An Adventure in England - Week 2

G'day again from merry ol' England! It's been another amazing week over here in England. The weather has been getting cooler but at the same time it's been pretty amazing. Anyway let's get into the thick of this!

English Beer Garden

Day 8 - Saturday 22nd of September - Woke this morning to another chilled out day. After the epic carvery dinner we had the night before we pretty much decided that we would relax around the house. Watched a bit of TV before we decided to head up to Stock to check out Chris and Jen's favourite pub - the Bear. It's a neat little pub with a pond in which some cool ducks are just paddling around doing their thing. It was lush sitting out in the sun while we sunk a few beers. Headed back home and chilled out for the rest of the evening.

Day 9 - Sunday 23rd of September - Ahhh another lazy Sunday morning. I indulged in my normal morning cup of tea (note to self: must find some PG Tips when I get back to Canada...) before we started to get ready to watch the Manchester United v Liverpool game. Fortunately United one this time and it was a pretty good game. We then headed down to the Red Lion (weather was horrible) for a few pints before a few of Chris and Jen's friends turned up for a curry. I had myself an awesome mixed tandoori grill while everyone had the usual chicken tikka masala or korma's. After dinner we went back to the Red Lion to sink a few more beers before we all decided to call it a night. Made our way back home as it was an early start for me the next morning. All in all was a great night - good friends, good food and good drink! No need to say anything more!

Day 10 - Monday 24th of September - Today I made my way up to Birmingham! Caught the bus from Billericay and made our way very slowly up towards the west midlands. Allow me to say this - while I don't mind coach travel as it is sometimes a cheaper alternative to trains or flying... sometimes it's just quicker and easier to just pay the extra 20 quid and get there quicker. 6 hours on a coach with uncomfortable seats is not my idea of fun! Anyway enough of me indulging in having a moan! Made my way to Birmingham to meet up with an old Final Fantasy XI buddy. Made our way across town pass the bull ring and Queen Victoria Square before heading up to Weoley Castle. Met Mat's family, indulged in a few beers before we made our way down to his local for a few beers. Of course being a Monday evening it was University Student night and every pub had a quiz. We ended up going to the Goose and chilled about drinking and listened in on the quiz - funnily enough one of the questions was "Newcastle is located in which Australian State?" In which I promptly yelled out across the bar "Ask me I'm Australian!" I got a few laughs gave the answer away to the table near us! Fun times. After our beers we went back home, played some video games before we I decided it was high time I got some sleep!

New Birmingham Library

Victoria Square - Council Chambers

Day 11 - Tuesday 25th of September - Unfortunately today's weather really didn't permit us to do anything all too dramatic or exciting. We started off with an awesome breakfast before we decided to head back into Birmingham to check out the city. Our first stop was obviously a pub in which we indulged in a pint before we made our way into town. We checked out some cool architecture around the place, the war memorial was a cool sight and we went back to Queen Victoria Square. There is some cool architecture there and the the alleys are cool - very Victorian era. We went back to the bull ring again and checked out some of the shops and grabbed a bite to eat before heading back out for another pint on the way home because the weather was ordinary. We made it home and stopped off at the off license for another 10 pack of Carlsburg. The rest of the afternoon / evening was video games and beer like proper nerds! All in all was a great time which we topped it off by watching Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete. Fun times!
Day 12 - Wednesday 26th of September - Today it was time to say goodbye to Mat and his family and make my way back to Billericay. Was awesome seeing him and spending time up there. Next time I'm over we'll need to arrange an epic gathering of all the fellas to celebrate the good times of old. Made our way back down to the bus stop and said hooroo before making the 6 hour trip back to Billericay. It was interesting to note on the way back through this time we saw a lot more of Cambridge this time. It's a very nice city and I could only imagine what it would be like to go to University there. It's definitely a place I'd like to check out again on my next adventure north.
We made our way back to Billericay where I was met by Chris and Jen. Headed back home and then I grabbed a chippy (Haddock and Chips) and watched the football - United had a win in the League Cup over Newcastle which was all good. Night ended with some more TV before going to bed.

Day 13 - Thursday 27th of September - Today we made our way back to Southend-on-the-Sea so I could stay with another mate Andy for the rest of my adventure. I got to indulge my gambling addiction to the 2p machines (yes they are addictive.... in the fun sense!). We had Wimpey's for lunch before we checked out the beach, went for a drive to Leigh-on-sea and then headed off to a little pub and had a beer before Andy got back from Portsmouth. We met up with Andy and then headed off to Emma's before making our way to the Alex for some pub food and a few pints. Quiet night but fun at the same time!

Day 14 - Friday 28th of September - London again today! Had a chat with Andy's housemate Dan in the morning and had one of his awesome cups of coffee. I bought my all day travel card for London - it came in at a ridiculous 20 pound 70p. Anyway made my way to Fenchurch Street then caught the tube up to Liverpool Street to meet Neil. Ended up finding a cool pub around Liverpool Street and just sat around and chatted. Walked to another pub with the wonderful rainy weather of London and indulged in a bite to eat - I had myself an awesome steak with chips, mushroom and salad. Yum! I had to make my way back to Southend as we were heading out to the Alex again for another drinking session. Had an awesome vegetable lasagna before we headed down to the Alex to meet some more of Andy and Emma's friends. Had myself even more beers before last drinks were called and made my way home. What a great night!

Canary Wharf

Inside O2 Arena

Outside of O2 Arena

Day 15 - Saturday 29th of September - Not the greatest morning in the world - woke up feeling pretty ordinary after last nights drinks. Andy and Emma were in about the same state as well. We ended up making our way back to London again. We caught the train the Limehouse then walked to Canary Wharf. Caught the river cat to O2 Arena and checked out the inside - it's pretty neat! After that we were going to take a cable car across the Thames however the line up was ridiculous so we legged it to the underground and caught the tube north to Camden Town. It's a really cool alternative part of London - lot's of markets and food stalls. It's where a lot of the punks hang out and all sorts of cultures. I had a cool time looking around. One shop caught my eye was Cyberdog which was all cyber-pubk styled clothing - very neat! Almost bought a shirt but at 27 pounds it was a bit rich for just a shirt. We had some lunch (I had my Japanese fix) before we kept looking around. We ended up making our way back to Southend and cooked up a delicious Mexican dinner which we were going to indulge in board games, drinks and dvd's however everyone was too wrecked to do anything! The night ended quietly and all in all it was another awesome day in London. 

Cyberdog in Camden

Camden Town art

So there you have it! Week 2 completed and only 1 week left in this amazing country. This coming week sees us head to Stonehenge, Duxford and probably London again to do the Eye and also check out St. Pauls Cathedral. Possibly some other random adventures in the mix too. That's it until next time! Stay tuned for week 3!

~Matty