Just as Barney Stinson has many "only one rule", I have many most favourite sporting events. And can you blame me? As the Olympics have just shown, we Brits have a ranging love towards sport so how is it possible for us to only have one favourite event?
When arriving at the AELTC gates, Wimbledon is my favourite. When waking up and turning on the television at 1 am, The Ashes is my favourite. Every second until England kick off their campaign, the World Cup is my favourite. Even the Ryder Cup gets thrown in there sometimes I don't even watch that much golf.
But there's one event in particular that gets me giddy with excitement. Cricket's 'Natwest T20 Blast Final's Day'. And the funny thing is, I don't really like T20 cricket that much...
Now, if you're not familiar with cricket, you first need to know that there are three variations of the game. The original format, which is called a Test Match, is played over a duration of five days with each day consisting of around seven hours of play. That's a lot of cricket.
Next, you have a One Day match, which as its name suggests, is played over one day and lasts around eight hours. Slightly less cricket.
But we now find ourselves living in an era where people's attention spans have grown so small that even eight hours worth of cricket is too much for some. People these days demand to be entertained without having to fire off a single brain cell so something had to be done to attract a new generation of fans. Step forward Twenty20 (T20) Cricket.
Without going into the technicalities of the new format too much, it's a version where matches last no longer than three hours and played under rules that encourage quick scoring and crowd-pleasing play.
Although t20 Cricket makes for some entertaining viewing, it's by far my least favourite of the three formats. Maybe I'm old fashioned but growing up loving the tactical battle that comes with five-day Test Match Cricket can't be beaten. T20 cricket is too short, so it feels over not long after it's begun.
But I accept now there's a purpose for T20, especially when a team recently went nearly 90 minutes without scoring a run in a Test Match...
So what is T20 Final's Day and why I did I fly 800 miles to watch a format of a sport that I supposedly don't really like?
Unlike most sports, international takes priority over domestic. Players who are good enough to play for their national teams seldom feature for their clubs as both seasons happen simultaneously. This means there's less attention on domestic cricket.
This where the T20 performs best. Clubs still participate in all three formats of the game, but it's this shorter version that draws the biggest crowds and gives domestic cricket a much-needed identity as it forever sits in the shadow of the more prestigious international game.
The 14 teams are split into two leagues of seven, a northern and southern league, with the top four finishers from each commencing onto quarterfinal matches. The winners of those go through to a day where both semi-finals and final are played at the same venue. The Natwest T20 Blast Final's Day.
It's hard to put your finger on what makes this day so great. In our group of eleven, I don't think there was anyone who had an allegiance to any of the four teams that were playing. It's probably the only event that I can think of where you can go and just enjoy a day of competition, free from the fear of who you're supporting having a clanger.
"I'm just here to enjoy the day" is something you repeatedly hear when in the beer queue as people talk about who they want to win. And the reason you hear it repeatedly is because the beer queue is where somewhere you repeatedly find yourself.
Again unlike most sports, you can drink in your seats when at the cricket. So it'll be rude not taking advantage of this luxury.
And take advantage people do. Over the course of the at least nine hour day, there reaches a point, usually around 3 pm, where the civilised nature that is synonymous with cricket gets hit for six. That's a cricket term by the way.
The Eric Hollis Stand or The Banter Stand as it's named in our circle is full of groups dressed up in outrageous fancy dress and ready to have fun. You can almost smell the jealousy wafting from the other stands as everyone else realises they're sitting in the wrong part of the stadium.
It's sometimes hard to keep you eye on the cricket when sat in the Banter Stand. A group of fox hunters chase their mate who drew the short straw of having to wear the fox costume up and down the aisles. Â A bloke in a Team GB kit takes on another dressed as a Russian athlete in an 110m hurdle race. Their mates are the hurdles obviously.
The highlight though was some poor chap wearing a beer hat as a costume getting christened Helmet and finding himself being sung about by the whole stand throughout the day. Having a thousand odd people cheer you back to your seat after you've visited the toilet must be quite a gratifying experience, though. Lucky Helmet.
It's a day that's impossible for anyone not to have fun at, and for a sport like cricket, that can sometimes be perceived as exclusive due to its complexity, it's a refreshing addition.
For a long time, Italy sat patiently on my "countries to visit" list. All the other main European countries were ticked off quite quickly but for some reason, Italy was always overlooked.
By no means was this due to not wanting to go, quite the opposite, but whenever I went away on a European adventure, it was always in the company of a few of my male friends. So Italy never seemed an appropriate destination. You've seen the Venice Tourist Board use a picture of five blokes on a gondola.
But since being in a relationship with an Italian, it's a country I've now visited frequently and one I've become rather familiar with. The only downside is that it's a country so large and diverse, that the tick on the "countries to visit" list can never feel fully justified until a good chunk of the country is experienced.
So on the way back to our trip's starting point of Milan, we decided to allocate a couple of days to visit parts of the country that we hadn't done on previous trips.
The first was Venice. Before my maiden visit to the country, if someone said I was only allowed to visit one Italian city in my lifetime, I probably would have picked Venice. It's so unlike any other European city that its uniqueness was one I had to experience.
Everyone knows Venice. Even if you've never been there, you've seen enough imagery of the place that you feel like you've been there. And because of this, there's a lot of noise that comes from people when discussing the city.
You repeatedly meet people who tell you it's a place that smells, or that it's too crowded you can't move, and when it comes to its famous waterways, all the talk is about disruptive flooding and how expensive the gondolas are.
Now let me tell you, from what I experienced, only the gondola part is true. Venice is incredible.
The second you cross the bridge onto the first island, the magic begins. Unless you're fancy, this bridge is the only way of reaching the famous part of the city, so, of course, it's busy here, but Venice is nothing more than a gigantic incoherent labyrinth of narrow streets so it's easy to lose the crowds.
The Piazza San Marco is where all the craziness Venice is apparently famous for is found. We attempted the queue to enter the Basilica di San Marco, but only the museum and observation deck was open at the time so we decided against it.
The beauty of now having a base in a country like Italy means that missing out on visiting the Basilica wasn't that disappointing. We knew we'd have easy opportunities in the future to come back and see anything we couldn't on this visit.
One famous sight we did take the time to enter was the Teatro La Fenice, one of the world's most famous opera houses. Although it's a world renowned venue, it's situated in an not so obvious part of the city so the area and theatre itself were very quiet.
From the outside, the theatre doesn't seem that impressive. This could be because the building has unfortunately been burnt down multiple times during its lengthy history so, in fear of more wasted work, they probably kept the outside simple.
But the inside, now that's a different story. I haven't been to many opera houses before but what surprised me about this one was how small and intimate it felt. Obviously, this must be great when watching an opera, but also for when walking around, it really helps in being able to see all the intricate details that have gone into its design.
The rest of the day was spent eating good food and taking in Venice's charm.
The end of the trip was now upon us, and we decided our last destination was to be Verona, yes, that place from Romeo and Juliet.
Verona is, of course, famous for far more than just being the setting of a few Shakespear plays, but one of the most popular things to do is visiting Juliet's balcony.
It's strange that people are drawn to a rather underwhelming formation of bricks that have only fictional significance, but I guess that's the world we live in.
If you want to check it out while avoiding the hoards of selfie sticks in the battle of getting a photo with a bronze statue of Juliet, the best time to enter is around 18:30. The courtyard closes at 19:00 and they stop letting people in a short time before so if you wait patiently, you'll find yourself having the place nearly to yourself before the guards start ushering you out.
