Originally posted February 15, 2011
Back by popular demand, I give you the newest update of The Travelling Gentleman…
After a long two weeks of being hassled to write another post, I feel I have finally accumulated enough news to write more than a paragraph or two. These couple weeks consisted of a Superbowl, my first proper English football experience, my first visit to Camden Town, the Bavarian Beerhouse, a flat party, becoming a fan of rugby, and all the while being held back from a world of opportunities by the financial and societal obligation known as higher education. Let’s dive right in.
It was a brisk Sunday morning. Two strapping young gentlemen found themselves standing with the city at their fingertips. The sun gently warming their faces, delivering just a small taste of the beautiful day to come. The sounds of the city awoke the desire for discovery in their hearts as the sun so willfully lead them to the glorious land known only as, Camden Town. It was a day to be remembered. The streets were bustling with life as the sounds of the Sunday market created a symphony of metropolitan culture. Smiling and laughter between friends over a cup of coffee. Bursts of excitement over finding the perfect shirt. Sounds of satisfaction and jubilation over a delicious market lunch. And the questions and puzzled looks about whether they were just ripped off by that crazy old lady with the weird hat who at first they thought was maybe sleeping but her store was so nice they thought they had to take a look and after being freaked out when she made a noise they quickly bought a couple t-shirts after being overwhelmed by the practiced negotiation skills of a veteran haggler. In this glorious landscape a young man had found what he had been looking for. He had found his favourite place in London…
The rumours are true. Camden Town is fantastic. We went there on the busiest day of the week, which was nice to experience once, but just like Portobello, it will never happen again. Crowds aside, it is such a great area. There is a main strip that has a bunch of markets that branch off from various parts of the street. The cool part is that you go into one market and without realizing it, you all of a sudden wind your way all through the town. We would go in one entrance, and come out another without any idea of where we were. Stores with local art, vintage clothes, jewelery, all that jazz. Then there was every imaginable style of food to choose from. The buildings are all fantastic, the people are so interesting, and there is water that runs directly through the market, which set the stage for some beautiful photo opportunities. Just an absolutely stunning area and it made for a very enjoyable Sunday afternoon. And though we were having such a great time, we had to rush home to a local pub in time to catch the Chelsea v Liverpool football match. Now I am a Chelsea supporter, so not only was I excited to watch the game, but I was looking forward to watching with some proper English fans. Low and behold I walk into a sea of Red as the majority of the bar just so happens to be Liverpool supporters. Naturally, I ordered my pint and scurried over to a friendly young fellow sporting a Chelsea uniform. I watched along with 2 of my friends who are also football fans. The whole place was electric with every chance on goal, it was fantastic. Coming from North America where football (soccer) is hardly appreciated, it was amazing to experience the passion people here have for the sport.
Following this game was a few hours to eat dinner, which was then followed by the Superbowl. I think the majority of us know what happened. As a young lad at the tender age of 7, growing up in Racine, Wisconsin, the Green Bay Packers were more than just a team. They were the hopes and dreams of every fan who cheered not because they had to (even though they did), but because they wanted to. Every Sunday was Superbowl Sunday. And finally, after 14 long years, after losing a legend and witnessing the birth of new one, we Packer fans can bring the trophy home. As I walked down the deserted streets of London, England at 3:30am upon the games completion, I realized something. I was one of maybe 6 people in the UK that knew what just happened. So naturally I made it a point to let everyone in screaming distance know who the Superbowl champs were. The celebration made it’s way back to our residence, and needless to say, 9am class came early the next morning.
Yikes, guess I should have just done a post after this epic Sunday. Ah well, we soldier on. I didn’t get all of the pictures I wanted at Camden Market on Sunday, so I made my way back later that week and had a great time touring around on my own and taking lots of photos. Also in that same week, a couple of my German friends and I went to a German pub close to our place called the Bavarian Beerhouse to watch the German v Italy international football match. The pub was so legit that it made one of the guys say that he felt like he was back in Germany. After realizing I was the only non-German in the pub, I got a quick lesson on translations for ‘shoot’, ‘penalty’, and shiza! (no translation required). Had a great time. Drank proper German brew and a massive plate of schnitzel. This night was followed with another evening at the pub with my friend Evan, who is living here working as a chef.
This past weekend I got my first opportunity to hang out with my flatmates in my residence. We had a pre-drink in our shared kitchen, and then a couple of us went out to a club where we met some of my international friends. Great night out and it was nice to not only meet the people that I have been living so close to, but it was great to make friends with some locals from England. One of which I spent the next day with watching The 6 Nations Cup, which is a Rugby tournament that is extremely popular here in the UK. I only had a vague understanding of the game, but after he explained some of the rules to me, and watching my first game from start to finish, I really enjoyed taking in the sport. Again, not something that is very popular in North America, so it is much easier to appreciate it here in London. Fantastic sport though, I will definitely be watching some more.
It was pointed out that in my last post I made little, if any, mention of my studies here in London. Yes, I am actually attending school. For those who don’t know, the University is called City University and more specifically I am studying at Cass Business School, which is part of City Uni. The education structure is a bit different than back in Canada, so it has been a bit of an adjustment. But there are alternative assessments for international students, which means that I do an extra project, such as an essay, on top of the coursework that everyone else does. This way I finish on April 1 as opposed to writing final exams into May with the local students. It’s great for me, who not only is brutal at standardized testing, but this frees me up for travel opportunities around Europe before I go back to Canada! Less school and more traveling. Every boys dream right? In all seriousness I am genuinely enjoying taking in the international education, and as much as school is a drag, it gives my trip and day to day life some structure.
Yet again, I seemed to have rambled off a lengthy blog post. My apologies. For those of you who stuck around I have some exciting stuff coming up. In just 5 days my good friend Ted from back home is coming to spend 8 days here, which includes the two of us taking a trip to Amsterdam. That, along with showing him London, will be sure to include a plethora of update quality information. So I promise another post much sooner than this one.
Side note: I attempted uploading photos onto my blog, but it takes forever and clicking through photos is extremely slow and tedious. So for those of you who are able, I encourage you to check out my photos on Facebook, as I will most likely not be uploading all of them here.
And in the spirit of paying it forward, for stories from another handsome traveler of a more tropical nature, I encourage all who are unaware to check out cousin Scott’s blog (http://lifewithscott13.blogspot.com/)
All the best to friends and family back home! Hope you are all doing well!
No Regrets.
Pete