Tag: new city

England (Mainly London) Thoughts

  • Upon visiting London, I’ve officially checked off 1/3 travel goals I’ve had since middle school when I was finally starting to get that craving to travel. (The life goal: Coffee/Tea on a raining day in London. The other 2 to be completed: Vacation in Santorini Greece, backpack across New Zealand)
  • My list of top touristy shit to do: 1) Tower of London 2) Tower Bridge 3) British Museum 4) London Eye 5) Buckingham Palace 6) Trafalgar Square 7) Houses of Parliament 8) Shakespeare’s Globe 9) HMS Belfast 10) Camden Market
  • London actually has bike lanes! NYC could learn a thing or two from this. Yeah fuck you and your tickets NYPD.
  • Besides the bike lanes, there actually is a lot of similarities between London and NYC – both extremely large cities filled with busy (sometimes pretentious) individuals. Amazing restaurants, activities, and other entertainment that will leave your wallet crying. But the people living in both cities will tell you they can’t imagine living anywhere else.
  • Camden Street might be my favorite market I’ve ever been to. The decorations, the water, the streets, the shops, the people, the food…all amazing. Best part: the sampling. When I was a child, after a soccer (sorry, football) game, my Dad often went to Costco to pickup food for the family weekend. Yet somehow he never seemed to comprehend that after playing a game of soccer and burning hundreds of calories, I would be hungry. It was in these moments that Costco was my saving grace. I’d hit up every single sample stations and usually repeat spots to get enough of a meal to quench the appetite. Camden took me back to this memory, except the samples here was from some of the freshest meat, potatoes, and deserts I’ve ever had.
  • New (Terrible) Business Idea: Right by Platform 9 and 3/4, there should be a “rent a child” station – this could be utilized for all the adults like me who want to take a picture, but feel awkward. Being able to pay a couple quid to rent a child to escort them will make waiting in line less embarrassing, and give the adult someone to talk to about their love of the books / movies. The child can also be there as a caretaker (and accountant) for the foreign adult who may most likely wander into the Harry Potter store and want to buy everything there.
  • Hoping that Brits find my accent as charming and attractive as I find theirs. Ah no way, this can’t be objectively true….Well come to think of it, there has to be something there due to the scarcity model. You hear a Brit (am I allowed to call them Brits?) speak in the US, it’s rare and deemed more attractive. Perhaps the opposite could ring true in London. Yes, perhaps. Need to remain optimistic and hopeful.
  • Overheard in the streets of London:
    • Girl 1: “Why did you do it?”
    • Girl 2: “Because he was sooo hot.”
    • People really aren’t that different from place to place.
  • If you want to be a posh tourist and visit Buckingham Palace, its worth going to watch the changing of the Queens Guard – 11 am weekdays, 10am Sundays
  • Was not allowed into a club because the bouncer “could see in my eyes I was drunk.” Literally didn’t even have a single lick of alcohol in the past 48 hours. Fuck Fabric nightclub.
  • British Museum Notes
    • Oh the famous British museum – Look at the history of England and all its artifacts? No, more like look at all the things across the world that Britain stole haha. I think I’m allowed to call the kettle black since the US is just like this. (Takes one to know one)
    • For a good 2 hours while visiting, (don’t ask me why) all I could think about was how I would get away with stealing items, and what items would be impossible to steal. (6 tonnes of stone lion? Yeah infeasible) Is this an admission of guilt? Absolutely not.
    • 2 things I found most interesting: Mummies and Money sections
      • Mummies – naturally anything dead and yet still not fully dead due to preservation will be fascinating. Most humans I think are in a constant stage of fear and curiosity about the process of death, as well as how other humans have dealt with it
      • Money – could be my finance major or my internal greed I have always felt as a kid, but I found this incredible interesting. (Total nerd move I know) One part worth noting – they went all the way from the start of exchange of goods and system of accounting —> “present day” where they talked about “electronic cash” and how we may live in a future without any physical coins / paper, just paying with a credit/debit card. In my opinion, this falls incredibly short of where we have been for the last +10 years. (bitcoin invented in 2009) I wonder when crypto will be included in this museum, because it will happen some day soon and should already be included.
  • I actually like Shakespeare plays. After seeing my Insta post of the Harry Potter picture at Platform 9 & 3/4, my friend Mike challenged me to watch a play and “be cultured.” Turns out for 5-10 euros you can do just that.
  • As this was my second country in Europe, this was the first time I was able to meetup with “old travel friends” who I made in Ireland. A simple game of Wordle with an Auzzie in the Galway hostel led to hanging out again with her in London. And a British hostel mate from Dublin became my local tour guide of Wimbledon. This friend Charlie introduced me to the beautiful world of British parties, fish & chips, Wetherspoons (Spoons) pubs, and how to drunkenly navigate the tube and trains of England. Solid lad.
  • England could very well be a good country to post up for the incoming World Cup this Autumn. We shall see.