We actually walked past the building that was the inspiration for Romeo's house, but this is apparently less interesting as another tourist was not be seen while we were there. Poor guy.
The parts of Verona I personally enjoyed the most were the Roman remains. The centre is full of structures still standing after thousands of years. The gladiator arena, which appears pretty much full intact, is especially impressive.
And that's that. An amazing 17 days of exploring the best Central Europe has to offer is over.
We'd be lying if we said we weren't slightly disappointed by the beach offerings so far in Croatia. The one we visited in Split was perfect for a day of relaxation and a bit of swimming, but it didn't entirely fit Croatia's reputation of having some of the "best beaches in Europe".
We accept that maybe we weren't in the best region of the country, and maybe having time to venture out onto one of the many islands would have supplied us with better results, but what we found during our research turned out to be slight exaggerations on more than one occasion.
Not to be defeated, we decided to make one last beach stop on the way back up to Slovenia.
The area around Rijeka, which is very close to the border with Slovenia, seemed promising, so we drove down the narrow path that runs along the seafront to the west of the city and searched for a suitable spot.
From what we have seen, Croatia doesn't have many sandy beaches and the "beaches" here we no different with most of them being little rocky coves. These are ideal for privacy but offer very little when it comes to comfort.
We chose Kostanj Bay as it had a small concrete patch built in so you didn't have to search for a chair shaped rock to relax on.
The water here is ridiculously clear, which for me is more of a priority as I prefer to be in the water rather than out when at a beach, but unfortunately we had no snorkel gear available to us.
After the somewhat pleasant stop off, we crossed back into Slovenia to visit the parts we didn't have time to during the first foray.
The Postojna Cave is Slovenia's second largest cave formation, and one of its main tourist destinations, but even both of these accolades fail to justify fully just how spectacular is place is.
The cave has been in operation as a tourist spot for nearly 200 years, which probably explains why it's so well organised.
A nippy electric train takes you a couple of kilometres into the cave where you start your tour on foot. This journey in itself offers some incredible sights, one of which being one of two concert halls that have been created because of the caves excellent acoustics.
I've been to a few caves around the world that have some impressive stalagmites and stalactites, but I think this one takes the crown of the most impressive.
You are advised to put on some extra clothing layers before entering but seeing as I didn't have any on me at the time, I thought I'd risk it.
It is quite cold in the cave, but once you're off the train, you're doing a lot of walking up and down hilly terrain, so this keeps you warm enough. The only time I felt the cold becoming too much was on the train ride back out.
When buying the ticket for the cave, we had the option to add on the entrance to the Predjama Castle which is about ten kilometres away. The castle is built into the opening of another cave, and it's just as impressive as it sounds.
Due to the tour of the Postojna Cave being quite lengthy, it meant there was unfortunately not enough time left in the day to visit the castle as well. Instead, we took a drive up there and admired its ingenuity from the outside.
Next is the journey back to Italy, for the final days of the trip.
There was still a lingering disappointing over not staying the night in Ljubljana when waking up for our first day in Croatia. But we had designated Croatia to be "water country" as most of the plans here consisted of beaches and waterfalls so hopefully the fun times ahead would make up for it.
We started our Croatian adventure with a day in the capital, Zagreb.
As we were now heading south, the heat was becoming even more intense. The walk from our hotel to the city centre was relatively short, but we had to make a stop off at the Botanical Gardens just south of the centre to get away from the sun.
There's a lot of open space in Zagreb, so once we reached the centre, we just wandered around the different neighbourhoods and took in the city this way.
We had found that one of the best things to see was the Mirogoj Cemetery. It is quite a walk from the other main areas but luckily it's a shady one.
Although the cemetery is impressive and offers a peaceful break from the main parts of the city, I wouldn't say it's a must see when visiting Zagreb.
The lakes of Plitvice National Park were something we were looking forward to the most so we decided to get a room in a guesthouse right outside the park so we could wake up and enjoy most of the day there.
There are many different routes you can take around the park. A 3, 4, 6 or 8-hour hike are the main options, and as we had the whole day to play with, we opted for the 6-hour route. Another reason for choosing this one was in the hope that it would be less busy.
The park is stunning. The whole route in pretty much one long wooden bridge that winds between an endless display of spectacular waterfalls. You even get a boat ride across a part of the main lake included as well.
The only downside is how busy it is. Choosing one of the longer routes in the hope of it being quieter was in vain. At times it felt you were queuing for a ride at Disney World. Slowly edging your way down the path, and having to play limbo with the onslaught of selfie sticks.
The drive down to Split was always planned to be our longest drive of the trip so waking up and taking on the park early proved a rewarding choice as it meant we could get to Split with enough time to have dinner and check out the Old Town.
It's difficult to express my feelings on Split truly. The Old Town is one of the most beautiful city areas we had come across all the trip, but you can't appreciate it fully as with every turn you feel like you've walked into an organised pub crawl. And this was a Wednesday night.
Nothing beats eating outside in surrounding like this, and we were lucky enough to find a table in a little street that wasn't too busy. Our plate of mixed fish and seafood was good enough to distract us from the chaos of the rest of the city.
The next day was beach day. Croatia is famous for its beaches, but most of these are to be found on the many islands just off the mainland. Not having time to cross over onto one, we headed to the little Kasuni Beach, which was a short drive from where we were staying.
In the right location, pebble beaches can be more enjoyable than sandy beaches as they eliminate that the annoying sand getting everywhere fiasco. Kasuni with its white stones is definitely one of those beaches.
After a day of relaxing, we had another fish dinner in the Old Town and attempted to experience the rest of the area as much as possible, but again, the city-wide party atmosphere made it slightly unenjoyable.
Unlike the Plitvice National Park, the Krka National Park allows you to swim in the waterfalls. So on the way up to Zadar, we made sure we gave ourselves enough time at the park to go for a swim and also see what else is there.
Swimming in the main waterfall is a lot of fun. Like Plitvice, the park was packed, but the pool leading up to the waterfall is big enough for an enjoyable experience.
The rest of the park seemed a little bare compared to Plitvice though. The walk around seemed so short that we were completely unaware when we reached back to our starting point. The park did have other areas that were reachable but car or boat but compared to Plitvice, the main area doesn't offer that much other than the waterfalls.
We reached Zadar with enough time to explore the city and have another fish plate dinner. As a city, it looks similar to Split with its medieval structure, but it's far less rowdy.
So with Croatia done and places still left to visit, the reality is that we're now on the homeward leg of our trip. Only two more days left.
I'm sure Slovenia is not that high up on most people's countries to visit list, but it's a place that's always intrigued me. Probably because it's a team England repeatedly seem to draw in qualifying groups and a country that's capital has a pleasing to say name.
If you need a place to start in Slovenia, I can't imagine a better place than Lake Bled. A simple Google image search will back me up here.
Our hotel was right on the lake itself, and we arrived the previous night with enough time to take in its beauty in the fading the daylight, and then for some dinner beside the water.
The lake is famous for a little island in the middle that has a tiny church on it, but although you can't obviously see this at night, there's a castle on a hill overlooking the lake that is strikingly illuminated.
There's a path that runs all the way around the lake. At first glance, it doesn't seem overly challenging but because of the picturesque nature of the walk, it takes you a good few hours to complete due to all the stops.
