unionjack.jpgFor some reason (maybe it’s the fact that we’re actually in London), I didn’t really sleep in and woke up around 9am.  I grabbed some breakfast at the Pancake Cafe with Charles and then the two of us headed out to Covent Garden for the morning, since we decided we were going to find a pub for the FA Cup match during the afternoon.  Covent Garden is like an open air merchant market but is open every day.  They’ve got hat sellers, photographers, miniature sculptures, touristy tchochkes, and more.  Also located at Covent Garden is the Transport Museum, so I went looking for any gift ideas.

We got thirsty, so we stopped in Tesco to pick up some Cokes and found in one of the aisles juice can-sizes of red and white wines.  Additionally, there were small cans of pre-mixed gin and tonic.  Of course, I had to try it, so by 11:45am on a Saturday, I found myself drinking in downtown London.  So there was Charles and I, wandering around Leicester Square while I was mildly buzzed, searching for a pub for the FA final.

We ended up going back to the hotel to drop off some of our effects, but headed out around 1:45.  En route to getting some lunch at Ultimate Burger, Charles and I decided to put a little money on the game.  William Hill had some odds listed in their window with minimum bets of £10, so Charles and I split one bet with 10-1 odds on Chelsea winning 2-1.  After watching this season, it was difficult to not only predict a team, but predict a score as well.  And though I couldn’t root for Chelsea, I figured they win.  However, I also decided to hedge my bet by putting a pound in on Charles bet with 28-1 odds of Manchester United winning 3-2.

For the match, we headed to Covent Garden and ended up at The Nag’s Head for some drinks and a TV.  We sat at a table with some West Ham supporters, but there was a mix of fans for both teams (the majority in favour with Chelsea).  The game was won by Chelsea 1-0 in extra time – meaning I lost £6 because I couldn’t predict the correct score.  However, Man Utd could have won if a goal in ET was allowed as the replay showed.  But such is the officiating for football.

After the match, we went to the hotel and I was able to get a hold of Judi so I could catch up with her since I hadn’t spoken to her in a couple of days.  Charles and I headed back out to dinner in Chinatown and decided to go out for drinks.  We scouted out the All Star Lanes around the corner from us and although it looked like a great place for the whole class, it was almost too energetic for merely the two of us.  But Charles wimped out, we didn’t go to Night & Day, and instead spent a Saturday in London in our hotel room watching 30 Rock on Charles’s iTunes.