Nottingham

Wes and I started our day in the London borough called Notting Hill at the famous brightly painted Victorian houses on Lancaster Road. 

What a quaint place to live! I can’t imagine how they deal with the crowds! We then walked the sides streets to Portobello Road for the enormous street market. It sold everything from food, to tea sets, to purses, to souvenirs. It was fantastic for the food choices alone - Turkish, Iraqi, Italian. It made my mouth water!

It was a mix of old world and modern architecture, mirroring the variety of items for sale in the stalls. 

We left with a couple of souvenirs and Portuguese doughnuts because why not? 

We picked up the boys at the house and took the train to St. Pancras Station where I finally got to see the famous Christmas tree book nook. You can sit in a nook and listen to a book while you wait for a train. And lots of people were waiting for a train since the Eurostar was closed today due to flooding in the channel. Unbeknownst to us we took the last train to London last night. Thank goodness our trip wasn’t canceled. Otherwise, we would have missed game four in Nottingham. 

Evan has European game day culture down pat; wear your team’s gear, ride the train, and crack a cold one. 

While on the street grabbing dinner from a kiosk, Keagan got interviewed by a local television station. He predicted a Man U win, but was sadly proven wrong with a final score of 1-2. What a disappointment to see your team lose again!

The City Ground is a small stadium; Nottingham Forest is a small club. But the fans were the best we have encountered! So much spirit and enthusiasm. 

The boys got tickets in the Man United section and sat three rows behind the goal. They got to cheer for the Devils and yell all of the chants. What an experience for them! Wes and I sat in the home section where the local fans were electric with their own chants! 

We are headed back to London where we will wake up tomorrow and head for the airport. This trip has been fantastic! It will be difficult to top this trip next year. But Wes and I are going back to work on Tuesday to start saving for next December. 

Goodbye Amsterdam, Hello London

Good bye, Amsterdam. You are a beautiful city, truly breathtaking. But…

l had forgotten how much Europeans smoke. And I’m over it. So hello, London. 

We woke up to rain this morning, but by the time the train made it to the city center the sun was trying to shine - for about two minutes. Then it turned cloudy again. We had lunch at a local cafe, but it’s hardly worth mentioning. The streets were so crowded today with tourists on holiday and people coming into the city for the day. It was almost impossible to walk and window shop, which is what it seemed a lot of people were doing. We had a ten minute wait just to get into The Lego Store, but Evan decided he had no money for that. We also did some shopping in a soccer store. And both boys decided they had money for that. 

We had coffee and shakes at another cafe before making our way back to the train station to catch the Eurostar back to London. Evan said, “We’ve seen four countries in the time it takes me to drive to Knoxville. Unbelievable.” 

The train was running late getting into London, so once we found our new AirB&B in Notting Hill, we ordered out for a very late dinner. We are closer to the city and only steps from the train station, but this place is tiny! There’s no way the four of us could stay here for more than a couple of days. Tomorrow I hope to make a stop at Portabello Market. 

Our time here is winding down. Two more wake-ups and we will be back home. 

Day Two in Amsterdam

Two words. My feet! I may never recover from walking on cobblestone. Today we took the train into Amsterdam and got pancakes. And of course, the boys made fun of me for getting peach, honey, and goat cheese. But it was perfect! 

We then walked the streets to Ann Frank’s house where we had a tour. This was a great tour and well worth the 0300 alarm last month to secure the tickets! 

I told Evan these people must be Vol fans, and then he told me he ran into someone at one of the games that saw his orange beanie and yelled, “Go, Vols!” Tennessee fans are all over the world!

I wonder if Europeans are underwhelmed when they walk American streets. How long would it take for me to take all of this, the color, the style, the uniqueness, for granted?  

Walking along the streets is breathtaking. Every turn brings something different. 

After the tour we walked through a flower market. I could have spent a fortune buying bulbs. I bought some with an “American seal of agriculture” which I think is fake, but I was willing to take the chance. I know exactly where I’ll plant them. 

And then we bought cheese. But cow cheese, not goat. Otherwise, I’d never hear the end of it. 

Wes and I hit up a couple of Deflt pottery stores to window shop, and the boys sat canal side chatting it up. 

After lunch we continued our foot tour of the city. 

And we ended the night with a total bummer canal cruise. It was advertised as an evening holiday lights tour, but it was art work turned AI themed. It was bad, so bad we took no pictures because nothing was memorable. 

It’s about to rain again. The north wind is howling and we are snug in the house resting our sore feet, eating cheese - cow cheese. 