The lake is one of Slovenian's top tourist spots, and the areas of the lake where the hotels, restaurants and camping spot are, are packed with people. But making the effort to complete the walk around is more than worth it as you'll find numerous secluded spots with no one around. We found a little bench within the trees on the waterfront and spent half an hour paddling in the water.
Just outside of Bled, you have Vintgar Gorge, which is canyon that has been carved from the following Radnova River.
The walk following the crystal blue water is well worth your time even if you're just using it as a break from the heat. Unfortunately, there is no swimming in the water as the still pools soon move into violent rapids.
By the time we got to Ljubljana, our legs were starting to feel the two extensive walks from earlier in the day. Although we knew we weren't in a fit enough state to explore the city thoroughly, we still decided that we weren't going to stay the night here. The first mistake of the trip was just made.
Ljubljana is a great city. Everywhere you go is beautiful. It doesn't appear to have the typical Eastern European city tendency of the unappealing outer areas.
A lot of what's to see is along the river but walking down the narrow shady streets also offers a lot. One of those is ice cream. Maybe because it borders Italy but this place produces some amazing ice cream. I highly recommend Vigo, which is near the famous Triple Bridge.
Not staying in Ljubljana was definitely a mistake. Given the amount we had walked over the course of the day, it would have been nice to wake up with fresh legs and see more, but night time was now upon us, and we had to start our drive to Zagreb, and our next country.
Being able to visit a museum or gallery is tricky when you're only spending less than a day in a city. But we're now half way through our trip, and it's time to slow things down a little with a day in Vienna and then the short drive over to Bratislava for a day there.
Our hotel in Vienna is close to the MuseumsQuartier, and as the name suggests, it has a great selection of museums and galleries. Still wanting to see other parts of the city, we limited ourselves to a morning at one of the choices.
We choose the Leopold Gallery because it offered exhibits on two influential local artists; Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt.
If you've ever seen any work from either of these two, you'll know they're quite bold artists. You get the same impression walking around this gallery, but it's interesting getting the back stories on the pieces.
Much like the previous night, we found ourselves getting distracted by the architectural beauty of this city. You can spend hours walking around and always find something to look at.
Vienna is home to a lot of churches with most being free to enter. Some are a little indistinct from the outside, but almost all are pretty stunning from the inside.
Another example of great architecture is the Hundertwasserhaus. Although it doesn't quite fit with the rest of the city, the Gaudi style landmark is a nice contrast to what we've seen over the last 24 hours.
Waking up in Bratislava early on a Sunday morning is never going to be the best time to get a first impression of the city.
Like a lot of Eastern European cities, there are beautiful areas that are filled with history while the rest is a little bit of the opposite.
Walking to the old town area, we thought we were the only ones alive in the city, but once we reached the heart, all that changed.
Bratislava is a typical stag location, but it doesn't look like one. The old town is lined with hip narrow streets with little boutique cafes and bars. I don't think I saw a place that could hold a group of ten let alone allow one in.
Walking up to the castle is, of course, something you have to do when visiting this city. Bratislava doesn't have the most scenic of skylines but from up here you do get an impressive view of the sprawling wind farm that sits just over the border in the Austrian countryside.
When your list of places to visit is as long as our one is, spending two days just visiting two cities seems a bit too much, but ones like Vienna especially need more time to be fully appreciated.
When it came to planning which route we were going to take for this trip, Instagram did most of the persuading. Whenever a photo from one of the countries we were visiting appeared on my feed, it went on a list. And once that list got to a decent length, we just drew a line on a map connecting them all, and we had out route.
One of the places that appeared on the list which I was most excite about was Hallstatt. From what I saw it looked like it could quite easily be the most picturesque place in the world. Do a quick Google search now and I'll bet good money your next move will be a follow-up search to find out the nearest airport to Hallstatt.
Luckily the rain was now behind us so nothing was going to ruin this highly anticipated stop on the trip.
The second the little village comes into view on the drive in, you know that this place is not going to disappoint. What makes Hallstatt so spectacular to look at is how it sits at the side of the lake. The lake is in the middle of high snow-topped mountains with the village appearing to be built into the side of one of the mountains.
Hallstatt is a place that's filled with history. The salt production here apparently dates back to before history even started. I'm not entirely sure what that means, but I guess it gives some indication as to how old the place is.
Another significant aspect of this village is that it's still inhabited like a traditional town. It's unquestionably one of Austria's most popular tourist destinations, but it appears the place hasn't been changed in any way to accommodate this.
There is one direct water sided road you can take to navigate from one end of the village to the other, but if you're feeling a little bit more adventurous, you can explore the many tiny walkways that go up and down and sometimes lead you into what feels like someone's front garden.
It was hard to leave Hallstatt but seeing as we'd pretty much walked the entire length of the place twice, it was time to move on.
Next up for the day was the little wine producing area of Durnstein. You know it's a prime region for growing fruit when the road in is lined with little pop-up stalls selling fresh apricots.
Besides from its wine and apricots; Durnstein is also famous to English people as being the place where old Ricky the Lionheart held prisoner after been captured during The Crusades. You can walk up to what's left of the castle where he was prisoned, but it's quite a long trek, especially when you're on a tight-ish schedule.
It's also difficult to avoid spending money in the numerous shops that sell a range of goods which are made from the locally grown apricots. Many of the shops do sell the same products so you can pop into each on the way round and try a good selection of the free samples that are on offer. It still wasn't enough to stop me from buying some apricot chocolate, though.
Vienna was a city that both of us wanted to spend a decent amount of time in so we decided to head there for early evening to experience what it's like at night time and then have most of the day tomorrow there.
Our hotel was only a ten-minute walk from the centre, and the first area we came across was the Museumsquartier. As its titled suggests, it's a place where there are many museums, but even though all them were now closed, this is still a really cool area to be. Large seating areas with pop-up bars and DJ booths are set up to encourage people to come hang out after hours. It's even encouraged to bring your own drinks.
As it was late and we knew we were going to have nearly a full day tomorrow to delve into the city properly, we just casually walked around the city and took in the sights that way.
It appears to be a big city, but places like Heldenplatz, which is home to many things to see including the National History Museum, Mozartdenkmal and National Library, and the Parliment building are all very close together so you can cover interesting ground in a short space of time.
Coming into Vienna early so we had a few hours of exploring before bedtime was definitely a good idea as we now have a strong understanding of the area which will come in good use for tomorrow's full day of city sightseeing.
How long do you need to spend in a country to credibly claim you've visited it? We spent only half a day in Liechtenstein, and that's now on the list, but I think in this case half a day was enough as any more and we probably could of qualified for residency.
This morning we took a quick trip out of Austria to visit Königssee Lake in the south of Bavaria. I've covered a lot of Germany before, so it's already on my countries list, but including it as one of our eight countries on this trip seemed a bit cheeky when you're just exiting a slip road off an Austrian motorway to visit a lake. I'll let you be the judge of this.
But whether it counts or not, it was definitely worth it. Königssee is a natural lake that was formed by water from a glacier that once stood nearby so the water is crystal clear. In an attempt to preserve this clearness, only electric powered boats are used to give tours around the lake.
Like the majority of places we have visited so far, the lake sits within a mountain range so it's deadly quiet. Choosing to start the day here was definitely key to this tranquillity as the car park for this lakeside is of a similar size to one of a "lakeside" found in Essex, so it's obviously a favourite on the tourist trail.
