Looking Back at Gustav Euro Tour 2017: Part 5 (of 5) Ireland & The UK, Looking Ahead to 2018'
- Gustav Davila
- Jun 18, 2018
- 11 min read
NOTE: If you are reading this on a desktop computer, hover over all pictures for additional anecdotes! There doesn’t appear to be a way to read the captions on mobile browsers that I have, though.
Other Parts of this Series: Part 1 - Why and How
(All these stops are a part of the Future Leg, but I had to start a fifth chapter since the Wix blog editor gets crippingly slow after I upload too many pictures.)
My last morning in Stockholm I had to leave around 6am to get to the airport in time. During the bus ride to the airport (the bus had wifi) I got an email from one of my former choir directors offering me a spot in a Beethoven 9 concert (That happened last April), which was awesome. There was a layover in Oslo that almost caused me to miss my flight as the line to get passports checked was much longer than my hour layover (Plus I stopped to get a Oslo Kitkat knockoff which were insanely good). Luckily the flight to Dublin was delayed anyway so I still got on.
In Dublin I only got one night, but I timed my flight to Liverpool so that I'd have two full days to explore the beautiful city. On my first day I walked around the Trinity College area, where among other things I got to see the Book of Kelis (no pics were to be taken of it) and check out musical projects some of the students made. My hostel was right near the River Liffey so I walked around the various bridges that crossed it. Finally, my hostel was right in the heart of the Temple Bar area, so naturally I'd check that area out. It was a fun day despite not going very far.
At the end of the night I celebrated the incoming end of my trip with a big dinner. I chose to have a corn beef steak with a chowder soup on the side. The soup was incredible (a lot like clam chowder but I don't recall it having clams, I think it was fish) and the corn beef itself came with some great sides like cabbage and a portabello mushroom (maybe the best part of the whole course). The corn beef was a little dry though, and there wasn't enough cream to make up for it.
The next day I saw a few of the city's gorgeous churches, like Christ Church's Cathedral and St. Patrick's Cathedral, and like I had been doing the past few weeks I checked out the royal castle in Dublin Castle.
Finally I circled around to the big Saint Stephen's Park, along with its nearby shopping center, to end my stay. I had a Chinese buffet in the mall. I think I'll look at more of the park in this year's return.
Finally before I picked up my bags I walked around the Temple Bar one more time. I had noticed a lot of busking going on so for the first time since Norway I decided to try it out myself. It did not go over well, but at least I tried.
It was off to the airport now. I found a really cheap flight to Liverpool so that was how I was going to make it to my final country of the trip in the United Kingdom.
There was a flight delay, so I got to my pension kind of late. I did some exploring at the nearby shopping center but most of it was already closed. I got some pizza then went to bed.
Liverpool is best known for the Beatles, so I made the decision to check out The Beatles Museum in the morning. The whole pier/dock area was rather lovely. There were cool statues, places to have breakfast, and a concert arena.
The Beatles Museum was very well done. I learned so much about the band that I never had before, and there was a lot of memorabilia. Go to my Facebook for dozens of pictures as I'll only post a few here.
The next stop was Pier Head, which had a second Beatles Museum, and a cool statue of the full band. There were also carnival rides. I rode one of them (not pictured) before I left.
Lastly I went back to the shopping center and train station area and just enjoyed the sights. I did buy a few souvenirs for my mom who loves the Beatles, and some candy for my dad.
The next stop was a return to Manchester. Unfortunately during the bus ride I started developing a cold, which would last for the remainder of the trip and some of the first few days of my return. A crappy way for things to end, but I didn't let it stop me from seeing everything I wanted to see. (There was no chance of busking though)
As I said in Part 2, the reason why I came back was so I could check out the New Order exhibit, so that's exactly what I did. It exceeded expectations and I was happy to be a part of the audience.
For the rest of the night I walked around town, and visited the Manchester Arena (still under repairs) which still had a memorial for the victims.
The next day I went to the Manchester University campus, where the free museum was open. I checked out some exhibits, bought some more souvenirs, and then checked out of my hostel.
The next bus took me to Scotland. Due to time it wound up being a very abridged stay in Glasgow and Edinburgh, but I did what I could.
I took a subway to the University of Glasgow area where I went to the Shish Mahal restaurant, a popular Indian restaurant that is thought to have invented Chicken Tikka Masala... so I had a spicy variation of that.
