This was a rare event where I had everything booked in advance – my train, my hotel and my game ticket. The Monday night football match in Birmingham was the main event on the schedule, so I always knew I would attend this game and no other event would be prioritized above it.

Train
I booked the train from London about one month ahead of time so it only cost £7 each way. It cost me £4 just to get from Lambeth North tube station to the Euston train station within London. Of course, that meant I had to take the actual train that I booked and did not have the freedom to just show up at the train station and take any train.

I arrived at the Euston train station around 11 am. I needed to eat anyway so I had enough time to eat breakfast before my train departed at 12:03 pm. The Britannia served breakfast in the train station.

Hotel and Lunch
As I wrote last week, I also booked the Britannia Hotel early – a single was only £28 pounds for the night as long as I paid in advance (£32 for the right to cancel). I was unable to check into the hotel when I arrived around 2:00 pm. My room would not be available for another hour. At this point I needed lunch, so I walked across the street to the Yard of Ale for some fish and chips and a pint. I arrived back at the hotel at 3 pm and took an unexpectedly long nap.

Obtaining Tickets
While I was at Manchester City last Monday I decided to buy an away ticket for last night’s match. An away ticket means I would sit with all the Manchester City fans in their confined space rather than sit with the Aston Villa fans and be able to wander around Villa Park. This turned out to be the correct decision as I ended up napping for 4.5 hours! I woke up shortly after 7:30 pm and raced to make the 8:00 pm start. Since I had no time to wait for the bus I ended up taking a taxi to Villa Park – cab cost was a reasonable £7.

The Game
The game was a low scoring affair compared to most of the Premiership matches I saw on this trip. This was the lowest scoring match and the only draw I saw as Manchester City and Aston Villa tied 1-1 – every other winning team had scored at least three goals.

Being an away fan did not have any real disadvantages except for the fact the lines at the one concession stand were incredibly long and they did not sell any beer in the section.

Transportation from the Game
Since I took a cab to the stadium, I decided to take the bus back to the city center. Taking buses to the city center is always easy because almost every bus runs there. The #7 bus took me back to where I needed to go.

Post Game Dining
By the time I was back from Villa Park most of the pubs were going to close in 30 minutes or so. Thus, once again, I chose to go back to the hotel.