Quickly back over the border, the next stop was Salzburg. Given the rain restrictions of the previous two days, we were now ahead of schedule, so we decided to allocate more time here than originally planned.
This place oozes culture. You'd expect nothing less from the home of Mozart, but I was genuinely surprised just how fulfilling this city is. It's impossible to name all the places worth visiting as there seem to be one down the end of each tiny street. We spent a considerable amount of time in the city, but I'm sure there are still sights that we missed.
We started our day though at the famous Sacher Cafe for a slice Sachertorte. This delicious style of chocolate cake is originally from Vienna, but as we're still a day or so away from the capital, it was only right that we took this early opportunity to try the local delight. It was the right decision.
If a city has an Old Town, which most do, then you know that's always a good place to start. At the centre of Salzburg's Old Town, which is named Altstadt, is the Dom zu Salzburg, a massive cathedral that is free to enter. The details throughout are so intricate and ornate. An interesting contrast to the size of the building.
The Baroque style that we have come across in a lot of Austria so far was ever present again here, but it seems impossible ever to get bored of buildings in this style. Within the little streets, that wind around the cathedral, you will find most of the main sights of Salzburg. It was lucky that time was now on our side as you could easily lose hours walking around this part of the city, completely oblivious of the time.
The fortress of Hohensalzburg that sits to the south of the Old Town and overlooks the whole city is a highlight. You access it by a funicular, which is always a good way to access something, and then have free roam of the castle grounds and the many rooms that make up this little fantasy village up in the sky.
Being able to invest a good amount of time into a city on this trip was much welcomed. Although we have had satisfying visits to all cities we have hit so far, the rain had made those visits slightly difficult and restricted, so it was perfect that for a city as comprehensive as Salzburg, we could forget about time management and just get lost in this incredible city for a day.
For the night's accommodation, we chose another lakeside area just outside of Salzburg called St Gilgen. It's clearly another ski town so it's not the most lively of places this time of year but when it's a place to wind down after a day of city exploring, it's exactly what you need.
Our hotel was right on the lake front, and the town itself can be walked around in an hour or so. It's the ideal place for one of those activity filled school trips away, or one for of those early night after being on your feet all day.
New day, new country, same weather. The only pair of jeans that I packed now hold a prominent place in my suitcase and my waterproof jacket and camera cover are forever at arm's reach in the car. It feels like we have been crossing seasons, not borders.
This weather does have an interesting effect on the scenery, though. The numerous tree-covered mountains in the region now have such low cloud coverage that it looks as if you could easily walk up and be among the clouds.
As out route consists of going from West to East, Austria was always going to be the country we spent the most days in. Our list of places to visit was also quite extensive so we wasted little of the extra time we had now given ourselves and hit the road early.
Last night we stayed in Feldkirch, a little town close to the border of Liechtenstein. We had an hour or so to walk around without any rain. Once it inevitably arrived, ducked into a little cafe to plan our next move.
Innsbruck was next. It feels like quite a small city, but there's plenty of options to walk around. Unfortunately, we were again taking in all the impressive architecture from under an umbrella.
Something that appears to be typical in Austria is for a lot of the buildings to have a painted design or even a mural on their facades. Everywhere you go has a very Baroque influence.
Being a mountain town, and one that's hosted a Winter Olympics, there's a very wintertime feel to the place. Christmas must be a great time to visit Innsbruck.
Continuing this theme of visiting places out of season our next stop was the ski town of Alpbach. One good thing about visiting these places during the summer is that the accommodation is much cheaper than it would be in the winter.
Our ski lodge apartment with mountain view and "one of the top 10 steakhouses in Austria" for a restaurant would not be in our budget if this were winter time. Even if it did feel like winter time outside.
You still can't beat being up in the mountains, though. Everything feels cleaner and more relaxed. But enough about that, it's big steak night back at our lodge.
When travelling through this part of the world, you have to accept that sometimes itâs going to rain. So after three days of blistering heat and blue skies, weâve now had two days of nearly none stop rain. Not jumping in that Swiss lake feels like a long time ago right now.
Luckily I decided to bring a waterproof jacket with me. Well, I say decided, it was more of a hesitant grab as I left my flat in Barcelona. Packing a pair of jeans was also a last minute move once I saw I had some leftover space in my suitcase. So right now, things could be a lot worse.
The rain started after our morning in Basel. Iâm not going to lie, the main draw of visiting Basel was because itâs the home of Roger Federer. Compared to the rest of the Swiss cities, this is the one I knew least about, so visiting here was always a bit of a gamble.
There appears to be two sides to Basel and conveniently thereâs a river that splits them. One side is very cute and quiet with little shopping streets, and the other is your typical bustling city.
We obviously spent most of our time on the former side. Thereâs no obvious route to take as all the streets seem to intertwine so we just walked down whichever one took our fancy until we came across an old building or church, which there are a lot.
Just as we left Basel, the rain started falling but little did we know it was going to affect our plans as much as it did.
Zurich was the next stop, and although a city is always the best place to spend a rainy day, the rain was so unrelenting that we knew thereâs no chance of getting to experience the city to its fullest.
We walked from the main station down to the lake, past all the expensive watch shops and banks which Switzerland has become famous for. By the time we arrive at the water, the fun of exploring a new city was wearing off.
As much as we tried to cover as much of the city as we could, the rain was always going to defeat us. It also made taking pictures a little changeling so you wonât see many over the next few days.
The original plan was to spend the night in Zurich and visit Liechtenstein the following day, but because we couldnât do as much as we wanted in Zurich, we decided to tick Liechtenstein off a day early.
If youâre unfamiliar with Liechtenstein, itâs a rather small country that is barely a country. The capital of Vaduz is an obvious place to visit but just outside the city, thereâs a unique castle that sits atop of its own hill.
The rain was still coming down, but we werenât going to let that stop us. The drive up to the top was a mini adventure in itself. Thereâs a single road the winds all the way to the top with a drop all the way to the bottom if you get things a bit wrong. Here the weather helped us as a deterrent for any others visitors coming up or down the hill.
When we got to the top, the entrance to the castle grounds was open, but the castle itself was locked and deserted. Trying to justify the drive up here, we spent five minutes under one of the doorways looking at whatever we could and then decided enough was enough, and we moved on to the city.
The capital of a country that is only 25km long is exactly what youâd expect it to be. Thereâs another castle, again up a hill, but weâd learned our lesson from the last one, and opted to view it from the dry comfort of the car.
As beautiful as Liechtenstein is, you need at least dry weather to appreciate it truly.
The day was now coming to end, and without any accommodation for the night, we decided our very short time in Liechtenstein was, unfortunately, complete so we booked ourselves into a hotel just over the border in Austria. Being ahead of schedule is always a bonus I guess.
Although we managed to get around a lot of Lucerne after we arrived the previous night, we still decided to allocate a bit of time to seeing what it was like during some daylight.
The absence of the moths was a welcome difference. You could enjoy the wooden bridges that cross the water without wanting to jump in to rid yourself of that ghastly itchy sensations.
We decided to have breakfast in a posh looking cafe with a terrace by the water. It was never going to be a cheap option, but when you're in Switzerland, you need to condition yourself to the shocks that come when handing over money here.
Being Switzerland, I opted for the waffles, of course, and they were so good that the price I had just paid for them was quickly forgotten. I suppose having quality overshadow price is always a good way to keep people distracted from how much you're asking them to pay for something. Sneaky Swiss.
