Spencer's Semester Abroad: March 9th-March 11th

March 9th

Today my friend Teddy came in town from Paris. His train got in at 2:30pm (14:30 in Europe), so he walked around London for a few hours until Chris and I got off work. When I got back, he came over. The three of us caught up for a bit, showered, and then went to the Coach and Horses pub on the corner so Teddy could eat dinner. After grabbing some pints, we swung by Pierce’s apartment to meet him and Joe. We hung out, then went to a few more pubs. The first pub had a rooftop bar which was nice since it was pretty warm out. Finally, we ended up going back to the Rocket and sat at a table. This 44 year old British guy ended up sitting down with us, drunk as a skunk, and was swapping stories and giving us what he called ‘American History 101’. We were there until closing time, but overall a fun, relaxing night.

March 10th

My friends Will and Drew from Wash U were expected to get in to King’s Cross around 1:00pm. Since we wanted to wait to do anything touristy until they got in town, Chris and I got our hair cut. Teddy stopped by the British Museum to snap some pictures and when we finished, the two of them went back to our apartment and I met Will and Drew at the train.

After spending some time catching up, the five of us walked around London. We covered alot of ground and looped our way from Tower of London, to Tower Bridge, to London Bridge, stopping by Borough Market to eat, continuing to the River Thames Bankside, and crossing the Millennium Bridge to St. Paul’s Cathedral before returning home. Walking around took a lot out of us, so we took a quick two hour nap before getting ready to go out. Tonight, we were going to Ministry of Sound, one of the major clubs in London with a Saturday Student Night. The club ended up being really fun. By 3:00am, we decided to head back. Instead of going home, we grabbed some late-night Kebabs at Mix Grill near our place. Probably a bad decision. By the time we went to bed, it was around 4-4:30am.

March 11^th

Waking up at 6:45am on a little over two hours of sleep, we got ready to take the train to Manchester to see the Manchester United Football Club. We got on the tube and went to the Euston Square, instead of Euston, causing us to have to backtrack and sprint through the station to barely make it on the train in time. Running at a dead sprint on two hours of sleep after a late night of drinking should be an Olympic sport.

By the time we got to the train, we were huffing and puffing. The train to Manchester (England’s 3^rd largest city) was around 2.5 hours long. I slept the entire way; I wish someone took pictures of the positions I was sleeping in because I’m pretty sure my body was just as contorted as someone who jumped out of an airplane without a parachute and hit the ground. When I woke up, my back hurt so much I could barely stand up.

When we got near the stadium, it was an awesome sight. It looked like the Red Sea (except no water, just crazy soccer hooligans dressed in all red) mobbing the area around the stadium. Imagine a mixture of Mardi Gras and the area around Wrigley before a game. It was awesome, and helped build even more excitement before the game. We got to the stadium and were greeted by a member of the back office, who took us in a private gate. Here, we got to go through the tunnels of the stadium and onto the pitch just a few hours before kickoff. The grass was like a putting green, it was so slick and smooth. Such a cool experience and a beautiful 80,000 person stadium.

After snapping a few pictures, Manchester United’s Chief Operating Office spoke to us, gave us the history of the team and the stadium, and explained the business behind such a successful football club. When he finished speaking, we ate lunch in the stadium and then had to exit. Since Manchester’s stadium will be hosting events during the Olympics, they had a test run for security and everyone was searched more intensely than usual. We finally got to our seats and relaxed until kickoff.

The game was awesome. Manchester United is one of the best teams in Europe, and they dominated the game. The fans chanted and sang throughout the game. My favorite chant, I’m sure you can see why was...

"U-N-I-T-E-D, United are the team for me

with a nick nack paddy wack give the dog a bone;

why don't City F*** off home"

After a great game, we left and took the tram to the middle of the city in Manchester. We were so tired, we just got some dinner before taking the train home. I again slept the entire way. When we finally got back to the apartment, I pretty much just called it a night. I have to rest up for the week to come. But I’m dreading waking up early for work tomorrow, but you know me, just taking care of business as usual.