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London: Our First Football Match

Based on all the comments I received regarding what you all want to see more in 2014, travel adventures was the top request. Lucky for you I have a long list of upcoming travel posts, starting with today’s London bucket list item!

This weekend we had the opportunity to attend our first football (soccer) match in England! When our friend Emily planned her weekend visit to London with us she had one request: go to a Chelsea football game. As Emily grew up playing soccer and even played at Emory during college, there was no way we couldn’t help but get excited about experiencing a very European sporting experience with someone who is an expert on the sport! It didn’t hurt that this was already one of the items on our ever growing London bucket list!

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The experience was absolutely incredible! Unlike many professional sports stadiums in the United States, the Chelsea Football Club stadium is in the city. Therefore there isn’t a tailgating tradition, instead people frequent the nearby pubs and restaurants before and after the the games. The stadium felt very intimate, which we loved. The stadium holds around 55,000 people and there were over 47,000 at Saturday’s game.

On our way into the stadium both Bo and Emily purchased Chelsea scarves to get into the spirit and stay warm. They weren’t alone as I felt like i was the only person not sporting one of these scarves.

Photo: Completely incredible experience at the Chelsea match today!!!

Since there is no alcohol allowed in the stands, we stopped for a proper pint before the match while also checking out the food offerings which we’d take advantage of during half time. On our side of the stadium there were 6-8 different food stands each specializing in a different type of food ranging from burgers, fish & chips, mince pies, and bangers. 245

At halftime Bo and I split one banger and one meat pie so we could have a taste of each. The meat pie was warm and hearty but tasted similar to something they stuck in the microwave. The banger however was DELICIOUS! The banger was served on a roll with sage stuffing and all the toppings including onions, sauerkraut, mustard, relish and peppers!

774The match itself was an exciting one with action at both ends of the field. While the Chelsea fans obeyed the “please no standing during the game” other than cheering after goals, the Crystal Palace fans were the complete opposite. They were small but mighty in a way you can’t imagine! The 2-1 match is something that all 3 of us enjoyed so much that we’ve already decided we want to squeeze in a few more football matches this season, sampling the different local clubs.

If you’re a London local and haven’t been to a Chelsea game yet I highly recommend it. Even if you aren’t a football fan per se it is a great experience. If you’re visiting the London area and interested in going to a game, make sure to start searching for tickets as early as possible as they are hard to find. In addition, make sure that you buy them from an authorized seller as the Chelsea Football club is cracking down on ticket resale.

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Verbier Ski Weekend

After this weekend, I feel so blessed to live in Geneva, Switzerland where we have access to amazing skiing just a few hours away!

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Friday evening we left Geneva around 7pm, a bit later than expected. As our entire car was starving by 8:30 we stopped at a McDonalds half way between Geneva and Verbier. I was amazed by this McDonalds as it has a full coffee bar area, computer screen ordering and a very different assortment than the US. There were 3 different types of fries and two levels of chicken nuggets. While the guys went with enormous hamburgers, I went with their chicken strips, fries and a Diet Coke.

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We reached our weekend accommodations, my friend Nora’s lovely ski home, about 2.5 hours after leaving Geneva which wasn’t bad considering our dinner stop. We unpacked the car and enjoyed a few beers before deciding to make the most of the weekend and head out for the evening. Ranald, who came with us this weekend, was very familiar with Verbier and served as tour guide for the weekend choosing our bar and restaurant spots. It was nice to let someone else handle the plans! Farinet Lounge and Bar was just a 10 minute walk from our flat and perfect for a weekend warm-up. We enjoyed a few beers, people watched and danced to the DJ who was wonderful until he started playing disco music around 2am. It turns out that was his method for shutting down the bar.

2013-12-06 23.04.162013-12-07 01.11.15After just 5 hours of sleep, we woke up ready for a great day of skiing! There wasn’t a cloud in the sky as I ate muesli on the porch Saturday morning. 2013-12-07 08.21.02Our plan for Saturday was for Bo & Ranald to ski together since they are closer in ability while Emily and I would enjoy 6 hours of lessons. Bo and Ranald ended up conquering what is known as Four Valleys. The guys had an awesome day together and Bo can now confidently say he is a skier when talking with our friends in Geneva as this run is something more challenging than anything he has skied before and he survived WITHOUT injury! 

Per Ranald’s suggestion, Emily and I booked a full day lesson with European Snow Sports. Unlike many other places, they allow you to have 2 people for a private lesson without charging extra. This allowed Emily and I to split the cost and make it more economical. Our instructor for the weekend, Maddie, was exactly what we wanted: positive, encouraging, challenging, and understanding. We spent all day Saturday and half of Sunday learning and reinforcing fundamentals while challenging ourselves. Verbier’s “bunny slopes” were not open due to lack of snow towards the bottom. This meant that as soon as the day kicked off we took the gondola and a lift up to La Chaux. Neither of us expected to be able to experience the mountain this way so it was such a delightful treat to not be stuck on bunny slopes near the base. The views from 2260 (7500 feet) meters were pretty incredible! 

