Liverpool/McCartney Concert aka OMFG THE BEATLES!!!

I am a complete and unabashed Beatles nerd, I seriously fucking love them. So the trip I took this past weekend with Tessa and Amanda to Liverpool, coupled with Paul McCartney concert, was one of the best weekends of the summer and something I will remember forever.

The trip started off a little slow with a six-hour bus ride from London to Liverpool. It was more uncomfortable and slower than the train, but a lot cheaper and that’s really all it comes down to. When we finally made it into Liverpool I was slightly taken aback by the state of the city. While by no means is the city a shithole, I was surprised to see just how much of the city was rundown and how many shops were boarded up, even around the main city center. In spite of this, I really did enjoy the feel of the city because of its down-to-earth vibe (and because I knew the Beatles grew up there) and its affordability in comparison to London. A twenty or so minute walk got us to our cheap but comfortable hostel. At check-in the girls were a little concerned to find out that we did not have a private room but that the three of us would have one other roommate who would arrive later that night. After settling and getting ready to go out, we left the hostel and made our way to the infamous Cavern Club.

Our unfamiliarity with the city got the better of us and we ended up getting lost, forcing us to take a taxi to the club, which really was the much more convenient option because we weren’t even close. When we got into the club, after an accidental detour into the similarly named Cavern Pub, my excitement was at fever pitch and I was literally grinning ear-to-ear. We took some time to drink in the scene and it was great to be in the same place were the Beatles made their name, however all lamentably noted that it would be better if the performer on stage was playing Beatles songs instead of just other classic rock standards. Seemingly on cue he broke into a long set of Beatles tunes, so we rushed to the stage and joined the other Beatles geeks in embarrassing ourselves as we sang along in front of the stage. I really don’t care if that’s lame, I had the time of my life.

The next day we went on the Magical Mystery Tour, a guided bus tour around Liverpool that showed us a bunch of Beatles-related places ranging from their birthplaces to hangouts to places they mentioned in their songs. It was great to get a look at the Liverpool they grew up in, which didn’t seem to change all that much since the Sixties, and it really got me in the mood for what the true highlight of the weekend, the Paul McCartney concert in Hyde Park.

The entire day was fantastic with a few artists, including Elvis Costello and Crosby, Stills and Nash, opening up for Sir Paul who finally made it to the stage around 7:45 with the crowd of 40,000 ready to burst with anticipation. Despite being 68, and looking it, the old man has definitely still got it. Each song was played and song with the energy of a man more than half his age and the crowd, myself included, ate it all up. Playing a broad range of songs from his solo career to his Wings days to Beatles classics, the show lasted just under three hours, including a double encore, and I know I am not alone in saying that I would have stayed for another three hours. Although I was up into the wee hours of the morning working on a paper due the next day, the word regret never even came close to crossing my mind. The weekend was one that heightened my already fanatical liking of the Beatles and the concert will probably not be topped by any other I attend for the rest of my mortal existence. Goddamn, the Beatles rule.

Only at Harrods

As a former department store employee, the overwhelming scene at Harrods, the most famous and expensive department store in London, if not the world, was a little too disturbingly familiar. Flashbacks of overstressed housewives shopping viciously for sales aside, the experience was unique in that Harrods wide range of products are among the most exquisite one can hope to find anywhere, let alone in one store.

Our introduction to the store began at in the Food Halls, which vast assortments of typical food as well as cuts of incredibly rare, and surely delectable, meats, in addition to a candy store that even Willy Wonka would be proud of. There were some odd food products including lobster-sized shrimp but the most unusual thing I came across was a suspiciously disgusting looking piece of Veal Liver from Holland, priced at a reasonable £ 24.95 per kg. This price is reasonable in comparison to other meat products sold nearby, the most eccentrically priced piece I saw was a Wagyu Beef Fillet from Australia/New Zealand (not exactly sure how it is from two countries, but I digress), which would set back its consumer £ 198.00 per kg. How any fillet can be so tasty to warrant that price tag is beyond, but so is way of Harrods.

As Sean and I made our way around the store, I can’t say that I was astounded by how overpriced the clothing was, but this is mostly due to the fact that we were there during their Summer Sale, so most of the garment’s were priced at rates attainable even to us common folk. However as we made our way into different departments, the ridiculous and pretentious nature of the store became more apparent through both the products and their prices. Among the more interesting items we came across were a personal handheld Sea Doo, a mat made to simulate the feeling of lying on a bed of nails and a foosball set with the players ranging from Satan to the Queen of Hearts to David Beckham. These products pale in comparison to the two most absurd items I found in the store, both in the home decoration department. The first was a quite cheap looking six-foot tall robot priced, on sale, for £ 11,000 and a crystal waterfall chandelier, also on sale, for £ 89,000. I could never understand why anyone would pay such extravagant prices for such useless items, so I have given up even bothering to rationalize it to myself, but again so is the way of Harrods.

