My trip to London

[DavidMn]

Well I've just arrived back from London about 2 hours ago and what an UNBELIEVABLE EXPERIENCE IT WAS! I'll go through my itinerary as detailed as possible. here goes.



Wed, 10-28/Thurs, 10-29:


Arrived at the airport at about 9:00 P.M for my 10:55 P.M flight, went through security quickly and settled in for my overnight flight to London. The flight was extremly smooth, almost no turbulence and I arrived at about 12:15 P.M. Took about 25 minutes to go through security and boarded the tube for my ride to my hotel. A point here about the London Underground. It definitely gets high marks from me for efficiency and cleanliness. So I arrive at the Wembley Park tube station at 3:00pm for the 15 minute walk to my hotel. The first thing I noticed when I got out of the station is how MASSIVE Wembley Stadium is! I got to my hotel, The Ibis, which was only a 10 minute walk to Wembley Arena, and I checked in, showered and made off again to have dinner at Geale's, a Fish N Chips place Ive been to before in Notting Hill. I got there at 6:00 P.M and they said they could seat me even though my reservation wasnt until 6:30. I was so tired at this point I was grateful to be able to eat early. I have to apologize here to Rhena(Gypsysoul) who went out of her way to meet me there, but I was just too tired to wait. But it was so nice to meet you Friday after the show! You are a real sweetheart!
So I went back to the hotel and slept, which I badly needed!

Fri, 10-30:

The weather this day was very pleasant. About 50 and partly cloudy the whole day. I left my hotel at about 8:30 A.M headed out for a day of sightseeing. First stop was Abbey Road studios for some photos of the studio and the famous crosswalk. You really feel the sense of amaxing music history when you are near this place, its hard to describe. Then it was off to Wimbledon, the famous tennis arena which I hadnt seen on my previous 2 trips to London. It was quite a haul on the tube and it took about an hour to get there but it was well worth it. I didnt get a chance to go inside as there wasnt enough time, but it was still a thrill to be able to be at the place where so much tennis history has been made. Then it was off to Harrod's for a shopping bag for my friend back here. I was overwhelmed by the choices! there must've been no less than 30 different styles! I settled on one and then it was off to the Hard Rock cafe for lunch. Had an excellent burger and a wonderful waiter who told me the historyof how it all started. After that it was time to make my way back to the hotel. I got back at about 4, but just on a hunch I stopped at the ticket office to see if there were any ticket drops before I went back to my room to get ready for the show. I went up to the ticket window and asked the lady what the best available seat was for one ticket, and I'm not exxagerating when she told me she literally had THE FRONT ROW CENTER SEAT!!! I screamed out HOLE F**K and immideately had like 4 other people that were in the ticket lobby stare at me like "BOY DUDE YOU SURE ARE F**KING NUTS!" Needless to say I bought the ticket and went back to the hotel, got ready and when I went back downstairs ran into Tommer and Pip. the 3 of us went over to the arena together and It was truly a treat to meet these 2 fine people! You both are very cool! So we got to the area where the limo's go in and Brett and Neale were outside and we chatted them up for about 10 minutes. It was funny because when the 2 of them saw me, they were like "We thought you were superfan! You're only going to 2 Euro shows?!" Of course they were kidding and I gave them both a big hug and told them it was nice to see them again. I also thought it was very cool that outside the arena before the show they were playing Mac music to fire the masses up! We went in at about 6:30 and went right down to the front and staked out our spots. I was right in between Lindsey and Stevie. The show itself was fantastic! Definitely the best one I saw this year. Lindsey noticed me several times and at one point during a break in between songs said "DAVE GOOD TO SEE YA" and gave me a thumbs up! I also met Wayner anad his wife at this show and they were lovely people as well! Thanks guys for that cclendar by the way!


Sat. 10-31:

This was a day weatherwise that started out really crappy. I got up at about 7:30 and it was raining heavily. I was like "F**IN GREAT!" but after my shower I went out to do my sightseeing at about 8:45 and the rain had stopped! The rest of the day it cleared up and eventually became mostly sunny! Anyway, I got down to Piccadilly Circus and walked around there for awhile, took some pictures, and was off to Trafalgar square. I stopped at Downing Street for some pictures, and I was suprised at how modest the area was for the leader of one of the most powerful nations on earth. I got Trafalgar square for some pictures and then it was off to Big Ben and The houses of parliment for some more photos. After that, Westminster Abbey, and finally Buckingham Palace and a walk through Hyde Park. All this before 1PM! I went and had lunch at the HRC again and then went back to my hotel to get ready for the show. Met up with Tommer and George and we hung out until the doors opened. This night I had only 17th row on the floor but I decided to strategize and try to get up to the front. I waited until about 15 minutes before the show, and I just walked up to the stage and positioned myself right next to my new friend from the great city of NYC, HeijiraNYC. It worked! no one or no security came up to me and told me to leave so I was right at the stage again and what a night it was. They didn't do Silver Springs which was a disapointment, but I had 2 particular highlights that I wanted to share. The first was truly amaznig and made me realize why my mother made me 6 foot 4! Near the end of Gypsy Stevie came across the front of the stage and reached out her hand and I was tall enough to reach it! She took my hand for about 3 seconds and I let it go. I have NEVER seen this happen at a Fleetwood Mac concert, let alone to me! I was delerious! What an unbelieveable moment that was! The second one was before World Turning started when Lindsey came up to me and said "DAVE, GOOD TO SEE YA! YOU'RE LOOKIN GOOD, LOOKS LIKE YOUVE LOST WEIGHT" I took his hand and said "THANK YOU THAT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME!" and after I let it go he looked at me again and gave me a thumbs up and said "YOURE A GOOD GUY." Wow is all I can say to that. So the show ended and that was it for my European Experience.

