Chris_OGrady

I've nearly finished "Diary of a Publican" by the owner of the Blue Boar, which I've really enjoyed. Got some great bits of local history in there, insights into the pub/beer trade, and is genuinely funny. Essential reading for a lot of people who post in here and the Pints thread!

Fair few beers in London yesterday. Did The Three Johns and Tamil Crown for a curry- both were decent, but nothing special.

Had a few pints at the Blue Boar and TTL (which were both packed) on Saturday before the rugby, followed by a decent curry at The Taj off Braunstone Gate later. Rocky at the Blue Boar is always a solid pint. Leicester city centre might struggle in some ways with pubs and nightlife, but we’re essentially a two-team city, with 30k people coming in one week and 20k the next. Even when you factor in Notts County’s extra fixtures and throw in the ice hockey, Leicester probably pulls in more people than Nottingham, and quite a few other cities, for sport at the weekend. It really shows how important the clubs are to the city centre.

Any specific recommendations for doing the tour? Was thinking of just booking a standard one on Viator

I find it's hit and miss. I thought it seemed fine when I went two weeks ago, but my previous experience to that was not good. I didn't feel anymore unsafe but it just wasn't pleasant - with all the Deliveroo riders and drug addicts etc - and makes you think what's the point in venturing in. Will struggle to get my partner to go in for food/drinks in the evening now. Clearly an issue in all cities though.

Can anyone recommend a good running watch? Ideally wouldn't want to pay more than £200. Will only use it for running and would like to be able to play my music from it (so I don't have to take my phone).

I'm planning to check out Atalanta's new stadium sometime between January and March, and hopefully catch a good game at the San Siro too. Ideally, I'd see Inter, but I’d be happy with either team. I've been wanting to visit Bergamo for a while since it’s supposed to be a great city, and Atalanta’s new stadium and the whole set up of the club looks great. There are a few possible dates, but can’t commit until the fixtures are confirmed. I’ve made an account on the Atalanta website, but it looks like they are selling out every week atm, so need to assess how easy it is to get tickets. Annoyingly, it looks like East Midlands have stopped flights to Bergamo, but there are some decent options from Birmingham. My previous trip to Italy was last October. One of my mates lives in South Tyrol and had been onto me to come to an FC Südtirol game since they got promoted to Serie B. Three of us flew into Verona on the Friday night (which is a top city) and then headed up to Bolzano on Saturday morning for their game against Sampdoria, who were struggling in Serie B at the time. The train ride was about two hours but absolutely stunning through the Alps. Bolzano is a beautiful city, with more of a German feel than Italian, and you can tell it's wealthy. South Tyrol was historically part of Austria and then was incorporated into Italy after WWI. Mussolini tried to push Italians into the area with limited success, and today it’s about 70% German-speaking and 30% Italian. You can see that split in FC Südtirol's fanbase- there’s a small group of Italian and German ultras, who are in different stands, and I think they’ve even clashed before. FC Südtirol are a bit tinpot, and their ground only holds about 5,000, but the setting is incredible. Sampdoria had a good away following, and they were as loud as you’d expect. Pirlo was managing them at the time, with Fabio Borini up front. We had a nightmare getting into the stadium, so we missed the first 10 minutes or so. The Samp fans were in our stand, and you could mix with them easily in the concourse without any issues. I wrote “Genoa Merda” on my phone and showed it to one of their fans, which got a great reaction . The game was actually pretty good. FC Südtirol reminded me of watching Leicester back in the early 2000s - very negative and direct - but somehow they came back from 1-0 down to win 3-1 with late goals, which was brilliant to see. After a few beers in Bolzano (another top city), we headed back to Verona before going to Milan on Sunday for Inter vs Roma. The train from Verona to Milan took about an hour and a half, and for anyone who hasn’t been to Italy, the trains are amazing and reasonably priced. I usually stay in Brera when I’m in Milan because it’s well located. It’s not the cheapest area, but it’s on the green metro line, which makes it easy to get to Navigli, Centrale Station, and the San Siro. You’re also only a 15-20 minute walk from the Duomo, and Brera itself has plenty of good spots. As usual, we headed to Navigli for pizza at Fabbrica Pizzeria and a few beers at Blues Canal before making our way to the San Siro for the big game. One thing to note about Milan is that most places shut down for a few hours after lunch, so you have to actively find places that stay open. I don’t know if anyone remembers, but this was the game where Lukaku returned to the San Siro with Roma. The Inter ultras handed out 40,000 whistles to blow whenever he touched the ball, and my ears were still ringing the next day. When the players lined up and Lukaku was shown on the big screen, it was the most hostile I’ve ever seen a stadium. The noise and hatred were unreal. With Inter playing to go top of Serie A, plus the whole Lukaku drama, the atmosphere was electric. As I usually do at the San Siro, I bought the cheapest tickets in the upper section, and then went down to stand in front of the perspex screen at the bottom of the tier, overlooking the Inter Ultras. You can also move between the stands of the top tier through the concourses in the corners. What I always find amusing is how many English people you meet queuing up for a beer on 40 mins, such is our tradition. I’ve been to two Milan derbies, and the atmosphere was similar—the ultras sing non-stop no matter what, so there’s not much difference between a big game and the derby (except for the TIFOs). Roma brought a good following too, and it was pretty hostile outside as they were shepherding their fans into the ground. The game itself wasn’t a classic, but Inter got a late winner causing a real lift off in the ground (not that it was quiet before). We ended up singing the most basic of Inter chants down the winding concrete stairwells with some Dutch lads, then grabbed some food from the vendors outside, who do incredible Italian sandwiches. We ended up pulling an all-nighter in Milan and nearly missed our flight the next morning, but it was well worth it! The San Siro is just the Mecca of football grounds. My advice to anybody is to go!

