Hello friends, and good morning from Budapest.
Thanks to Andrew A for blog duties yesterday. My journey out here was relatively uneventful and, unsurprisingly, the plane from Dublin was packed with Arsenal fans. Not that I was eavesdropping, but a man in front of me was telling the people next to him that he and his son were travelling out without tickets. I think those people were going to the game by virtue of being connected to a sponsor or some other corporate entity, so hopefully he made a connection that can help him out. I put my headphones in then so I didn’t hear anything else, but I suspect there are many like that man and his son who are here on the off chance of a ticket but also to just be here because of how big an occasion it is.
As we boarded, I saw an old friend who I was in college with who is now working with Premier Sports in Ireland, so when we got to Budapest I waited for him to have a chat. It was nice to catch up with him. He’s out here working on the game, we had some quick words about life and work, and he then referenced the fact that after the Atletico Madrid semi-final I wasn’t best pleased with the way Kenny Cunningham and other pundits on the channel viewed Arsenal’s win. So, clearly some of that got back to them, haha. I hope they’re just as miserable tomorrow evening.
Then it was about finding my way around Budapest. From my very limited experience this is a really interesting city. I checked into my hotel which seems to be in one of the epicentres of late night revelry. The first thing I noticed was that on the shelf they had left out a couple of pairs of ear-plugs, which is never a great sign to be honest, but I can say this morning I didn’t need them. Was that because outside was quiet, or because I fell into a beer/gin/bourbon slumber? If I speak, I am in big trouble etc etc.
The second thing I noticed was that this was possibly the hottest room I’ve ever been in. The weather here is very nice, but the sun shining directly through the skylights made it feel much more like a sauna and less like a hotel room. First world problem though, I recognise. We found a nice craft beer place for a couple of drinks, then spent some time later in the evening down by the river, and as we sat watching boats cruise up and down the Danube, a familiar face ended up sitting behind us. David Silva.
Good lord, what tiny little man. How on earth was he so good at football when you could literally pick him up by the scruff of his neck and put him in a crate and say ‘Don’t move!’?!. Defenders really ought to have thought of this while he was still playing. I find it slightly absurd that a person who is too small for many roller-coasters can operate at the highest level of the game. I’m sure there will be many ex-pros around the city over the next couple of days. I will, of course, update on you on their size and whether or not they would be permitted to go on Space Mountain (accompanied or otherwise).
After a nice walk back from the river, we went for what I thought would be a nightcap, but it turned out to be not quite that. Can you have a quiet last drink when the bar is doing karaoke and, without breaking any confidences, an American man who also does an Arsenal podcast and whose name is very similar to dead singer Elliot Smith grabs the mic and starts singing his heart out? He sang, I drank gin and tonics. And laughed. Some ladies sang songs (quite badly) and an old man with a big beard clapped along. It was a lot of fun.
Then, as we wandered back to my hotel, some people outside a club which is far more for men than it is for women, offered us all the cocaine we could ever want and free entry. So, what else could a couple of chaps do? Well, you could say ‘haha no thanks!’ and jump into the photo-booth beside them to to take ridiculous pictures. After that we saw a couple of Arsenal fans, one of them called Dan and the other one I can’t remember the other one (sorry!), before the singing man got a taxi back to his hotel and here we are.
I realise this blog is light on football stuff and Arsenal stuff, but fear not. We can concentrate on that tomorrow as we look ahead to the Champions League final, and later on we’ll have a preview podcast that we’re making free for everyone. It’ll be out on Patreon and on the main Arsecast feed so stand by for that.
Now I need to go and sample the coffee in Budapest and see what today brings. If it’s anything like yesterday, it’s probably gonna be quite eventful. Hopefully I’ll bump into a few of you guys around town today, please do say hi!
For now, have a good one.