Life is grand!

Day One in Amsterdam

Today we were up early, real early, to catch the Eurostar train to Amsterdam. We were so tired after last night’s late night and just wanted to sleep. As soon as we loaded up our luggage on the train, we closed our eyes and slept sitting upright. We encountered a delay that added 60 min to the train ride, but when we got out of the station, it was all worth it! 

Lo key, I might prefer Amsterdam to London, and I loved London! The rooflines and architecture are unmatched. It’s just beautiful! 

Our first priority was food! We didn’t eat breakfast because remember we ate our last three eggs yesterday, so when we arrived in the city at 1400 we were famished. We stopped at the first place that didn't have a wait. Satiated with food and drinks, we walked through the city to The Van Gogh Museum. We passed a charming flower shop 

and antique stores with Delft blue pottery. My pieces from the clearance rack at Hobby Lobby look just like this! 

After a walk through the city center to the museum quarter, we were tickled to see dozens of Asians in line to get a selfie - not with Van Gogh’s work but a painting of Pikachu! Evan said, “Imagine what would have happened if they chose Hello Kitty instead.” I was more thrilled to see Almond Blossom. 

And Peach Trees in Blossom.

We left the museum and the sun had set. This time we were on the hunt for dessert. We found Apple beignets,  lemon tarts, and chocolate. It was all divine!

I forgot how much I love European bakeries and specialty stores that sell one thing. Tomorrow we get to take a canal cruise to see the lights, but they were stunning from the streets reflecting on the water. 

The Christmas market has ended so we missed that, but the city is decorated like the people are still celebrating. Side note. I’m destined to be run over by a bicyclist from looking up at the buildings. This guy wanted to take me out, but rang his bike bell instead. It was his way to show a little Christmas cheer. 

This is what a beer, a Diet Coke, chocolate, and coffee will get you after only three hours of sleep. Smiles!

After a train ride to Almere and a bus ride to Muziekwijk, we found our AirB&B. The boys thought it was 🔥. This was satisfying to pick agreeable lodging after hours of walking, traveling, figuring out public transportation, and no sleep. 

It’s now raining and we are comfortable in the house. Some more than others. 

I can’t wait to see the great food and city experiences we have tomorrow. I’m hoping to eat Dutch pancakes, a Turkish doner, and maybe another pastry. I need to give oliebollen a try. 

Boxing Day in Manchester

Today was the big, big day! We took the car four hours north to Manchester where we passed nothing on the highway but fields of sheep and the occasional castle in the distance. Just sheep and castles. Wild! We were headed to the highly anticipated match between Man U and Aston Villa. Keagan’s dream to see a game at Old Trafford came true today! I was fearful he wouldn’t be able to enjoy the game, but he woke up feeling great after he was down for 12 hours with a stomach bug. 

The streets were lined with kiosks selling game day food, and we were starved after our remaining three eggs were split among four people for breakfast. We stopped for fish and chips and ate on the street with the locals. This time we tried it with brown gravy, like Sunday roast gravy, and it was great!



We shopped for gear at another street kiosk and made our way into the official team store where Keagan bought a warm-up jacket. 

Then we made it to our seats for warmups. The atmosphere was so much better here than at London Stadium; the crowd was much more enthusiastic. 



After being down 0-2 at half, we came back with three goals for the win. The boys were ecstatic! We beat the #2 team in the league - something nobody really expected to see happen tonight. This game will probably be voted the match of the year, and we saw it!

We are headed back to London tonight to catch an early morning train to Amsterdam. We might get four hours of sleep tonight, but we hope to sleep on the train. 

Cheers to a great night of soccer!

Christmas Day at Windsor

Because the public trains and buses are not operating today, we had to rent a car for these last few days we are in London. This afternoon we took the car meant for minions to Windsor, Queen Elizabeth’s favorite residence. Built more than 900 years ago, I envisioned a small castle in the countryside, a country escape from the city. But lo and behold, McDonalds is right across the street! And it was a massive fortress with a castle in the center; this was not a small home by any means. The grounds were closed today due to the holiday, but the gate opened for one hour for Christmas Evensong. 

We planned to attend the service at St. George’s chapel, but Keagan has a stomach bug and I was scared to death he was going to throw up during “Mary Did You Know.” We left earlier than planned, but the village of Windsor was charming. 

We picked up treats from a bakery outside the fortress and headed home to eat our Chinese take out. Keagan went straight to bed; I sure hope he’s better before tomorrow’s big day. And I hope the rest of us don’t get it, too.

Merry Christmas! 🎄