Yes I was aware of that, but I thought they were back now?

What were the Juve fans like out of interest? They seem like the only club in Italy which has gone the same way as our clubs.

Cheers, I had been meaning to post in there! I'l do a write up of my last trip and my thoughts for this year's trip

Also, if you're on the top tier you can just walk through the concourses in the corners and go and watch the game wherever you like. You can just stand on the stairwells on the halfway line with your beer.

I've been doing annual trips over to Italy for a few years now. I picked up an Inter membership so I usually do one of their big games and then bolt on another game nearby. The difference is just night and day. It was the final nail in the coffin for me on English football (especially premier league). What's great is that it's relatively easy to pick up tickets and it's a great way to explore Italy. I know a lot of Leicester fans look over to Germany, but for me there's just something about Italian football/ultras that can't be beaten.

Cheers mate, all that stuff would be right up my street but I think Krakow will probably work better with the Mrs. I think I'l probs do one day in Auschwitz and then one day Xmas markets/exploring the town.

Thanks all! I'm going for 3 days. Whilst Wroclaw looks nice, I might struggle to fill 3 days with stuff to do, whereas Krakow probably has a bit more going on.

I'm looking at going to either Krakow or Wroclaw in early December. I've haven't done much analysis yet, but I'm already veering towards Wroclaw as I tend to prefer less touristy places (no idea if Krakow is over touristy, but I'm assuming it's more than Wroclaw). Guessing Wroclaw is slightly cheaper too? I'm going with my partner who's really into the Christmas markets. I just like beer/pubs, good food, history/architecture (especially WW2 stuff which obv Krakow is suited for). Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

I agree that football is actually better on the eye now. It's just that everything else about the game has got worse- especially the premier league. The actual football on the pitch isn't the most important thing for me; if it was, I'd just watch every single game on TV and never go to a game again.

Had a few in the Castle on Sunday which was very pleasant. They had a Mill Hill tap takeover. I've tried their beers a few times now and never been that impressed tbh...

Partly agree, but I would say Chelsea and Spurs have a better fan culture than Arsenal. For the size of their club Arsenal's fan culture is atrocious.

Serie A is also great for similar reasons, but doesn't have a dominant side atm. 4 different winners in the last 5 years.

Emirates is not as bad as people think. I have always found Arsenal's support quite baffling though. They are the third biggest club in the country and their fan culture/songbook is no different from your average championship club. If you compare them to Man Utd and Liverpool they are world's apart.

Got very little interest in premier league football now. I think part of it is because I'm older and it's just the same thing every year. 75% of the games are completely pointless and the atmopshere/culture is just so dead. Last year in the championship was the first season I've been engaged in a while. I still enjoy all the European competitions, it's just the premier league which feels so stale.

Do Greene King have anything decent/ original round there? Can't stand them normally. Run the worst pubs in the UK and have sold out to dodgy owners.

Glorious morning for running! Feel like I'm back in the groove now.

Skip breakfast and eat between 12-8 Don't drink alcohol Monday - Thursday (where possible). Do dry January and try to have little breaks every quarter (2 weeks or so). If craving a beer at home have a non-alcoholic. No crisps or chocolate in the week. Replace crisps with a handful of nuts instead Eggs most lunches with sourdough/fresh bread Strength training/gym once a week Try to run 10k total distance every week. This can be two 5k runs. Really need to sign upto a Run in order to be motivated to do this though. Most of the above has gone to shit this summer... However I'm getting back on it today and have a target weight for 1st of December!

I usually go with my Dad, but I’m currently on holiday so will miss this year’s one.