I’ll end my post with an interesting anecdote that I truly believe could only have occurred in Harrods. In the watch department, I was startled by the sight of a Muslim woman in a full, head-to-toe, face-covered burka perusing the selection of diamond encrusted watches, most of which were priced upwards of £ 10,000. The sight was so bizarre that I had to take a picture, after which I was immediately approached by a security guard who told me I had to delete the picture for security reasons. I told him I understood and fumbled with my camera to make it seem like I was, but there was no way I could delete such a brilliant juxtaposition of outdated tradition and modern opulence. I made my way out with the picture still on my memory card, security guard none the wiser, and I present it to you below. Only at Harrods.

A Brief Respite into Academia

Here you go Mom and Dad. This post contains no thinly veiled references to our nighttime trysts at pubs; it’s time to talk about the academic nature of this lovely trip I have embarked on. Yes, the true nature of London will not be found in the hallowed halls of FSU’s classrooms and the museums that abound through the city, but the outings we have had to these academic institutions have been just as distinctive and telling of British culture as have our night’s spent at the ol’ watering hole.

The British Museum is truly breathtaking its size and nature of historical artifacts so that will get a post of its own one of these days. Right now I am going to discuss my visits to two lesser known, but equally worthy museums, the National Army Museum and the Imperial War Museum. Both have helped me to understand history, specifically military history, from a British perspective, which I have found to be very distinct from the American perspective.

In the National Army Museum, we went through a very well done and comprehensive exhibition on World War One. As an American, we tend to glaze over WWI and think of it more as a precursor to WWII, but it is clear that the British feel quite differently. The war was fought on a scale that none of them could have predicted in their wildest dreams and casualties were catastrophic making their view of the war one less victorious and more remorseful. That has been one of the constant themes I have noted about the British attitude towards war, their seemingly general distaste for it and after all that has happened who can blame them.

The next museum we went to was the aptly named Imperial War Museum, where we spent a majority of our time in an expansive Holocaust exhibit. I have been taught about the Holocaust many times before but while we seem to be focused on the individual stories of Jewish struggle, this exhibit gave an interesting perspective by looking deeper into the roots of the issue and the policies behind it. On the wider subject of WWII, I am consistently awed by the plight of the British during this time. Walking by buildings still demolished from the Nazi air raids and even waiting in the Underground were so many people spent every night for years, I don’t have the gall to say I can empathize but it is a testament to the resolve of the British people. While we Americans like to look the wars we fought as victorious struggles of good over evil, the short time I have spent here as shown that there truly are no winners when it comes to war and I really hope everyone else figures that out before it’s too late.

A Weekend Trip Up North

Edinburgh. Admittedly I was not expecting a whole lot heading into the trip, but this is mostly due to the fact my only knowledge of the city came from movie Trainspotting. I expected cold, cloudy weather and surly people but I can say now that I was pleasantly surprised about just how nice of a city Edinburgh was. While it is possible that the sunny and warm weather was an aberration we are unlikely to experience if we visit the city again, I think myself and my fellow travelers would rate the city’s populace and atmosphere just as highly as we would the weather.

Our first ride on British Rail gave us a pleasant view of the English countryside as we made the five-hour ride north into Scotland. We arrived and immediately began our tour of the city that we quickly began to realize, although nowhere near its size, could be just as unique and enjoyable of a city as London. Initially the tour of the Scottish Parliament took the wind out my sails a bit, partly due to its pretentious architecture but mostly due to the fact that we were missing the USA-Slovenia World Cup match. Thankfully we caught the end of the game, which gave the energy I needed as we headed to the next part of our trip, the double-decker bus tour. Sitting in the back of the bus because my fellow fun-loving gentlemen and I were drinking cider. It was during this bus ride that I was able to appreciate the beauty of the city.

After a quite fun night out on the town, I was a little bit wary of our decision to hike to the top of Arthur’s Seat after our tour of Edinburgh Castle. Thankfully I put aside the notions and was able to take pleasure in what became my favorite part of the trip. Besides the childish glee I got from running up, down and all around the side of a small mountain, the view from the top was truly something to behold (which I would have loved to have shown in a picture, but my camera's battery was dead), as we were able to see for kilometers in all directions and drink in all Edinburgh had to offer. A late train on the way back turned into a bit off good fortune as we were transferred into a first-class carriage, capping off what I can safely say was one of the highlights of this summer so far.

