London Town

Piccadilly Circus with my mum.

During the Fall break I was fortunate enough to have my parents come and visit me. Seeing my parents helped me a lot because I knew that they really missed me and it made me happy that they could see me again. I was happy to see my parents as well. My parents stayed at a hotel located near the tube stop Fulham Broadway and popular big football (soccer) stadium called Stamford Bridge. This location was not too far away from Richmond but I stayed at my parents hotel for the week. I took my mom shopping at Portobello Road, Piccadilly Circus, and Oxford Circus. Since I had already visited these places prior to my parents visit, during class trips and touristy trips with friends, it was convenient to navigate my way around London. It was very impressive to show my parents that I knew my way around such a big city- as we hail from a small city in New Hampshire.

Stamford Bridge on match-day

The highlight of my parents visit was going to Stamford Bridge the day Chelsea played Manchester United. Chelsea is one of the biggest and arguably the greatest football (soccer) team in all of Europe. Chelsea is also my favorite club team in the world and I have been a fan for a long time. Manchester United is another powerhouse in the football world and they are Chelsea’s biggest rival. Therefore, when the two teams play each other the world tends to stop and watch them play (or at least my world does). My parents were not able to get any tickets to the match as a game of this profile was sold-out months in advance. However, because my parents hotel was located so close to Stamford Bridge, I went to the stadium with my mom just to view the pre-match activities. Even though I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to watch the match in the stadium, I embraced the atmosphere of just being at the stadium just hours before the match. There were a lot of people surrounding the stadium- either taking pictures or socializing while drinking a beer and smoking a cigarette (a cultural activity). One of the most exciting occurrences, while being at the stadium, was seeing the Chelsea players get off the team bus and walk into the stadium. I had never expected to see the players and being so close to them and getting pictures was an exhilarating experience that will stored in my memory for life.

Chelsea players departing the team bus

Later that day my parents and I went to a pub, down the road from Stamford Bridge, where a viewing of the match was available. There were a lot of passionate Chelsea and Manchester United fans in attendance. My dad, a Manchester United fan, and I clashed during the match as we usually do. My mom, who is always keen to stay neutral when it comes to football teams, enjoyed watching her two “boys” dispute the match. It felt as though we were back at home in our living room watching the match, except we were all in London. As a football fan, the experience of being in a pub and watching a football match just made me appreciate how amazing this opportunity of being in London has turned out to be. Even though we didn’t get tickets for the match, that I wanted to go to so badly, I was really happy to spend time with my parents after being apart from them for so long because we still had a great time being together. The time that I spent with my mom and dad at the pub will always be more memorable than the scoreline of the match or even the match itself as I have learned to cherish family time.