I have planned to go to Brazil to see the World Cup for about one year. When I got to know we’ve got tickets for four matches, I was very happy. When I got to know one of the matches would be England match, I was extremely happy (almost crying or crying). When I got to know flights were very expensive, I felt depressed. When we finally found relatively cheap flights, I was relieved. When we couldn’t find any decent hotel available in Manaus, I got panicked. When I found a room at one of the well-know hotels, I doubted my eyes. Travel arrangement has been completed with my emotional ups and downs. And I faced to IT issues with my old laptop which I would like to take with me to Brazil as it’s too risky to bring my newest VAIO. (I will still be working a bit while I am travelling.) But it was sorted out, too! Time flies! It’s finally tomorrow when I start travelling. The first leg is only from Helsinki to Munich but packing is for whole three weeks. Honestly, I am stressed about packing. Did I pack enough? Did I take good security measures in terms of personal belongings? Am I really sure to take the digital SLR camera with me? (Brazil is not the safest country in the world!) In any cases, it starts tomorrow. All will pass. And I will see England squad in Manaus!!! Come on England!
Category: Football
London Last Week – Other than Food ;-)
What else did I do other than eating in London? As I mentioned in the previous post, I went to see a football match, Chelsea – Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. It was my first time to visit Stamford Bridge filled with blue shirts! I support the red team but I was supported by blue shirts supporters 😉 And it was very funny that most supporters in the area we had seats were Russians. Obviously Chelsea's got a lot of Russian supporters. Anyhow, at this match, neither of them played well (or rather disappointing quality of play) and resulted in 1-1 draw. So, the friend who support the blue team and got ticket for the match and I who support the red team are still friends after the match. It's not a bad result from that point of view 😉 And I saw both my favorite players, Gerrard and Torres! (Torres is in the wrong team though!)
さて、ロンドンではひたすら食べていただけではなくて前のポストにも書いたようにサッカーを見に行ったのだが・・・我がチーム、リバプールは青く染まる敵地スタンフォードブリッジでチェルシーと1対1の引き分け。人気の高い2チームの試合だったんだが、結果はともかく、あまりプロらしいプレーの見られない残念な内容であった。それでも私がサッカー界でもっとも大好きな選手2人が登場していたので見に行けたのはほんとうにラッキー。チケットを取ってくれたロンドンの友達に大感謝。青いチームのサポーターの友人であるが、この際そんなことはどうでもいい。サッカー見れるだけで幸せなのだ 😉
On the match day, Sunday, weather was beautiful though it was a bit chilly. Before seeing a friend for coffee, I had gone for a walk to St. James park. Colored leaves were lovely and I loved walking in the park. I love gardens and parks in England :)
サッカーを見に行った日曜日はちょっと寒かったけどとてもいいお天気。友達と会ってお茶をする前にSt James Park に散歩に行った。紅葉が美しくて写真を撮りまくり(笑。とっても楽しい散歩だった。イングランドのガーデンや公園はほんとに素敵。季節がいつであってもイングランドに行くと公園を歩きたくなるのだ。
The Sunday was also Remembrance Day ( a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty.) And I saw one of the memorial events near the Buckingham Palace.
この日曜日はRemembrance Day といって第一次世界大戦で亡くなったイギリス連邦の兵士のメモリアルデーでもあった。下の写真はそのセレモニーの一部。
Of course, the Royal family attended a memorial ceremony and a lot of people were waiting for them coming out of the palace. I missed the moment walking in the park! What a shame!
そのようなセレモニーにはもちろんロイヤルファミリーも列席する。というわけでバッキンガム宮殿の前にはロイヤルファミリーを待つ人でいっぱい。私が公園を散歩している間にロイヤルファミリーは通り過ぎて行ってしまったようだが・・・
I expected the lovely weather would continue next day. But it was cloudy and rainy on Monday. I still went to take pictures to the Kingston Park. Even though sky wasn't lovely, colored leaves were beautiful. It was just very difficult to take good picturew with the colorless sky!
翌日の月曜日は期待はずれの天気。曇ったり雨が降ったり。その日はぶらぶらしながら写真を撮るというプランだったのに。でも予定通りケンジントンパークにお出かけ。空はグレー（というか城）でも、紅葉はとてもきれい。色のない空があると写真を撮るのが難しいのよね、と思いながらもやはり撮影。
I also visited the Kingston Palace and liked it!
そして今回はケンジントンパレスの中にも入ってみた。ここもまた素敵な場所であった。
London 2012 – Japan vs Spain at Glasgow
I just came back from Scotland where I saw an exciting football match between Japan and Spain. It was my first summer Olympic experience and I liked it : )
The match was held at the Hampden Park in Glasgow. It took about 45 minutes from Edinburgh where I stayed for five days to Glasgow by train and there was the courtesy train running from Glasgow central station to the station where the stadium is located at.
