So long Providence, Rhode Island, hello New York and the fifth US state we have visited thus far.
We took the Amtrak train for around three and a half hours into Penn Station and was really easy, comfortable and efficient. It was a pretty scenic journey for most of the way and just so much easier than flying.
We came through a swampy piece on the outskirts of New York which I discovered was Pelham, something that chimed with me from my childhood when my Mum took me to see ‘The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3.
Penn(sylvania) station was as busy as any major station in any major city is, the difference being the world famous Madison Square Garden is plonked right on top of the station.
In the end, we decided to take an Uber to where we were staying in Brooklyn, which ended up really not being as indulgent as I thought it would be. It was a really easy drive from Midtown passing by the famous Madison Avenue, home to the advertising industry and original Mad Men, past The Flat Iron, through Noho, past the Tenement Museum, down through Chinatown, over the Brooklyn Bridge, past Fort Greene Park to our home for a few days just off Vanderbilt Avenue.
Our Uber driver was the first of six who said absolutely nothing at all during the whole ride which was a surprise. Every other taxi driver had chatted all the way, but not this guy.
We are staying with our friends Jordan and Nathan and their friend Maya was also in town. We watched the France vs Norway game together whilst catching up. France just look so good. Norway made ten changes, so no Haaland or Ødegaard, but even so, France cruised to a 4-1 victory. They really do have it all and for me are the team to beat out here.
Then we sauntered out to eat locally at Osteria Brooklyn, all walkable in an area that reminded me very much of Chiswick. It was an Italian run my Mexicans and the food was delicious. Sitting outside on the street was great and we enjoyed the locals on their oversized motorbikes, whilst also being able to catch the Spain vs Uruguay out of the corner of my eye.
A really lovely, relaxed evening ahead of a big day in New Jersey for the Panama game. A game we have to win really, even though we discovered later that England had qualified into the last 32 via the totally insane FIFA system that weeds out the top eight from 12 third place teams. We also found out that the New Zealand vs Belgium game was the 63rd game of the World Cup. Previous World Cups only ever had 64 games in total.
As it stands right now and if we win our group, we will play Senegal in the next round. That will be very, very tough even more so given they beat us 1-3 in a friendly at The City Ground, Nottingham last year.
We got to bed after the New Zealand vs Belgium game and our view over the city was spectacular.
Today it’s another early start, a very expensive train to New Jersey and hopefully a good England performance and a 2-1 win. We live in hope!
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