Sun,11-1

I woke up to totally pouring rain and after my shower I made my way to the bus for a short ride to the tube station where the train would take me right to the airport. I arrived at 11:00 AM and was abcolutel dumbfounded to see no line whatsoever at either the check-in desk or the security line. The guard just told me that it's youre lucky day I guess! SO the flight home was again very uneventful and smooth, and I arrived back home here in Minnesota with another load of memories to last a lifetime! I'm so happy to have met all the people I did and I ahd a fantastic time. The British people are very friendly and easy to get along with, and my hotel, The Ibis, was excellent! I had a queen size bed and the service was excellent all the way around. I would reccomend it to anyone traveling to Europe. Now I just need to win the Powerball so I can go to New Zealand for those shows!



Until Next time...........




NEVER BREAK TE CHAIN!!!

[Nico]

David!!! AWESOME experience. Thanks for recounting all of it. I think it was so cute what LB said to you, since it shows that he really pays attention to things like that- and shoot, he has seen you a lot over the years. Anyway, you are the coolest, sweetest guy and I'm thrilled for you. I said in another thread that I would so go to Europe in a second if they announced another tour and were heading there. I love traveling, but how much cooler is it to visit some new place and see Fleetwood Mac as well? On a whole other continent. Stay cool.

[michelej1]

David,

It's unbelievable that you got front row center right at the ticket window. I would have fainted dead away. It's almost as if that ticket was waiting for you. Fated.

I knew Brett, Neale and Lindsey would get a kick out of seeing you there.

I went to the Hard Rock Cafe last Thanksgiving. It was right by my hotel. I'm amazed at how you make sure to get to see the local sights whenever you travel. Unfortunately, that's something I rarely get to do and, so often, the only memory I have is the concert. I do come to regret that.

I'm glad to hear it was the best show you saw. That makes it all worth it. I'm wondering what 11-6 will be like.

Thanks for the report. You lead a charmed life, my friend.

Michele

[gldstwmn]

David thanks for the report and it sounds like you had a truly magical time in London.

[vivfox]

I'm so happy for you David! As usual you are a great narrater. Following along in your story made me feel like I was there myself. You hit all the cool tourist destinations too. Lindsey acknowledging your presence and weight loss is so neat. You are such a kind man that God probably figured he would reward you for traveling all the way to England with that front row ticket. You, my friend, have been to more FM shows than anyone I know and I am honored to be among YOUR fans, among the people on this site that get to hear about your adventures.

[StephenC]

I'm pleased you had a cool time in London. And lucky you left on Sunday as the weather was awful all day!

[Musicman408]

David,

Again it is more than amazing to read your story. The fact that you get to see the Mac as much as you do is one of the coolest things ever! I am so glad we got to meet up in Columbus! The fact that Lindsey knows you is beyond cool, and the fact that you were able to snag the seats you did is PERFECT!!! I wish you all the best in life my friend!

[Sahara]

A great story well told as always David Fantastic to hear you're enjoying your time in Europe!

[Gypsy-Rhiannon]

It was nice meeting you David!

[GypsySorcerer]

Thanks for sharing your experience David! Sounds like a blast.

[WelshWitchPMD]

David, I am sure you know how happy I am for you! Congrats for your moment with Stevie because you truly did deserve it. As for Lindsey well we both know that he is the man! I could kick myself for not going but next time I am there.

[daniellaaarisen]

Michele summed it up perfectly-- you do live a charmed life! It sounds like you had a phenomenal time. I absolutely loved hearing about your trip, so thank you!

[estranged4life]

a great time in "Jolly ol' England".

[FMlex]

Forget about being a roadie following around Fleetwood Mac... I just wanna follow around David!! What a fun time you had.

Thanks for sharing!

[HejiraNYC]

Great to finally meet a Ledge legend, and thanks for making room for me at the stage, even though I didn't show up until a few minutes before 8:00 (half the Tube system was under repair, it seemed!) . I do feel kinda bad though for the girl you knocked to the side to make room for me. Sometimes it's good to be imposing! It was also funny to observe that almost the entire front edge of the center of the stage was taken up by Americans. I felt kind of bad for the Brits who were perhaps too polite to make a beeline for the stage like the Americans have been trained to do for all these months. The head of FM security saw us and was like, "oh, you guys already know the deal..."

And I can vouch for the special connection you have with the band- they were definitely happy to see you there- it must have been a wonderful feeling. You were over the moon when Stevie held your hand!

I am not sure anyone would want to read about my long FM-related travelogue, but, as Mick would say, "I've had a BALL!!!!" Definitely one of the great trips of my life. London is definitely one of the great cities of the world, and I only regret that I was not able to spend more time there.