After another walk around the waterfront areas, we jumped in the car and hit the main road to Bern to explore what was on the way. It turns out there was a lot.
The landscape the second you leave Lucerne is breathtaking. Crisp still blue lakes in the middle of lush green mountainous peaks line pretty much the whole journey. The shear size and grandeur the mountains made this drive remind me of one I did through Yosemite National Park a few years ago.
It's hard not to stop every five minutes and take it all in, but our plan was to stop off at Interlaken, which is near enough half way to Bern, and explore some areas in that region.
But the allure of what was out the window was too much so made a couple of stops. The first mountain/lake stop was so peaceful. The only other people there were a couple who had set up a little camp next to the water and were swimming in the lake.
Unfortunately, our swimming gear was back in the car. Not only would it of cooled us down from the increasing heat but swimming out into the calm blue crystal water with no one else around would have been a great way to start a first full day on the road.
The next stop was at a little lakeside town called Iseltwald. During the walk down to the waterfront, I wondered to myself do the people that live here get bored of this view.
The town is so quiet, but it does offer boat trips so there are a few tourists in the area. It's hard not to want to stay in places like this and go on boats trips or hire a kayak and paddle out to the little island that was in the middle of the lake, but when you're in a country that has so much to offer as this one does, you need to keep moving.
We arrived into Interlaken and picked up supplies for lunch. You can probably guess by the name, but Interlaken is a town in between two large lakes. It's just as scenic as all the other places but with more activity.
The drive into the town was the highlight, though. Up one side of a mountain and down the other. Snow covered peaks, waterfalls, lakes, the lot.
We decided to take our lunch and eat it at Lauterbrunnen, a little town more inland that sits between the mountains. Because of its location, there's a lot of water from the nearby glaciers that flow through the town.
Not only died this mean you have beautiful waterfalls that cascade from over the town but also a series of powerful waterfalls that spiral through some caves called TrĂŒmmelbachfĂ€lle. It's an impressive sight and one that will also cool you down on a hot and sticky day.
On the way to Bern, we started looking at possible options for accommodation. We wanted to spend a bit of time in the city but trying to find someone close to the city when on a budget seems impossible.
The cheapest we found was an Ibis that required a bus to get into the centre, had no more free parking spaces available when we arrived and charged 160⏠for a night's stay. 160⏠for an Ibis...
Trying to make sure we didn't waste much time on this, we opted for booking a room in Basel, which was tomorrow's destination and only one hour away, for half the price of that.
We had a good few hours of daylight left so plenty of time for a comprehensive quickfire trip around Bern.
It didn't take us long to see why it was so expensive to stay here. The architecture throughout is so pretty and everywhere is clean and well presented.
A sudden deluge meant we lost about twenty minutes while we took refuge in a shop doorway as it waited for it to pass but in all we had enough time to experience a good amount of the city.
Day 1 & 2: I-Days Festival and the drive to Switzerland
For living, the location of Barcelona is perfect. Mountains on one said, the Med on the other and with a climate that offers clear skies nearly all year round. But for exploring, it's a little tough if you want to go anywhere other than Spain or France. It takes almost half a day of constant driving to get to North Italy, the nearest area where it's far easier to cross borders.
So instead of wasting time starting our eight country road trip from Barcelona, we hopped on a plane and headed for Milan. Starting here had many other benefits. It's where my girlfriend is from, so allowed for some enjoyable family time. Family time also means incredible food time and the option of borrowing a car instead of hiring one for just over to two weeks.
It also meant we could attend Milan's I-Days Festival, which was headlined by one of my all time favourites, Sigur RĂłs.
Just like London Gatwick is not actually in London, the 'I-Days Festival Milano' is not actually in Milan. It's in Monza, which is also quite well known for being the location of the Italian Grand Prix. The site of the festival was in the middle of the circuit so having a quick glimpse of the track was also an added bonus.
I've only been to one music festival outside the UK before, and that was in the US, where, let's face it, music events are one of the things that country manages to do very well. But this festival felt the same as the ones back home just a little smaller and very much much hotter.
The reason we came was Sigur RĂłs, but the lineup offered a few other bands worth checking out.
Manchester's Shura opened the main stage, but a string of technical difficulties made the set a little challenging for the poor girl. Next, we headed to one of the undercover stages to check out my second favourite band on the lineup, Honne, whose funky electro-soul allowed for a much needed and enjoyable rest bite from the sun.
The Stereophonics are a band that I've never been a fan of before, but we decided to watch the second part of their set and get in a good spot for when Sigur RĂłs come on. Whether you like their music or not, you can't deny they know how to put on a strong show.
Much like their music, you can't really describe a Sigur RĂłs show. Some bands use extravagant stage production to add to their music, but a Sigur RĂłs stage production perfectly compliments their music. It's spectacular for sure, probably the most spectacular I've seen in any form of production, but as mesmerising as it all is, it doesn't distract from the music. It just perfectly enhances it.
After another delicious family lunch the next day, we finally jumped again in the car but this time, the location was to cross our first border.
I'd never been to Switzerland before, but it didn't take me long to fall in love with the place. Of course, it's very similar to the lakes in Northern Italy but the snow top mountains just added to the scenery.
We arrived into Lucern around 9 pm after stopping at a little lakeside town along the way to stretch our legs and take in some of the tranquillity of the area.
The first thing we noticed about Lucern was the large number of moths you find flying around everywhere. There're some beautiful wooden bridges that cross the water throughout the area, but you're too put off crossing them but the swarms that gather around all the lights that are fitted into the wood. Even looking at it from a distance makes you feel all itchy.
Not to be deterred, we explored as much of the city as we could a night. Being during the Final of the Euros, most of the activity was found outside the many bars that line the waterfront, so it was nice being able to wander around the little streets with no one around, or maybe this is what a normal Swiss Sunday night is like.
Satisfied by our start, we headed back to our guesthouse to get a relatively early night ahead of our trip's first proper day. I say relatively there is a surprisingly large number of Portuguese here in Lucerne...
I can once recall a time when plans for a boys summer trip away were scrapped because it clashed with one of football's quadrennial showpieces.
Of course, whichever country ended up being selected as our destination would have provided ample venues to watch the matches, but it just seemed sacrilege not to be in your home country to watch your home country play.
The tournament in question was World Cup 2006.
The previous summer saw our first real trip abroad as a big group and the excitement to replicate it again as soon as possible was glaring.
But when the time finally came to start playing this round two, the harmonious acceptance that it wasn't an option this year was quite something. Is watching football on TV within your own borders that relevant?
An important detail to note is that not only were we now old enough to go abroad unattended, it also meant we were now old enough to enter a pub risk-free and enjoy the atmosphere that comes with watching football in one. Another new experience we wanted to make the most of.
You can't beat watching England, in England, with your fellow Englishmen.
Fast forward ten years to the lead-up to this year's Euro 2016 and I found myself experiencing similar sentiments. In my just under two years of living abroad, I've now experienced my first bout of homesickness.
Now any English football fan will tell you there's nothing overtly enjoyable about being English during tournament time.
Trying to balance the ongoing battle of hype and doubt into some kind of rational equilibrium takes its toll. England's inevitable failure is always the most likely outcome, but you still believe you're only telling yourself it will happen so soften the blow just in case it does happen.
And it always does. We just never learn.
But there's still something endearing about where this false optimism comes from.
