London

The last leg of our trip was during 14-16 January 2011. This was the third capital city we had been to for the new year including Dublin and Paris. Our flight left Ireland from the airport in Shannon which is about 20 minutes outside of Limerick. We flew to London Heathrow airport and took the Tube into the city. Friday night was spent walking around the Edgware Road area and having dinner.

Saturday afternoon walking around the city, on the way to Hyde Park.

Big Red

Big horse head, near Marble Arch, Oxford St, Westminster, London.

Buckingham Palace

Old technology is still in use in London and a popular photo attraction.

Big Ben

London Eye on the Thames River

Going down the escalator at Piccadilly Circus tube stop.

One of the main reasons for stopping in London on the way back from Ireland was the opportunity to attend an English Premier League Football match. It worked out that one of the top clubs, Arsenal, was playing at West Ham United and we were able to get seats. I'm now also a member of the West Ham United FC support group. This means I get at least one email per week from the club manager explaining what happened in the last weeks match and how changes and improvements are coming next week. There are also emails for tickets to the FA Cup and merchandise sales. The most recent email today had a program to buy a Kid for a Quid, take a look at the text. http://www.whufcboxoffice.com/

"The FA Cup is important because it's the FA Cup. Of course our target is the league, and the most important thing is that. We'll do everything we can to succeed in the league. I am pleased the club has made our next league game against Birmingham Kids for a Quid. It is good to get the young supporters to the games. But it is also good to be involved in this cup."

Going to the match should have been a straight forward ride on the tube, change trains and another tube ride to the stop at Upton Park. That didn't happen, maintenance and a labor disagreement had closed some stations which meant we got to ride a double decker red bus to the Upton Park stop after riding on three different tube lines.

Game time at Boleyn Grounds home of West Ham United. We had to walk down Green Street to the pitch and were surrounded by enthusiastic fans hoping for a win over Arsenal, that didn't happen but it was a great experience. Final score 3-0, Arsenal. There was a movie made about some of the most enthusiastic fans of West Ham United called Green Street, which starred the guy who was a hobbit in the movie shot in New Zealand. I'm planning to watch it sometime soon.

After the match we walked back to the Upton park bus stop to wait on the bus. Since we had plenty of time we crossed the street and went to the Duke of Edinburgh pub, 299 Green St, London. It was full of West Ham supporters enjoyng a pint after the match.