First Time Over the Pond

So I’ve been traveling Europe for >2 months now and decided to look back at my notes I took during my first country abroad in Europe: Ireland. These notes were taken in pubs, on trains, buses, and at 3am, so please dont judge me too much…

  • Steering wheel on the opposite side. Driving on the opposite side. They’re driving wrong! OR PARADIGM SHIFT (#thanksStevenCovey for teaching me that word) we are driving wrong…
  • Outlets are different here. Found out that Ireland and UK share an outlet type, and the rest of Europe has a whole different outlet. Had to buy an adapter for all my tech shit.
  • I’m not from America, I’m from the States. There are ALOT of countries in America
  • Irish girls are cute (or maybe its just the people visiting…or maybe its just any accent besides the typical American…or maybe I’m just drunk)
  • Like NYC, can’t get into clubs without nice pants. Joggers are called track suits here, and do not work
  • Locals are confused what I meant when I asked if there was “pickup” games for sports like football (soccer) – sad, I really wanted to jump in on their 5-a-side footsie games, which all seem to be regulated and part of different leagues
  • Getting the feeling that I will think US cities are boring after traveling across Europe. There is just so much more history, cool old shit, and building designs here.
  • Trinity College reminds me of Princeton’s campus
  • St. Patricks Cathedral and Book of Kells are dope
  • Music is interesting
    • About 30% of their “big hit” songs played in the club I’ve never heard of
    • Don’t judge me for being pretentious, but I kinda feel like there is a delay with music hits here and they are a little outdated. A lot of the pubs, hostels, and public areas don’t play recent hit songs, but hit songs from 5-15 years ago. Its like visiting my Mother or Grandma and seeing that they are still using VCRs and DVD players haha
    • After spending more than a week in Ireland, I’ve now decided that bar/club music can be described as basic white boy – if you can play Mr. Brightside, Sweet Caroline, and Country Roads you have the creative right to play in any bar from Dublin to Galway
  • I’m creating a new rule for myself to hold off on booking several days for a place at once. (I had this fear of not finding a hostel, but I think its worth the risk) There is so much to see in Ireland but I’m strapped to returning (at least at night) now to Dublin for 5 days. Think I could’ve done Dublin in 2-3 days no problem.
    • EDIT: It was definitely worth staying in Dublin for 5 days. Met a lot of really cool people and did some amazing day trips during days 3-5. But I still agree with this idea of booking places only for a few days at first, and extending as needed
  • Best way to get a list of places is to talk to the locals. Not “top 10” lists on Google. If you have to resort to online lists, check Reddit, as its written by people and there’s no paid posts or sponsorships
  • Funneist line I heard in Ireland:
    • Irishman speaking to me: “so where you from, lad?”
    • Englishman: “He’s from the land where they play rugby, but for pussies.”
    • Irishman: “Ah, America! And you all don’t even call it the right name, you fake footballers”
  • Just walking down Grafton or Camden street can inspire anyone to dust off their guitar or keyboard and get practicing
  • It’s called “takeaway” here and not take out. Guess they are similar enough.
  • Places are open way later than US typical bars, and food options are plenty once bars close. Some of the places do have a 10% late night charge after midnight however
  • They’re called toilets here, not washroom or bathroom. Makes sense, no need to sugarcoat things
  • I’m unsure how I feel about the “typical tourist.” Yes I’m a tourist myself. But I want to do more than just visit a place. I want to immerse myself in it. Speak the language, eat the food, blend in. I don’t see how throwing paint on your face, waving the Irish flag, and acting like a leprechaun at a bar crawl makes you any more Irish. But if you’re having a good time, I guess at the end of the day, you do you. Your happiness is definitely not dictated by my own private condescending notations, that often times can be quite hypocritical in and of themselves
  • If hotels and hostels were the same price, nay, even if hostels were more expensive, I’d still prefer them. The serendipity of meeting and making new friends is part of the essential travel practice. The lobby, bar, kitchen, and game rooms are awesome ways to meet people
  • They say river ____, not river ____. Fox River in Illinois would be pronounced “River Fox” in Ireland
  • If you go to the Aran Islands AND DO NOT rent a bike, you are…how can I put this nicely…the type of human being who orders Chipotle but does not put guac on their burrito. Yes, it’ll cost ya a lil. But it will enhance your life immensely.
  • Tip for Cliffs of Moher: Busses and tour guides typically arrive every two hours. On those two hour marks, old people leave and new people arrive. It is herein that lies the golden opportunity of 15-45mins. SKIP a bus ride. Honestly this should be a no brainer. I could spend a whole day there hiking to both ends, checking out their visitor center, and taking a nap on the edge, yet everyone I meet is only there for 1-2 hours. And I get it, you’re only in Ireland for so long, there is so much cool stuff to see, blah blah. But hear me out…if you skip a bus ride, you get the time it takes for the old people to leave and the new people to get to your spot of isolation. That moment, typically between 15-45mins, is pure bliss to me. NO ONE walking by, NO One in sight, (if you pick the right spots) it’s just you, the seagulls, and the cliffs. As long as you don’t give in to the call of the void, I think it’s an experience worth having.
  • Booking group bus tours to get to a set of destinations in Ireland are honestly quite affordable. I’ve found that if you were to take public transportation to all of the destination, and added in the cost of entry to see the national monuments/castles/cool shit, you are basically only paying a couple extra euro. All of that for an experienced tour guide who drives you around from spot to spot, tells you when to leave, and where to go / what to do? As long as it’s not my Mom, sign me up.
    • Another reason why these group bus tours are fun: you never know who you might meet. In my first bus tour to Castles and the Blarney Stone, I met a group of 9 friends from Atlanta who were just the sweetest humans ever and decided to adopt my hobo ass into their group. Not only did we have a blast hanging out in Dublin the next couple days, but I think there is a chance I’m going to travel with them in the future.
  • Got a job offer from this hostel in Belfast, Northern Ireland to work there if I ever decide to come back. Nice to know that if all else goes wrong, my friend Diego has got my back