You know a tournament is approaching when all the adverts on TV become football related. My favourite fictional person once commented on advertising, "Nostalgia â itâs delicate but potent." and there's nothing truer when it comes to football adverts.
As you kid, you love the funny Nike and Adidas adverts. Watching that great Brazil team showboat around an airport on their way to France 98 or the 'Footballitis' pandemic before the 2002 World Cup.
But as you get older, the adverts that hold an increased pertinence are the ones that instead take an all mighty tug at your heart strings. Watching England legends managed by the late Sir Bobby Robson play Sunday league in arguably the best football advert ever made.
Carlsberg's subsequent attempt for the 2010 World Cup is probably less memorable in comparison, but it's one that always stands out for me personally. I remember at the time of its release having many talks with people about how it's nigh impossible to not well up at the middle point of that rousing team talk, when the sound dips and the words "let's do it for Bobby" echo out as the screen freezes on a drawing of the great man.
It may seem we're all just suckers for corporate greed. At the end of the day, the sole intention of these adverts are to manipulate you into buying whatever product they are advertising, but in these situations, they also help bring a country together.
Flags are flown from car windows. Â Three Lions are seen throughout supermarkets on the chests of family members as they buy supplies on match day. Pubs are at capacity with everyone supporting the same team for once. There's no better time to be the country.
It's strange to say, but in general, we're not really a patriotic bunch anymore. Of course, we feel a level of pride towards our country, but we don't feel the need continually parade it, which in my opinion is a good thing. You lose a sense of reality when you do, and these nationalistic tendencies are nowadays unanimously unwelcomed.
Whenever you see the St George's flag flying during non-sport related occasions, your instant reaction is of concern for the local area as it would appear members of the National Front have moved in.
I'll wear my England shirt with pride on match day, but if I see someone wearing one any another time, I'm walking on the other side of the street. Safety first, not England First.
So (hopefully) every two years when it's time for the country to unite and football fans to forget about their club rivalries, we enjoy it to the fullest before it's all over. Which in England's case usually feels straight after the tournament has started. But either way, we make the most of it.
With all that being said, this being my first tournament living outside of England it was always going to be tough. No adverts, no flags, no Three Lions, nothing.
Barcelona "not being Spain" also means the tournament itself is not on the radar here. Whether it's down to genuine apathy, or purposeful disobedience, if it has anything to do with Spain, the majority of locals here don't want anything to do with it. If you chose to relate that to my earlier point about losing a sense of reality, then that's your prerogative, but right now we're talking football.
So unless you're a football fan, you'd have no idea that there was a major competition taking place. Stark contrast to what I'm used to.
But being a vastly multicultured city, there is, of course, a large number of people here who are interested in what's taken place. I'm sure the news has told you recently how many of those are most likely British as well.
On top of Barcelona being one of the most popular holiday destinations for Brits, there was no need for concern regarding whether there was to be a decent atmosphere for England games.
Our pub of choice has been The George Payne. One of those typical large Irish Bars you find in every city around the world as is usually frequented by drunk "I love Europe" Americans. It's a place you'd probably never consider going to usually but for sport, it does the job with its multiple big screens and big open floor plan.
It's a pub notorious within in the city and being located right in the centre, it's also easy for unknowing tourists to stumble upon. And for each of England's three games so far, the place has been rocking.
One of the things I love the most about watching England back home is how early the anticipation for the game starts and the same applies here. Even with two floors, expecting to find a table an hour before kick off is brave.
Although England's results haven't exactly warranted much celebration, the dominating performances have and the couple of hundred of English, who have squeezed themselves into this pub for each game, have done just that.
Of course, the Wales game was always going to be the highlight, but a 3 pm kick off on a weekday could surely never generate the same level of noise as the previous 9 pm Saturday game. Just like it would of back home, it did here.
We've all seen those videos of the moment Daniel Sturridge pokes home the winner and pubs erupt with bodies and beer being propelled from every angle. The George Payne was no difference.
So were my concerns about missing out on a tournament because I'm not at home all for nothing? I'm still not sure. Yes, the atmosphere for our games so far has been great. The Wales one probably being one of the best I've ever experienced for an England game. But there still feels like something missing.
I'm pretty sure this tournament will end exactly the same way all tournaments do for England, prematurely, but the cause of the high expectations that make the impending disappointment so profound is part of the parcel of being an English football fan. And I miss that.
The last one was about football, this is one is about flowers. If metrosexual was a word that people still used then line it up.
Last year was my first time visiting Girona's annual 'Temps de Flors' and if I was to be completely honest, I only did so to please my at the time, newish girlfriend.
Why he had to travel over an hour to see some flowers was beyond me, especially when anyone who has been to Barcelona knows there's a perfectly adequate selection down on La Rambla...
But what makes the Girona Flower Festival different from most flower shows is that the flower displays that are incorporated the little city's stunning medieval architecture.
I'm not a fan of Games of Thrones so can't make any overt references there, but in my mind, I'm not walking around Girona but instead through the narrow stone streets of Minas Tirith.
As fun as it is pretending you're an old white haired guy telling everyone to "steady" from your horse, it's not actually needed here because the reality of the actual event was just as delightful.
So with far less convincing required this time we headed back again for some more fun amongst the flowers.
Now I'm no botanist, but I'm somewhat sure that freshly picked flowers can't be expected to survive for very long, especially in the heat of a Mediterran Spring time.
If only we had had this realisation before we headed off.
The Giron Flower Festival takes place over eight days. Last year we went on the first day, where the flowers were fresh, and the whole town smelled of love, this year we went on the last day, where things weren't quite as happy.
Spread across the fortified neighbourhood of the Barri Vell, you have over 100 unique displays to take in. They range in size with some being huge installations that completely transform some of the area's major landmarks to smaller more subtle displays found in many little nooks and crannies plotted around.
I'm not sure how the event is commissioned. Are artists selected and brought in or is everything created and funded locally? It's something I would like to know as it would definitely impact my following thoughts.
This year the installations were a little disappointing.
Maybe it was down the flowers not being at their best but compared to what we saw last year, there was little that really impressed us.
One of the must-sees is usually the grand stone stairs that lead up to the Girona Cathedral, but even this was quite underwhelming this year.
The main highlight is always the Banys Ărabs (Arabian Baths) which are impressive even without flowers. Usually, you have to pay to access the baths but during the festival, it's free which is a double bonus. Plus it gives you a much-needed escape from the sun.
If you are ever planning on making the trip to Girona for this unique festival, I highly recommend doing so but make sure you visit during one of the first days.
Another thing that was noticeable compared to last year was how busy it was. Girona is only small, and the streets are all very narrow, but it seemed more of a battle getting around this year. Going on a weekday would, of course, minimise the risk of this happening again but maybe the second weekend with it's dying flowers is the most popular after all.
If you ever want to write a hopefully respected post about football, using the word ârationalâ is not a good start. In this game, rationality doesnât exist and last Saturday was no exception.
When youâve been a Crystal Palace fan for the last 25 years, you get used to not having much to cheer about. You find yourself redefining the levels of success to protect your sanity and pride:
Promotion â winning the League Cup
Staying up â qualifying for Europe
Beating a top 4 team â winning an FA Cup semi-final
Beating a top 4 team away â winning an FA Cup final
Top 10 finish â requires an open top bus parade
Even an analogical Champions League win too much fairytale land for this scenario. Besides, itâs impossible to âwinâ more than one FA Cups in a season, of course.
