Tuesday:
David Helman: Throughout the buildup to this trip, I was warned about the different traffic laws in England. Friends, family and team employees all reminded me that in England, cars drive on the left side of the road – the opposite of the way we do it in the U.S. I apparently didn't heed those warnings at all, because when I left the hotel to find a pub on Tuesday night, I stepped into the street and looked left to watch for oncoming traffic. If not for the quick reflexes of the driver, I would have been mowed down by a delivery truck coming from my right. Oops. It's definitely something I've got to keep an eye on. And apparently it's not just traffic that's reversed. On my way to practice this morning, I noticed the hotel's escalators are also on the opposite side – the escalator going up is on the left side, while those going down are on the right. A small, but unusual adjustment.
Nick Eatman: All I kept hearing as we planned this trip was the long flight over to London. As it turned out, it might have been the best part of the trip so far. And that's not to say anything has been too treacherous but the nine hours on our flight was just fine. Maybe a TV screen in front of us is normal for some travelers but not me. I watched two movies, listened to a bunch of music and played several poker hands against the computer, which I dominated. All in all the flight was good – so good that I would've done that again over the bus ride that followed. Going from the airport to the hotel lasted about 90 minutes, mostly in traffic and I had the good fortune of "sharing" a row with rookie Davon Coleman. Yeah, the 300-pounder not only slept the whole time but had no other choice of squishing me. Coupled with the sun blaring down on me, my lack of sleep and then a defensive tackle invading my personal space, it was easily the worst part of the trip. Overall, being here has been great. Londoners have such a pleasant accent although it can be a bit difficult to understand. I like the fact that I showed up a few minutes late to the team's community event and didn't have a pass. But the lady running security says "Your accent tells me you're with the team." In the first 24 hours of being here, I rode a plane, a bus, a taxi and a train. And other than few nod-off moments here and there, I went about 36 full hours without sleep. That ended Tuesday night and it was glorious. I feel adjusted now with my body clock and so hopefully we'll be able to provide some quality content on the site this week. So for now … cheers.
[embeddedad0]Bryan Broaddus: It's not often when we get to eat our meals with the players on trips – matter of fact it never happens. One of the early advantages of this trip to London is we do get to eat with the players here at the hotel thanks to the Football Operations Staff. For a guy like me that loves food this was a real treat. One of my food weaknesses has always been bread and for the last six weeks I have busted my rear to stay away from it – except for last night. While I was fixing my plate with all of these healthy items, our chef put out a freshly baked loaf of olive bread. The smell alone brought me to my knees. It was hot, crusty and packed with some of the most beautiful Kalamata olives I had ever seen. There was not one ounce of will power in my body when I saw that bread and the chef knew it. In his proper British accent he said "Sir…should I prepare another loaf?" Without saying a word he knew my answer. Is it wrong for me to already be thinking about the team meal tonight? I love eating with the team but I love olive bread even more in London.
