Bonfire Night

Yesterday was Bonfire Night in London. We started the day having no idea what that was, and the day ended up being one of our most memorable in London thus far.

But I'll start from the beginning: yesterday we woke up and moved out of our Airbnb flat and into the place we will now call home. It felt so good to pack up our 8 suitcases one last time, try to pile everything into a British cab one last time, and yes, drag/yank them up stairs one last time. 

Once we got a little settled, Yacine and his girlfriend, Becs, came over to see our new place and they asked if we wanted to go to Bonfire Night with them. We are still living by the motto "don't say no to any opportunity" which is something that we did before we left and are trying to continue here. So we said "Sure! We'll see what it is like."

It was our first Fulham game of the season so we headed to a pub by the river to enjoy a few pints before the game. The pub was packed with Fulham fans and the location was really cool. It was a pretty windy day and there were tons of sailboats on the river. The boardwalk that follows the river from the pub to the stadium actually reminded me of the Mission Beach boardwalk in San Diego minus the whole beach thing : )

Fulham lost 1-3 (they played Manchester United) but it was still a really fun atmosphere and we realized we need to learn the Fulham chants in order to be true fans!

Afterwards we grabbed some wine and beer at a local store and then headed to Bonfire Night which was at a park in the Chelsea area. Bonfire Night was unbelievable. 

Bonfire Night is essentially the British Fourth of July. It is a huge party with firework shows and bonfires. On November 5, 1605 a plan to blow up parliament by a man named Guy Fawkes was foiled. They discovered his plot and tortured and killed him. The British have been celebrating on the Saturday closest to November 5th ever since. 

There were about 20,000 other people in the park and tons of food trucks. We had our first fish and chips there and then watched the most amazing firework show we'd ever seen. There was music set to the show, and it lasted for about 30 minutes.

We both agreed that this was one of our most memorable nights in London so far, and it left us wanting Bonfire Night to happen every month! Now, whose ready to come visit us on November 5, 2014? : )