But this year we were given a chance to win an actual FA Cup. The first major trophy of our 110-year existence was just one win away. Leicester who, I hear you say.
The only other time Palace reached an FA Cup Final was way back in 1990. This wasnât long before I started supporting the club but my reason to do so was probably less because of them being recent finalists and more down to their attractive name.
Disclaimer: the real reason Iâm a Palace fan is that they were my local team. You should always support your local team. Always.
During my lifetime, Iâve only experienced an old Division 1 title and a hand full of Play Off successes. These days itâs not that difficult for some teams to win more than that during pre-season.
So itâs without hyperbole that I can say Saturday was the biggest day in both my clubs and my own history.
Iâve been to Wembley multiple times before, but only two of those were to see Palace with both being at the old Wembley and under the supervision of adults. I just put on my shirt, got in the car, waved my flag, watched the match, cried (once out of joy, once of sadness), got back in the car, went home. Easy.
But being an adult Palace fan and having to plan for a Cup Final day is like being your clubâs third choice goalkeeper. You hope and pray that your moment will someday arrive but accept the odds donât look good. And if by chance it does happen, youâre petrified that your inexperience of the task at hand will prevent you from fully seizing the opportunity available.
How early is too early to head off to watch a game of football? Kick off is 17:30 so surely 12:00 is a decent time. Or maybe even 10:30? Remember, Cup Finals donât come around that often when youâre a Palace fan so you have to soak up as much of the day as possible.
And thatâs what I want to remember most. The day. Itâs easy to do the usual postmortem of a game your team has just lost. The poor refereeing decisions, the chances not taken, the possible wrong tactical changes. It doesnât matter. Everything is now in the past and nothing more than hindsight.
You canât change a result so why allow a result to change a day?
The day as a whole was an experience like no other. Every second of it was just as emotionally draining as the final whistle but itâs these sensations that make football so profound.
The journey up to London with more and more Palace fans joining at each station. The singing at Victoria station as a heard of red and blue heads towards the Tube. Walking Wembley Way. The sense of unity in the pub in the lead up to the game.
You only need to of watched one episode of Match of the Day to be aware of the level of noise Palace fans generate. At home in one of smallest stadiums in the league, or away at any other ground, the Palace faithful have become notorious for the atmosphere they generate.
And the same applied to when in Wembley. United fans can make any opposition fans sound like Woodstock but the constant raucous support from the Palace end during the full 120 minutes made me proud to be a supporter of this club.
Itâs hard not to have all this overshadowed by a single second of unfortunate brilliance. Football is a sport so technically winning is the most important factor but to so many of us itâs so much more than that.
Sometimes just being able to say you saw your team in the final of the oldest cup competition in world football is enough to fill you with pride. It may not be rational, by hey, football isnât rational.
One of my possessions that I cherish the most is a LEGO version of the Curiosity Rover. It's the first thing I brought over to Barcelona once I had fully settled, an act which produced a very confused reaction from my then quite new girlfriend. It now sits proudly on the bedside table of her side of the bed. Waking up and finding its mast lying apart from the rest of the rover is the only thing that puts our relationship on the line.
I'll admit that my connection to the little guy comes more from my love of space science, rather than that of LEGO, but that fact that it's made from LEGO makes it unquestionably cooler. In truth, I don't think I'd even consider owning another version of this piece of scientific ingenuity.
Everyone loves LEGO. It's easy to think kids love it simply because it's a toy and they love all toys, but when you compare it to what's available to them now, it's amazing how these simple coloured blocks can attain so much of their attention.
A section of âThe Dressâ
Even as an adult that admiration carries over. I know a few people who relocated to Denmark because they got a job at LEGO and whenever this comes up in conversion, the words "coolest job in the world" repeatedly make an appearance.
It's a testament to the impact this brand has had on many generations. So it was an easy decision to make when my once Curiosity mutilating girlfriend suggested we should visit a LEGO art exhibition.
The Art of the Brick is a compilation of work by New York-based artist Nathan Sawaya. If I knew as a kid that you could become an "artist" by playing with LEGO, it would have been the most perfect excuse to get my bedtimes pushed back.
Yellow
At 16⏠a ticket, and this guy being a complete unknown to the both of us, there was some concerns that it may be a bit of a gamble. Its location was also a bit questionable. In a city with such a vast artistic presence both past and present, this exhibition was being held at the top of a shopping centre.
But the Arenas de Barcelona isn't your everyday shopping centre. It was once a bullring that was converted into a shopping centre after bullfighting was banned in Catalunya in 2010. The original facade of a bullring was kept on the outside but the inside was completely transformed into a contemporary retail spot. So in actuality a fitting venue to house an exhibition based on a construction toy.
Square and Triange
It didn't take me long after entering the exhibition to question whether this was actually art. Its title includes the word 'art' but who decided that this was an art exhibition. My question was soon answered after sitting down and watching a video clip on how one of the pieces where made.
Let's just say Nathan Sawaya is very proud of his work. You shouldn't ever let the creators personality affect how you feel about their work but in this particular instance, it was hard not to. This guy genuinely believes he's doing more than just putting little plastics bricks together.
Swimmer
That aside, you still find yourself amazed by the level of labour that has gone into a lot of the pieces in the exhibit. You have to applaud the degree of planning and execution required creating what he does. It's the same sensation you get when walking around LEGOLAND just with less motorised cars.
But instead of questioning its purpose or meaning like you do with actual art, here you're wondering how many bricks it took to make and which one would cause the whole thing to crash to the ground if it was to be removed.
Stairway
It's hard to go into any real depth when trying to sum up this exhibition as it doesn't really provoke anything out of you. There's no doubting that it's impressive but it doesn't leave you with any questions like most art shows do.
Even the pieces that are intended to get a reaction are all a bit too obvious. A figure of a suited man with another man trying to break out of it is meant to symbolise how Sawaya wanted to escape his previous banker job, but it's just as literal as creating a 7ft pencil because he always wanted to draw on the ceiling.
Edvard Munch's 'The Scream' in LEGO
If you enjoy looking at cleverly made things or pixelated imitations of actual art, then you'll enjoy this. It's by no means bad, it's actually really incredible in a way, it just misses the mark in the way it's constantly telling you it is.
Stag, staggy, bachelor party, bucks, junggesellenabschied, whatever it is you want to call it, itâs what comes to mind first when youâre a bloke and just found out that one of your other bloke friends has become engaged. Thereâs no rational reason as to why itâs any more special than a regular holiday away with your buddies, it just is. And if weâre completely honest, and out of earshot of the bride, itâs what we consider being the main event of the marriage celebrations.
To do a stag properly means going abroad. The possibility of losing the stag himself becomes more severe and therefore more exciting. Plus managing a group of 20 plus people is far too easy on its own, so giving the best man the extra spice of having to do so in a country where he doesnât speak the language seems fairer.
The only downside of your first visit to a new city being on a stag is that you only end up getting to see a tiny part of it. And those parts are usually the ones with low lighting and happy hours. Opportunities to sightsee do come up, though. Token efforts to walk around the city are made during any downtime but secretly everyone is calculating how long until itâs acceptable for them to head back to the hotel for a nap and not be branded an uncultured bastard. The get out of jail free card here is when a televised game of football about to start.
So when I found out that I was to be arriving into Lisbon two hours earlier than the rest of our 21 man stag group, it was clear I had to take full advantage of this rare opportunity to break two common stag regulations; to actually see and experience the city, and to bust out a DSLR.
