’s terrible at by the way haha), eating, and I'm sure if it came down to it, we would gamble on who can hold their breath the longest. But in saying all that, one of our rivalries includes soccer. I'm a Chelsea fan, and he roots for Manchester United, so I thought I would do him a favour and visit their stadium for him while I was there. It felt like someone poked my heart being there though, but I guess that’s just what you do for the people you care about! I left Manchester to go to Bristol, a nice city with some beautiful buildings.

I had to take a train from Bristol to Salisbury and then a bus from there to go see Stonehenge. Although tourists aren't allowed to walk up next to the stones anymore, it was still really exciting being there and learning about the stones themselves while also letting my imagination roam about what they were actually used for. It was a burial ground of sorts but it just blows my mind that these MASSIVE stones were transported over long distances to be placed in this unique formation. And pictures may say a thousand words, but seeing something in person is worth a thousand memories. So cool to see famous things most people only see online. When I finished walking around Stonehenge, I looked at the time and said, “I really don’t want to wait an hour for the next bus back to Salisbury, so, using my American charm, I asked around and found someone that was willing to give me a ride. It took much less time than I expected and was offered a ride back from a local named Bob. He was a super cool guy who plays in a rock band. Totally worth taking the hitchhiking route (something I had yet to do on my trip).

Now to the important stuff, haha. The Chelsea game. I honestly don’t know where to begin. I arrived at my hostel and settled in quickly before walking around watching the massive crowds of Chelsea fans roam the streets (most of them already drunk). I then bought a Chelsea Scarf, Hat and golf divot fixer before waiting by the door of the stadium. The minutes ticked by very slowly and the anticipation grew. But when the doors were opened, I couldn't get the smile off my face. When I bought the ticket, the guy at the counter said that I was going to be on the lower tier, right next to the action. Now when I heard that I was thinking; oh yeah, I’ll be on the lower balcony with a pretty good view. But no, when I stepped into the stadium and saw where my seat was, I realized that he literally meant, right…up…next…to…the…action. I was roughly five yards from the pitch, so close I could touch the turf. Before the game started, I sparked up a conversation with a young security guard. He hadn't been working there long but he really enjoyed it. He was an extremely nice guy, along with all the other people working there.

One of the most exciting parts about being at the game was the crowd. They have so many chants and sayings and the sound of each person singing and yelling in unison is pretty remarkable. My favorite chant they had, and you’ll understand if you are a football fan, was, “If you hate Tottenham, stand up.” Although it probably doesn’t originate with the Chelsea club, it is still hilarious. We all watched, sitting at the edge of our seats until the 24^th minute for Zouma to be in the right place and put the ball in the back of the net. The crowd, and myself, went absolutely crazy! But then we were disappointed only six minutes later when Bolton score. The funny thing is that when anyone scores, a mob of security rushes out to block any fans from doing something stupid. So, I got a good kick out of seeing all the security and hearing all the fans boo and yell at the Bolton players after they scored. As the game went into the second half I had two things on my mind. Please score again and win, and José Mourinho please put Didier Drogba into the game. Thanks to Oscar in the 54^th minute, Chelsea scored again giving them the lead, and then in the 71^st minute, Drogba (My favorite footballer) was put into the game. I have to say it was one of the best nights throughout this trip, especially knowing that I probably won’t ever have a chance to do it again. I definitely went to sleep happy!!
I woke up still kind of high from the game but knew there were a couple other things I wanted to see. First stop, The Natural History Museum. The museum is ENORMOUS. It took several hours to walk through but things like that are so fascinating to me. It was extremely busy with school classes doing field-trips as well as hundreds of other tourists. Next stop, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. I thought that because I had the opportunity to cook for him while on MasterChef, why not stop by. It’s not as big as I expected, but you can tell by the look, that there are definitely dishes worth hundreds of dollars being cooked inside.

Three weeks left and I know that it is going to fly by. The UK has been a lot of fun, but over the next ten days or so I am off to Spain, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France before I head back to Dublin to hang with my family before going back to the US. Until next time!