Grandma ****** us over again! That was our general consensus this morning. Grandma, with her über cool, irresistible Scottish-Canadian accent, her partying ways, the promise of hugs (she never promised that but I'm saying she did); the face of innocence, luring us poor souls out into the night and getting us smashed. Again. Well played Grandma. Needless to say, this morning was very slow. And confusing. And that doesn't bode well when you have a flight to catch! When I eventually rolled out of bed, I had in my head that we were cutting it fine for our flight. When Daniel eventually rolled out, I told him that. **** hit the fan and we rushed, profusely packing our bags and getting out of there. As luck would have it, there was an epic line at the hotel reception, causing more delays. I directed Dad and Daniel to hail a taxi while I dumped the key. I ran outside and we all hurriedly piled in the taxi they'd stopped and directed him to the airport. He needed fuel (of course he did), and would've made it but asked in his Irish accent if he could stop, and I couldn't say no. The confusing part of a big night came when I realised I misread the ticket, and we weren't in a rush after all! In fact, we were so ahead that by the time we checked our bags in, we had enough time for hungover McDonald's. Actually, we probably could've sourced the beef and potatoes and baked the bun, we had that much time! Oops! It didn't matter too much; it's good to be at the airport early! Plus they had free wifi so I could stay connected with friends (anybody noticed the common thread with wifi here?!). We used it to call Mum, that stranger woman from the other side of the world we were apparently going to see in a week too! Once we were done there we moved through security to our gate. Small problem, there was no plane there. They kept announcing boarding soon, but I wish they had've realised there's a great big window showing there's no plane there, so we knew we weren't going anywhere in a hurry. No matter, they had free wifi, so I was as happy as could be when hungover and delayed being able to talk to my friends. I actually remained happy at that fact in the face of the horror that was unfolding at home; Geelong were losing badly and faced the prospect of a straight-set exit in the finals (that's very rare Pam). Oh well, free wifi, connection to friends! The plane finally arrived, and we boarded about half an hour late. We were just getting comfortable (yeah right), when one of the flight attendants invited us to take the emergency exit seats - she saw us being so tall, that the flight was only half full, and figured we needed it. She saved our lives for that 25 minute flight. Yep, that's right, all of a 25 minute flight! It's amazing though, despite the short time, they managed to get to a 'cruising altitude' and offer food service in that time! The funniest moment though was when the seatbelt signs came off. I think most of the plane was made up of a big group, who'd clearly been drinking, and as soon as that sign came off, it's like heaven had opened, and like half the plane got up to line up for the toilet! Clearly on a 25 minute flight there isn't much time for anything, and most of them actually had to sit back down, their bladder still full, when the seatbelt sign came back on for the descent! We landed in Liverpool, collected our bags, and headed for the taxi rank. We were basically in Liverpool for one reason; to realise Daniel's dream to go and watch Liverpool in an English Premier League game at Anfield, their home ground. So how lucky was this; we got in the taxi (by the way, it was a classic English black cab!), and our driver asked straight away if we were here for the game. Daniel was in his element, discussing everything about Liverpool with this driver, who just so happened to have not missed a game for years! They got onto the subject of Champions League, which is the highest competition for club soccer in the world apparently, and it just so happened Liverpool were playing on Tuesday night in their first appearance in that league for years! Daniel assumed it was an away game so didn't think any more of it. But it was a home game. And what's more, our driver had tickets he could sell him to go! Of all the taxi drivers, we managed to get in with a bloke who had more tickets! Daniel was so stoked, and we knew then and there he'd be staying for it! Our driver encouraged him to think about it, to arrange his accommodation, then give him a call, to which Daniel agreed! But still, this was pretty awesomely lucky, and I was so excited for him! Once our driver (Daniel's new God) dropped us off, we checked into our hotel and settled in! I settled a lot in, my big night catching up with me, and decided to stay in when Dad and Daniel suggested going for a walk. I wasn't really worried about anything but the soccer in Liverpool, so I didn't mind enjoying the afternoon relaxing in the hotel. By the time they returned, I'd just gotten out of the shower (seriously stop drooling), ready for the evening! We relaxed in the hotel a little longer, before making our way downstairs to find a restaurant. It wasn't all that difficult, because the place we were staying, Albert Dock, was a bit like the Docklands, in that it's an old dock area reinvigorated into hotels and restaurants. We found The Smuggler's Cove, an interesting bar and restaurant, and went inside. Contrary to popular belief, the beers are actually cold in England, if you actually order the cold ones. Pretty simple really! I was good tonight too, in that I didn't order anything fried! Woah! Instead, I got a green curry, and I felt pretty good for it! Dad called it quits not long after dinner, while Daniel and I enjoyed another couple of quiet ales to the soundtrack of the woman singing and playing the piano, which I appreciated because I like the piano! By late night we too called it, and headed back up to the room for a well-needed rest. Our first day in England was done!