Today I went down to the market square in the city center. There’s a French Market going on this weekend. I bought some cheese, bread, olives, cookies, and some really yummy pralines. I spent the rest of the day walking around a nice residential area called The Park – very nice, very expensive. Then I headed back to the city center to find a nice place to sit down with a book (currently Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere). Right now I’m at Hog’s Head, gathering my thoughts, having a beer, keeping an eye on the Darlington vs Rochdale game, about to dive back into my book.

Good times, noodle salad.

I’ve followed Manchester City FC for a number of years now. I had no ties to the team or to the city; I just picked them when I started following the game. Now that I’ve actually been to the UK and experienced the English game in person, the opportunity has come for a team to pick me. I’ve seen Fulham twice, Derby and Manchester City once each, and Nottingham Forest a few times in between. It was great to see the Americans in Fulham, to sit with fans in neighboring Derby, and to take in the sights at Eastlands. But none of it compares to the atmosphere at the matches in my “home” town.

I was lucky enough to arrive at the most exciting part of the season, and watching Nottingham Forest battle for promotion was nothing short of awesome. Given that it’s the home team in this place, it’s no surprise that you see a lot of Forest jerseys on game day, a virtual sea of red. Being enveloped in that kind of atmosphere, you can’t help but get attached. And needless to say, being at the Forest game and seeing them win promotion last Saturday sealed the deal.

I bleed for FC Dallas, of course. They will always come first – miles ahead. But now I have ties to an English team, and I support Nottingham Forest.

Here are some pictures from the game on Saturday:

Here’s a video I got of McGugan’s goal off a free kick:

And here is a video of the fans invading the pitch after the game…NUTS:

Harlan picked me up on Thursday morning and took me to the airport. Thanks Harlan! Checking in, I found out that both of my checked bags were overweight. They charge $50 per bag that is overweight, which I think is ridiculous. Fortunately, I just slammed it on my American Express corporate card which I’ll get reimbursed for. Still, it kinda sucks.

Security was a breeze, and since we got to the airport so early, I had a ton of time before the first leg of my flight. Corey sang praises about the “Admiral’s Club” lounge, so I decided to check it out for myself. I think it’s only worth the money if you’re going to be waiting around the airport for a long time. Something I didn’t know: it works for the whole day, so it works for all of your connections if you aren’t flying direct. So, yeah…the A.C. rocks socks. Every chair has electric outlets next to it, so you can charge all your gadgets and surf the internet on your laptop at the same time without running down the battery. Hungry? Thirsty? Just walk up to the bar and order whatever you want…even booze. It was early and I wasn’t really wasn’t in the mood for beer, but I did have some breakfast cakes and juice.

The flight from DFW to Toronto was pretty uneventful. Business class is nice on AA, but it’s nothing compared to my next flight. Before I could board my flight in Toronto, however, I did have a little adventure. I only had about an hour and a half of a layover, and for some reason they can’t check your bags all the way through. I had to go through customs, collect my luggage, and then re-check my bags at the British Air terminal. I nearly missed it. Once I notified an attendant that I was indeed in the airport, they held the freakin plane for me. It was a mess, but I got on board. And it turned out they didn’t hold the <i>plane</i> for me, but rather the luggage cart they use to take the luggage to the plane. whatever.

If you ever fly trans-Atlantic, fly business class on British Air! I know they have 1st class, but I can’t imagine how it can be nicer than business class. Your “chair” is more like a recliner, and yes, it folds completely flat into a bed just like the commercials say. Very comfy. The attendants pamper you as well, bringing you anything you want – so long as they have it. That was the shortest 8-hour flight I’ve ever been on.

Once I arrived in London, a driver picked me up and drove me to Nottingham. It was a long (2.5 hr) drive, so I tried to strike up conversation with the guy. Unfortunately, he was kinda dull and not very talkative. When we got to my apartment building, we ran into a whole new problem. The front door was locked, and the office was closed. Nobody had provided me with any information on how to get into my apartment, so the driver and I just stood there until someone came home. Some lady showed up about 5 minutes later, and I asked her if she knew how to get a hold of the building manager. She came back a few minutes later with another lady, who gave me the number of the agency who arranged the apartment for me. They gave me the code to get into the building and into my apartment, which thankfully worked.

I took a nap as soon as I got in the front door. :-)

Edit: sorry for the poor sentence structure and run-ons. It’s late, and I’m tired.

Trust me when I say it’s not on purpose. I hadn’t been feeling very well over the weekend, and I was just too busy today. Now I’m feeling extremely narcosleepy, so I’m going to hit the sack. I promise…I WILL post an update to bring you all up to speed very soon.