Colonials Beat English at Their Own Game

The FIFA World Cup. Simply put, it is the most significant sporting event in the world (yes, even more so than the Olympics) and every four years most of the people on the planet get into a fanatical hype about it, that is all except the great United States of America. All of our “home grown” sports tend to take the main focus of the population despite the nationalistic fervor that seems to be so strong in the country. As a fan of association football, soccer’s proper name, the prospect of being in England for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a very intriguing one. And I am happy to say, the atmosphere did not disappoint.

Coming into this London experience I felt slightly on guard about the English people. This may have been unwarranted but I was consistently reminded of the pickpockets roaming the streets, the upright British pretensions and their general distaste for anything American; blame the last one on 1776. What was a pleasant surprise for me, and the rest of my group, was how misguided most of these assumptions turned out to be. While it is still possible that I could be pick pocketed at some point during the trip, I have found most Britons to not only be welcoming, but, to an extent, effusively polite. While I expected most people to look at us with disdain when we so obviously flaunted our “Americanness”, whether it be our outlandish nature in public or the confused and lost look we get when we can’t find our way to the next tube station, it has been a pleasant surprise to see that most do not hesitate to help us in whatever task we are seeking to accomplish. Save the motorists and bikers, I would say the general mood of the English people I have met and talked to had been one of jovial respect, however I feared that this might not be the case on match day.

Despite our misgivings about whether or not it would be safe to watch the match in a predominantly English pub, we abided by the “strength in numbers” motto and staked our claim in a large corner section of a pub a few blocks away from the house. While only a few of us were there hours before the match to watch the early games, by the time the 7:30 kickoff rolled around, all 28 residents of Madison House had arrived to support the Stars and Stripes, save for a few female Benedict Arnold’s in Rooney jerseys, and the atmosphere was truly incredible. Maybe it was because I was more than a few pints deep at that point, but singing The Star Spangled Banner at the top of my lungs with my fellow American’s in the heart of enemy territory was a truly moving and unique experience.

While the match had its fair share of surprises (recap here for all of you who don’t know what happened, and should be ashamed) but what was the most surprising part of the match for me was how most of the England supporters seemed to focus their attention on enjoying the match rather than hating the large group of Americans. While this may be attributed to the 20 girls we had in tow, I subscribe to the notion that the English are much more critical of their fellow Englishmen’s character than they need be and that most of the gents at the pub are really decent fellows who love football and respect those who are proud to support their own nation’s colors. In the months before the USA-England match, I had run through many scenarios in my head about how it would play itself out, both on the pitch and in the pub, but never did I imagine that things would fall into place as well as the did last Saturday.

Better Than Expected

When I found out that I was going to be spending two months of my summer in London, I was pretty gosh darn excited. As any of my friends would tell you, I knew it was going to be an incredible experience and I did not to hesitate to talk, they might say gloat, about it. As the time for the trip to start came, my excitement was at a fever pitch and now that I have arrived, I can safely say that it has been better than anything I could have expected.

To start off, the flight into London was something that I was a bit worried about, mostly due to the fact that I can't remember a family trip I have taken in the past ten years in which some sort of absurd and frustrating complication has occurred, but luckily no such problems arose this time. Our excitement of being in London the first night, as well as the seasoned interns dragging us along, kept us first-nighters going strong as we took our twilight walk along theThames. In spite of my serious jetlag, it quickly became clear to me that the group of people joining me on this trip were all looking forward to the next two months just as much as I was and that we were all going to get along famously.

As the days progressed, the sights we saw continued to be just as impressive and the group continued to prove to be as much fun as it seemed to be on the first night, even more so as the jetlag and unfamiliarity wore off. During this time it became clear what an extraordinary city we had just become temporary residents of. I had always known that I wanted to visit London and that it would be an enjoyable visit but I greatly underestimated the city’s magnitude, both in size and liveliness. While the sheer size of the city astounded me, roughly 100 sq. mi bigger than all of New York City, I truly did not expect the city to be as vibrant as it is. No matter what tour we went on, what pub we went out to, what tube stop we got off at; at every turn the city provides you with another opportunity to enjoy yourself and see something new. There are no rundown sections, no dull neighborhoods absent of populace or commerce, the city’s ability to move at full pace at all times of the day is what truly makes it unique in my opinion.

With its millennia old history and modern exuberance, the one thing I have discovered to be absolutely true is that no matter how hard I try; I will not be able to experience everything the wonderful city has to offer. But do believe me when I say, I am going to give it my damndest.