Not to be deterred by a 5 am start, my enthusiasm for this quick fire sightsee was ever increasing. Whatâs better than a weekend city break? A stag. Whatâs better than a stag? A stag with a city break included.
Now Lisbon isnât the biggest of cities so the research I had done before leaving, coupled with the knowledge I acquired from a local friend gave me the confidence I could roam freely without the worry of getting lost and missing the arrival of the group.
That being said, a useful trick I always use before heading out on an adventure in a foreign city is to preload Google Maps to where Iâm staying. Itâs a pretty standard procedure for most travellers these days, and Google now give you the option to save offline maps, but I still find this simple step provides enough reassurance that youâll never waste time being lost when on a tight schedule.
On arrival into Lisbon Airport early in the morning, I was confronted with what at first appeared to be some bad news. The flight in which the rest of the group were to be on had been given a delay of three hours. Remember the golden rule: stag > city break. It now looked like there was a chance of it being converted into stag = city break.
After an hour in the comfort of some wifi provided by the airport Starbucks, it was confirmed that the boys would definitely be coming over, albeit a little late. I waited for this news at the airport as I didnât think I could have gone through with the loneliness that comes with having a ten-bed dorm room all to yourself.
Lisbon Airport is not far from the city at all. Itâs really quick and easy to get into the centre by metro and the ticket options are straight forward. You buy your reusable card and then you add either a single trip, an all-day ticket, or a kind of pay as you go option.
I opted for the 6⏠all day option as it was still morning and I thought weâd surely be using the metro again at some point in the day. I forgot that when people from South England go to most European cities, taxis are the only recognised form of transport as the cost of the taxi driverâs car is probably on par with a four drink round in London.
Which neighbourhood to stay in when on a stag is always a tricky detail to get right. You want to be central enough so that itâs not difficult to reach all cityâs action, but at the same time trying to dodge paying premium prices for a bed in which youâll wake up each morning cursing your own existence and also that of whoever it was that invented Sambuca.
Looking up at the Santa Justa Lift
For this trip, we based ourselves in the Rossio district and the hostel of choice was the Golden Tram 242. The hostel is conveniently located directly opposite the Elevador de Santa Justa (Santa Justa Lift) which appears on nearly every âWhat to do in Lisbonâ guide. Also known as the Carmo Lift, itâs an elevator that takes you to an observation deck 43 ft above street level.
Apparently this is still high enough to give you a decent view of the city but standing in a 20-minute queue to do so wasnât worth it. Maybe the people queuing were from a country that hasnât yet got on the elevator bandwaggon. They were going to love the mall next door in that case.
Still the Neo-Gothic architecture of the lift was more than pleasing to the eye and its open structure meant you could peer in and see all itâs guts in action. It always amazes me how something this operational could have been built so long ago. A solid start to my sightseeing run but it was time to move on.
Next stop was 100m up the road at the Pedro IV Square. Historically squares were places that housed mass gatherings of celebration and protest or any other cultural defining moments. Now they are used as drop-off points for tour groups and hot areas for selfie stick salesmen.
A fountain in the Pedro IV Square
Pedro IV Square or Rossio Square as itâs now commonly referred as is no different but it is far less busy than main squares in other cities I have visited. It means you can actually take some pictures and freely admire the fountains and adjacent Estaus Palace without being disturbed by hoards of other tourists.
When looking over a map of Lisbon, I titled Rossio as Mini Manhattan, because itâs the only section that has the gridiron layout made famous in NYC. The rest of the cityâs road plan is an entangled mess more akin to that of Londons, which of course I prefer. Via these streets, I headed towards the neighbourhood of Alfama.
This area is famous for been filled with buildings that all have red terracotta roofs. To appreciate this kind of spectacle, you obviously need to be higher than roof level. Luckily, Alfama is quite a hilly area. This was probably the first time in stag party history that someone was happy to see a hill on a 20 plus degree day.
Trams heading towards the Igreja da Madalena
I started my ascent at the Church of Santo AntĂłnio. I didnât want to break my climbing stride so early by entering the church but the outside was satisfying enough that Iâm sure the inside is also worth a visit.
By beginning your Alfama adventure here, you also get another landmark included in the shape of the Lisbon Cathedral. Originally built in 1147, with now a Romanesque and Gothic style, itâs definitely my kind of church. But being the oldest church in the city means youâre going to be popular with the tourists. So I opted against the long queue to go in and continued on.
A typical spot to go for views of the red roofs is Jardim JĂșlio de Castilho. The garden is quaint but it has sufficient look out space. It does come with the tourist hunters selling typical tat but itâs still a reasonably non-intrusive option to take in the views.
The Red Roofs of Alfama from the Jardim JĂșlio de Castilho
Itâs quite peaceful sitting and taking in the views. Unfortunately, you do also have a few cranes and construction sites to look at among the sea of red roofs but they are just a timely reminder that we donât actually live in that Instagram world.
Asides from the roofs, the view also includes the Igreja do Menino Deus, which is another church with an impressive bell tower, and the Church of SĂŁo Vicente of Fora, which is one of Portugalâs most prominent monasteries. Seeing all these from this kind of vantage point makes you realise how beautiful a city Lisbon is. But sentimentality isnât welcome on a stag so on we go.
What I loved most about taking this path to the summit was that it runs along the famous Lisbon Tram 28 route. Unless youâre a real tram enthusiast - Â a trammy Iâm guessing theyâre called - then I always find the best way to appreciate their old-timey charm is from the outside.
I had no idea how much the Tram 28 tickets were but given all the ones I saw were so busy they closely resembled something out of 1980s India, I decided to stick to foot travel. This is also proved to be the correct choice given my tight schedule as I regularly found myself outpacing many trams along the way due to traffic.
A patterned building somewhere in Lisbon
The Castelo de SĂŁo Jorge (SĂŁo Jorge Castle) was next on my route. When deciding which places I was going to visit, this was the one I most hoped to have the time to enter. But again I was defeated by the tourist hustle.
There isnât much you can really see and admire from the outside, which I guess is the point of a citadel. There a few areas where you can get some more good views of Lisbon, but thereâs only so many red roofs a guy can look at.
The next phase of the adventure consisted of aimless wandering. Through a series of little alleyways, going up stairs to what could of easily lead into someoneâs living room I found myself heading in the direction of the Church of Santa EngrĂĄcia.
An unknown side allyâŠsomewhere in Lisbon
By this time, I was ready to check-in to my hostel room and get an update on the arrival of the group. To get back to Rossio, I took the main road that runs alongside the water. This allowed me to get my first look at the 25 de Abril Bridge and Christ the King monument which can best be described as a mini Golden Gate Bridge and Christ the Redeemer.
One organic wrap consumed and only an hour left before the group arrives at the hostel, I choose my final stop to be the Ascensor da GlĂłria funicular. It looks the regular trams that run around the city but suped-up to handle the sharp incline into the Bairro Alto.
The Ascensor da Glória funicular heading to the Bairro Alto
I sat myself down in then Miradouro de SĂŁo Pedro de AlcĂąntara park at the top of the hill, one trying to regain my breath after the steep walk, and two for a moment of reflection on what had been a great six hours in a beautiful city. But now it was time for the main event.
I found this to be a fitting place to end my solo Lisbon adventure as if youâve ever visited the city, and know how a stag goes, it was clear weâd be spending a lot of time in the Bairro Alto over the next few daysâŠ
