Mind the Gap

Since the Wigan v. 'Borough match on Wednesday, we have successfully made it to London, the third and final stop on our tour. We departed yesterday by coach bus after a short but informative training session held by Christine Tipping's husband (who goes simply by 'Tip'). The session focused on counter-attacking and transitional play. After napping for a solid hour and a half, we stopped in the town of Oxford to check out the beautiful town and University there. After a frantic but unsuccessful search for Hogwarts, the team returned to the bus for the final leg of the trip. We arrived at the Thistle Hotel at Kensington Gardens around six o'clock, just in time for dinner. The hotel turned out to be a beautiful one, sitting adjacent to Hyde Park near Notting Hill.
Today consisted entirely of site-seeing. We got back on the coach and were treated to a tour by one of Christine's friends who is a certified 'Blue Badge' tour guide. We saw and were educated on the typical tourist hot spots, such as London Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and Parliament. We got off the bus shortly after to walk around, as well. Stopping by St. James' palace, we posed for pictures with a guard in a funny fur-hat and red coat. Afterwards, we had the privilege of watching the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. It was a unique occasion because it was the first time that Jamaican Royal Soldiers were guards at the Palace. Once we all got tired of the site-seeing, we took some time to shop around London, visiting Picadilly Circus, among other places. Finally, after an exhausting day of tourism, we had a wonderful team dinner at a local Italian restaurant courtesy of Bates Men's Soccer Alumni. Huge thanks to the alumni for that meal... it was one of the best we had all trip.
Tomorrow will be our last full day here in the U.K. (sad). We start the day off with a match against a representative team from an English football association, with kick-off at 10:30 AM. Following the game, there will be a reception held for us by the association before we rush off to attend the Premier League match between Fulham and Middlesborough at Fulham. The game should be extremely entertaining because Fulham's roster boasts three Americans! McBride, Bocanegra, and Dempsey. After the game, it's time to pack up. Apologies for not posting pictures yet from our most recent excursions, the internet in the hotel is absurdly expensive so I'm subject to internet cafes down the road. Check back for a post following the Fulham game. Cheers.