I tried to get inside the University of Glasgow building but it was mostly closed. It still was a breathtaking view.
The next day I went to the Glasgow Cathedral and the accompanying cemetery Necropolis, which were both incredible. During the walk I listened to a CHVRCHES album, as the band originated in Glasgow.
Finally I took a view of the Glasgow Green and the main area of the city before taking a train to Edinburgh. Little did I know the Glasgow Green will be a festival venue I will see in this year's tour.
I only had a few hours in Edinburgh so I had to make the most of it. Luckily the bus station had a place to store my bags. I went to Edinburgh Castle first, of course, but there were some awesome sights along the way.
Edinburgh Castle was about to close but I was still able to see most of the good stuff. There were great views of the city, and of course some royal chambers to look at. It was cool to learn about the history of Scotland.
The Cal Football opener at North Carolina started while I was in the castle. After I left I looked for Wifi areas to watch the game. After trying a few restaurants I settled on the central train station, and a pub inside.
From the train station pub (The Beer House) I saw the Bears upset North Carolina! I took a walk around the area, taking a whiskey shot at the Bow Bar, and took a selfie at Rockstar Studios (makers of the Grand Theft Auto games) to celebrate the Cal win and my final Saturday in Europe for 2017.
The final stop was London. I took a late night bus from Edinburgh but the comfy Megabus was full and I had to take a less comfy shuttle instead. I got some decent sleep but I had no outlets to charge my phone so I was going to have trouble finding my final resting stop.
When I got to London there was a Starbucks nearby that I used to charge my stuff. Once that was settled it was time to find my way to the AirBnB.
After that, I took a small nap while waiting for my phone and external charger to reach 100% and then went out.
I then went over to Buckingham Palace. There were some awesome parks by the way (One of which I missed, Hyde Park, but will see this year for a festival) and then I made it to the royal area.
I went to Buckingham Palace's various tourist attractions, including The Royal Gallery which had Venetian artwork, and the Royal Apartments (where pictures weren't allowed).
Once I was out of Buckingham Palace I returned to Westminster Abbey. There was a piano recital but I missed it and instead settled for a mass, which was fun. (Pictures weren't allowed inside there either)
To end the day I walked over several of the bridges in the heart of London, particularly the Westminster, London, and Tower bridges. The Tower Bridge was the prettiest and had a tower one could climb but it was closed by the time I got there. My dinner came from a grocery store across the street from my hostel. As there was no kitchen, I bought deli meats and cheeses and juice.
Rather than do a second day in London I took a bus to "nearby" Oxford (like going from San Francisco to Santa Cruz). I accidentally paid for a single ride rather than a round-trip, which would have saved me $15... but fortunately I went to the bus station and explained my situation and they let me change it. I was really worried for a while! Near the bus station was a music store where I bought Everything Now by The Arcade Fire and the OK Computer reissue by Radiohead.
Although it was early September it did not appear that school was in session as the university area was mostly empty. The streets were still lively with lots of shops and restaurants (and as seen above, more churches). Turns out the city had a fair (the St. Giles Fair) going on and there were carnival rides and games. I may have played in the arcade but I was still sick so I couldn't do the rides. I remember getting ice cream but I already ate expensive sushi beforehand. Whoops.
I took a walk in the giant Oxford park. I overheard from a tour going on that a member of Radiohead was walking around but I couldn't find him.
While walking around campus I found out that, like in Manchester, the University museum was open. They had a lot of cool exhibits including one on the brain. There were of course dinosaur bones and pretty rocks to look at.
I rode the bus back to London and then prepared for one last night in Europe. I had seen the night before that there was a big arcade downtown, the Namco Funscape, so I decided to party there.
My final dinner was a nearby Italian restaurant called Strada. I let my waitress know that it was my final day in Europe, but she wasn't happy to hear that I missed her home country of Poland. Maybe I can tell her I'm seeing it this year!
I crossed the Golden Jubilee Bridges, one of the cooler bridges I missed the previous night, to close out the night. I did get a little lost going home, missing a bus because I was on the wrong side of the street, but it was all good.
For the final morning I needed to take a train to the Gatwick Airport. To get to the station I needed I walked by a cool looking church, which would be St. Paul's Cathedral. Maybe I'll see it this year. I also passed by a cool neighborhood I hope to see more of.
