NFL in London

National Football League in London

NFL London

London-Travel

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If you’ve never been to London before, it can seem a bit daunting to get around.
When you come from North America, the first thing you notice is that the cars drive on the other side-and crossing the street involves second guessing your inherent nature.

Londoners move across the city like cockroaches on a buttered floor, get in their way, or God forbid-stand on the left side of the escalator, and you will get a simmering look of disdain like no other.

We have a few tips to help you get around.

Apps
Unless you’re Amish-you probably have a smart phone or someone in your group does.
This is good.
You should download a London Tube Map, Citymapper, and if you have Uber in your local city-use that as well. (it works over here).
Citymapper will help you plan how long it takes to get to places and back. You can add in your destination/ hotel etc as a homebase to make getting around easier.
The Tube map is necessary for getting around this crazy city.
As you can see from the image above-sometimes it’s easier to walk, especially if you’re in Central London.

Tottenham/ White Hart Lane
If you’re heading to one of the NFL games at Tottenham Stadium (aka White Hart Lane) you will be heading to North-East London.
While this might have been a butt-ache several years ago, recent new travel lines and station have made this easier to get to.
White Hart Lane station is on the Overground (orange lines on map) north of Liverpool street station.
Luckily there are also loads of London trains that also head north in that direction.
You can pretty much reach the stadium from Finsbury Park, Liverpool Street, and anywhere on the Victoria Line.
Just note that on Sundays the tube runs like an old dog, so you might have delays, closures and early closings.
The tube usually stops running at midnight, so have your Uber ready in case you need to go somewhere.

Enjoy London and have a safe trip.

London-What to Avoid

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What should you NOT do in London if you DON’T want to get ripped off?
Jess from ‘Love & London’ on YouTube has created her master list of things to avoid while you are visiting the capital.

We are happy to share her list to any folks that might be visiting from the US, Canada, Europe or Asia, to make sure that you can have a safe and enjoyable holiday.

Some of the places Jess recommends if you don’t want to get ripped off?

Leicester Square
Unless you’re a pigeon, street urchin, or rickshaw driver, it’s best to avoid this tourist trap if you like your wallet.
Not only does it attract loads of thieves and charlatans, it is crazy expensive & it isn’t a very nice area to be at night.
Unless you like vomit and violence, then you’re good.

Pub Food
Some pubs have great pub food, and a lot have horrible, just horrible food. So bad that you will dream of Rotten Ronald McDonald. We agree with Jess to look for ‘authentic’ and ‘traditional’ in the window-and avoid these as everything will be frozen then microwaved.

West End Wierdness
London’s West End is home to the theatre and loads of great entertainment.
There are also a whole bunch of horrible, horrible places where you will want to leave as soon as you get in.
Again-Leicester Square is rife with this, as hucksters will ply their paper trying to entice you into some of their lascivious lounges.
The further you move into Covent Garden, the safer you are more likely to be.
Otherwise you will end up schucking loads of dough on an amateur comedy night, a horrible improv show, or even worse…a strip show based on a horrible movie.

London Stuff

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Are you coming to visit London in 2019 for one of the many NFL games?
Is it your first time and not sure what to do?
Well, we have lived here for a long time, so as expats we can give you a top ten list of things that might help you in your journey over here.
Here is one of our (many) lists of things to do when you’re over here.

Getting Around
Get an Oyster Card. These bad boys of travel allow you to jump on the tube, bus, overground, DLR, and some boats. Just top it up after buying it, and it will figure out your journey.
If there is more than 3 of you then you might want to consider getting a taxi.
Download the app citymapper to help plan how to get around.

Food
If you’re coming from North America, you will notice that food is smaller, fresher and tastes different. You’re travelling-get use to it. London has loads of great restaurants, so feel free to try different cuisines. London has some of the best Indian food on the planet-so make a trip to Bricklane to find out. We would not recommend some of the big chains-as the food is pretty dire. Also the burgers in London aren’t as good as home (no matter what they tell you) so avoid the fancy burger joints and their charcoal pucks.

Nightlife
Sadly, London is not a 24 hour city. The lack of late night haunts and places to go after midnight is deplorable.
There are some bars, and areas-but you will need to be prepared to leave at any moment.
Avoid casinos in London as well, as they are cheaper, tackier versions of US casinos with horrible food and service. You will probably lose a wallet at the central casinos as well.

Tipping
Tipping is encouraged at certain places, but read the bottom of the menu or your receipt. If it says ‘15% gratuity included’, then don’t worry about it.
In the end it comes down to humanity. Did this person carry your bags, make you feel welcome, or make your stay more enjoyable? Then a few quid goes a long way.

We will continue to update you on advice, and feel free to reach out so that we can help you on your London journey even more.

Week 4-Sky

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Are you ready for Week 4 in the NFL?
Where the heck did the season go already?

Sky Sports has announced their line-up for Week 4 Sunday, and it is pretty awesome.

Kicking it off at 6pm, the high flying New England Patriots will be taking on the Buffalo Bills in a 3-0 match-up.

Then at 9pm, the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings ‘get it on’ for a clutch match NFC North contest.

At 1:20am (you still up?) the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints get down and dirty in an epic late night match-up.

Join us at Belushi’s Hammersmith to watch the games and get stuck in.

Is your game NOT one on the list?
Get in touch and we can book you in a private booth with your own games, plus hit ya with some free beer and wings as well.

Every day is NFL with us!

London-Food

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Many people lament British food.
Deep fried, boiled, or over-cooked are your standard misnomers about British cuisine, and rightly so for a few decades.
But no more.
London is on the food map baby, and there are loads to try when you get over here.

Insider magazine has compiled their list of the top places to eat in London, and we can agree with many of their top picks.

One thing we would suggest are some of the top food markets in London.
Many of these aren’t open daily, so it’s worth checking to see where and when you can grab some lovely nosh from these places.

Some we would suggest:

Borough Market
Num num. Located right near London Bridge station and the Shard, this venerable market has loads of yummies on offer. Not only is it a standard food market, but there are also loads of fresh, hot stalls of food to tempt you as well. Try to go mid-morning during office hours as it is generally quieter then.

Berwick Street Market
Located in Soho amongst throngs of media companies, this 300 year old market is anything but old. Smack dab in the middle of the road, this daily food market caters to many of the people who work in the newly painted offices. Open from 11am to 3pm, you can find loads of foodie options here.

Box Park-Shoreditch
Head to where the hipsters hang, for a truly unique feast. The Boxpark Market is on the edge of Shoreditch, and close to Old Street station. Loads of food and drink options in a market that is open late with some cool bars. If you’re lucky-you might be able to get into the Shoreditch House across the road.