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We skied the entire day other than a quick 30 minute sandwich break overlooking the valley while soaking in the sun. The temperatures were warmer than expected this weekend, averaging around 28-35 up on the mountain and the full sunshine was delightful! 2013-12-07 12.27.512013-12-07 12.27.54

Since the morning was spent on the basics, we spent the afternoon doing one run constantly until we perfected it. The run, which is considered a beginner run in Europe was equivalent to a blue in the US. It had a few steep inclines and was long enough that we didn’t grow bored of the run. In addition, Maddie would often make us practice different skills depending on the section of the run. There was a bit of information overload but by the end of the day Emily and I were both full of smiles and felt very accomplished! 2013-12-08 12.42.42

While I’ve skied and had lessons for 1-2 days the past four winters up in Stratton Mountain, Vermont I have never experienced something Saturday. Maddie was the perfect instructor for us she always seemed to know when to push me harder so that by the end of the day I was completing runs that scared me in the morning. If you ever ski in Verbier, Zermatt, or St Moritz I highly recommend European Snowsport for any of your lessons whether you are a beginner or someone looking to learn about skiing off piste!

Here’s a quick video Maddie filmed at about our half way point. It’s hard to tell the steepness but needless to say at this point I was already skiing a slope more challenging than anything I conquered after three days of skiing last year!

A few people have asked me how skiing in Verbier compared to the US. Bo and I can really only compare this weekend to Stratton Resort where we’ve spent the most time skiing the past few years. The key differences we experienced are as follows:

1) Snow conditions were very different – even very early in the season, the snow felt great, there was ample powder on the slopes to even facilitate real off-piste skiing vs. Vermont which is icier

2) You ski a mountain range, not a mountain – there are multiple resort areas (Valley towns) for a single ski area and you can ski from valley to valley (4 Valleys in the case of Verbier) across the range

3) The runs, even beginner, are MUCH longer – as a result, it’s a more physical sport as you have to be skiing intensely for 15 – 20 minute increments rather than 5 – 10 minute increments

4) The food is better – at the top of the mountain, there is the opportunity to get a real mountain meal (think a braised pork chop with a little pasta veggies and mushroom sauce)

5) Après ski begins atop the mountain – you get a little of this in Colorado but there are literally a half dozen places to get a drink way up the slopes and a couple even have live DJs

Speaking of après ski, after a full day of skiing our group was ready to get our party on beginning with apres ski beers at the new ski up W Verbier bar followed by a night of delicious Swiss dinner and eventually dancing at Farm Club, a famous hot spot in Verbier. image2013-12-07 23.31.002013-12-07 21.02.482013-12-07 22.29.13

If you’re a skiier, what is your favorite mountain or resort?

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Paris Running Tour

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen a few pictures from our weekend in Paris.

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It was an absolutely perfect weekend which Bo and I are both so thankful to have enjoyed together. Living in Europe definitely has some benefits and the ease of travel is one that we are taking full advantage of each month!

I tried to consolidate our Paris weekend into one overview post, similar to what I did for Brussels, but I found it impossible. Therefore, I will share one overview post later this week in addition to sharing the details of our Paris Running Tour in today’s post!

When Bo and I started planning our weekend in Paris, I requested that we invest in a running tour. A New York Times article, Paris at the Speed of Sneakers, had inspired me earlier in the week.  While we often run through a city we are visiting, I knew that both Bo and I would love learning the history behind the magical city first hand from a local. We are both history buffs so having the opportunity to combine exercise with a sightseeing tour of Paris seemed like the best way to make use of our time!

When we searched for Paris running tours on Google we quickly discovered a company by the same name, Paris Running Tours. Featured in a number of different magazines including Travel & Leisure and Elle magazine, Paris Running Tours boasts personalized tours led by knowledgeable tour guides who can design tours through Paris based on your previous experiences. For those people who want to keep things simple and plan nothing, they have 7 pre-planned tours as well

  • Right Bank tour (less than an hour in length)
  • Left Bank tour (less than an hour in length)
  • Most Beautiful Palaces tour (less than an hour in length)
  • Banks of the Seine Tour (less than an hour in length)
  • French Revolution Tour (more than an hour in length)
  • Paris Marathon Tour (more than an hour in length)

When working with our run guide, Jean-Charles, we let him know that we wanted to do a run ranging from 7-9 miles in length and focus on the big sights as this was Bo’s first trip to Paris. He also let us know that the run would start and end at our hotel, making the run even more convenient!

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The tour, which covered 8.84 miles in total, was absolutely incredible! Though we were caught off guard by the weather which was 10 degrees colder than predicted and quite windy, we were smiling the entire time and soaked up every piece of trivia he shared!

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As you can tell from the above, one of the added bonus’ of the tour was the fact that he brought along a camera to capture the experience. We stopped 10-12 times during the run to hear history and stories but the rest of the time we were keeping around a 9:30 pace through the streets of Paris.

While the personalized private tour was not cheap it was well worth the investment in our opinion. We saw more of Paris in 2.5 hours than we would have seen on foot in a full day. While there are most likely less expensive tour groups, there is something to be said for a tour guide who goes at your pace and builds the tour to meet your needs.

Your turn: If you could take a guided running tour through any city, where would you choose?

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