I got to Gatwick Airport and of course there was a delay. After about an hour of being stuck on the runway, it was time to head home.
I wasn't able to get much sleep at all on the 11 hour flight, but the plane had free movies and games. I watched Black Swan, which if you know the movie well has some scenes that were awkward to watch with a cute girl sitting right next to me. (She probably saw) I watched some other stuff (don't remember what) and played some puzzle games.
Once the flight landed there was ANOTHER delay as the customs line was overcrowded. I took the chance to bolt to the front of the plane so I could be one of the first in line when we did get out. I barely got out in time to make the A's game before first pitch, and would have missed the game for sure if I had waited for everyone else to leave the plane.
Being awake for nearly, if not over 24 hours straight took its toll and just my luck the game went into extra innings. The A's lost and I didn't quite make it to the end of the game. My friend Jacquie drove me home and my trip came to an end.
THE SEQUEL:
Last winter I started to think about doing a shorter stay in Europe after a couple bands, Gorillaz and Depeche Mode, announced festival shows in June and July of 2018. I tried and failed to get tickets to Depeche Mode's final shows of their Global Spirit Tour in Berlin (July 23 and 25) as even one ticket would have cost me over $200 let alone trying to see both shows. Once it sold out one ticket was going to be even harder and more expensive to get. I ended my plans to make a return.
But wait! In early December The Cure announced a one-off show in London in early July. I bought tickets right away and dreamed of going to Europe again after all. I got a new job right after I came back from Europe and was making a decent paycheck. I started to put all my money into the trip, giving up Warriors and Sharks games among other things. I also bought tickets to a festival in nearby Glasgow that CHVRCHES and the Killers were doing. The latter announced a tour that skipped the Bay Area so this would be my way of seeing them. (Almost a full year after seeing them in Spain)
The plan to go to New York happened because it was a place I always wanted to return to, and the band The Decemberists announced a show there in Mid-June. At the time they did not announce a Bay Area show, so I made the decision to start my trip then and there. (Sadly, the concert was postponed outside of my tour dates because of a singer's illness) I played around with multiple itineraries that depended on some concerts (like Erasure's, who would later announce August shows in San Francisco) and other things. Based on the dates I chose I could figure out which Gorillaz and Depeche Mode shows I could see. Plus the flight to NYC was cheap and so was the flight to Belfast. (Around $225 combined) It also meant I wasn't stuck in an 11 hour flight.
Budget issues (work wasn't giving me the shifts I thought I would get) completely ended hopes of going to DM's Berlin shows but I fell in love with the idea of seeing them in Poland, one of the countries I missed last year. Once I found a cheap flight from Gdansk to London I was set. All I needed was a Gorillaz show (They were in Gdynia like DM, but the day they were on didn't logistically work). Once I found I could get a cheap flight from Edinburgh to Bergamo (near Milan) I was all set and booked a ticket to see them in Lucca, Italy (near Pisa). The rest of the itinerary includes stops in Spain and Portugal, countries (one I missed completely) that I wanted to see more of the most, plus a stop in Paris to visit my friend Sarah. I fly to Iceland to see that stop for the first time because flights are cheaper to the USA from there. (Palma to Reykjavik to Los Angeles was about $400 combined) From LA its a cheap ride to Oakland.
Finally, the trip to Denver was planned since October. Most of my A's friends are making the visit and I had planned to do that trip only. That is, until the Europe return was decided. Luckily I made enough, plus I found a cheap flight, that made me able to include the trip as well. Plus, I will get to see The Decemberists in Berkeley (they announced the show after I booked the flight to NYC) after all, before I go to Denver. In Denver I will see the A's play at Coors Field. I will also get to see the historic Red Rocks Amphitheater as Halsey (one of my favorites) announced a show there before I booked my flight.
Conflicts did arise, I had to cancel plans to see the A's in San Diego. I nearly had to quit a job working in the Registrar of Voters in Oakland but my duties finished barely in time before the flight. Finally, I was worried I'd miss the Warriors championship and parade but the Dubs were able to sweep the Cavs and I got to work and enjoy the parade the same day as my flight to NYC. (I was also worried about missing a Sharks parade, but they unfortunately lost to Las Vegas in May.)
As of right now I am currently in New York and New Jersey. I will recap this part of the leg in my next entry.
Thanks so much for reading!
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