Edinburgh and London
Sometime back in the spring, my brother messaged me and told me that Fields of the Nephilim, a gothic rock band from the late 80s/early 90s, was going to be playing a show in London at the end of October. He said we should go, and, at the time, I scoffed, mentally rolled my eyes, and said “Sure, why not travel 3500+ miles to see a concert”.
But that idea of traveling to the UK, a country I’ve never been to before, set up residence in the back of my brain, and every so often sent out a reminder. Eventually I told myself that if I managed to sell my motorcycle I would use that money to go.
I sold the motorcycle in June.
Now that I had the money, I started wondering if I was actually going to go to the UK. The wife was all for it, saying it would do me good to go on vacation and see my brother (he lives in The Netherlands). I was still waffling about going, but to help maybe push me in the right direction, I purchased a ticket to the concert.
That idea that was in the back of the brain now started sending updates; what if I went to the UK, flying into London, and then take the train up to Edinburgh? Edinburgh has been a bucket list item for awhile, so why not? So I pulled the trigger and booked the flights.
It was a great trip, and I’m very happy my brother provided the impetus and the wife pushed me to go (she’s awesome). Edinburg was amazing, and London was pretty cool as well. In Edinburg I toured the castle and signed up for a Harry Potter tour. Other than those two scheduled things, I just followed whatever looked interesting. See a tall spire? Let’s go see what that’s all about. That pub looks cozy, let’s go inside and check it out.
I did the same with London. I toured St. Paul’s Cathedral and my brother and I went to Churchill’s War Rooms. Walked by Buckingham Palace and down to Piccadilly Circus. Essentially, I played tourist.
The last night of the trip was the concert, and I’m very glad I went. I’ve never seen Fields of the Nephilim before and they sound great live. It was a kick ass show, a kick ass trip, and quite a memory.
Next up: Germany!