Even though the stadium wasn't full, there were a lot of people travelling to the Hampden Park. (The photo below is queue for the courtesy train.)
グラスゴーで初めての夏のオリンピック体験。本対スペインの男子サッカーを観戦。私が滞在していたエジンバラからグラスゴーまでは電車で45分くらい。グラスゴーの中央駅から試合の行われたHampden Parkの最寄駅までは無料の電車で。残念ながらスタジアムは満員にならなかったけれど、たくさんの人がグラスゴーの駅から会場に向かっていた。（下の写真が無料の電車に乗る人の列)
Prior to the match, bagpipe played music. Very Scottish! 試合開始に先立ち、スコットランドらしくバグパイプの演奏。
There were many many exciting and disappointing moments! Japan did very very well! and we WON! Amazing and I am super proud of my country 🙂
緊張と盛り上がりとナイスプレーも、がっかりプレーも・・・日本はほんとによくがんばった。そして1対0での勝利！Japanのユニフォーム着ていってほんとによかった。
By the way, Spain is, of course, one of the best teams in the world and I am happy to see the famous players! It was a long day queueing a lot (especially the queue to the station on the way back was long!) but I am extremely happy for Japan's victory and over all experience of the Olympic football experience. Looking forward to seeing more and more good play of team Japan!
スペインの有名な選手も目の前で見られたし。朝から夜まで1日がかりでくたくたになったオリンピックな1日。（帰りは電車に乗れるまでまるで鈴鹿のF1を思い出す行列) でも行けてよかった 🙂 日本代表、今後も楽しみ！
Football is…
Sep. 19, 2005
Last night was exhausting. I watched one of the most important matches for Liverpool and the supporters (us!), Liverpool – Man United. It started at 20:00 at Tokyo time on TV. Ten minutes before the match, I heard my heard beating. I was too excited and worried at the same time. I didn’t know what to do. From the beginning, supporters were loud in the stadium. So did I at home in Tokyo! Many times I screamed and cheered them up. After the half time (score: 0-0), I couldn’t believe I had to watch another half. It was already too much!
Though Liverpool was better than Man Utd in the first half, they were not as good as the first half in the second half. I was so worried. But in the end, match was draw. It was good and close-match. I was very very tired watching it though. Gerrard and Riise did well and Sinama Pongolle was amazing! But other players were not very impressive. Crouch was disappointing. Liverpool managed to deliver the ball very close to the goal several times but there was no one who could score for sure. We need a striker like Michael Owen!!! who Benitez didn’t want to invest in.
On the same day, Michael Owen scored first time after being transferred to New Castle. Wonderful!
(Japanese)
昨日の夜は信じられないくらいクタクタになった。リバプール対マンチェスターユナイテッドの試合があったのだ。チームにとってもサポーターである私たちにとってもすごく大切な試合。日本時間の午後８時からテレビで生中継があったのだけれど １０分前くらいからどきどきしてきて どうしていいか分からなくなった。
スタジアムのファンの声援もすごかったし私も家で叫んでた。前半終わって０－０。まだあと半分あるなんて信じられなかった。
リバプールは前半かなり押してたものの後半はあまり調子がよくなかった。かなり心配だったけど結局は引き分け。いい内容の試合だったし接戦だった。Gerrard と Riise はいつも通りよかったしSinama Pongolleは際立ってよかった。でも他の選手がイマイチだったし Crouch にはがっかり。ゴール前まで攻めながらも誰もゴールを決める人がいないっていうパターンが多かった。Michaelみたいなストライカーが必要だと思った。（というかMichaelが必要！）
そのMichaelは 同じ日New Castleに移籍して初めてのゴールを決めた！素敵、Michael!
Crazy for Football!
Sep. 4, 2005
England won to Wales yesterday in the European Word-cup qualifier. I’m so glad. But I felt something was strange when I was watching it on TV. Something didn’t work in the team, I think. I couldn’t find what it was as I fell a sleep in the middle and the match was over when I woke up!!! I’ve had jet lag for a week and thought it would be easy to stay awake. But I finally recovered from it and was totally exhausted yesterday for the week of sleepless night. I was worried if I missed something critical in the match and read BBC web page. It seems I didn’t miss it! I saw Joe Cole scored. (anyway, Michael was not there.) About J. Cole, did he copy Michael Owen’s old hair style and beard??? I liked him when he was in West Ham but not anymore.. (guess why!)