Royalty Tours USA

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Royalty schedule w/o 1/4

Here's the game plan:

Monday January 4th Celtics at Nets 7:30PM

Tuesday January 5th Stars at Rangers 7PM
                       
Wednesday January 6th Raptors at Nets 7:30PM

Thursday January 7th Capitals at Islanders 7PM

Friday January 8th Magic at Nets 7:30PM

Saturday January 9th Dayton Flyers at LaSalle Explorers 2PM

                                   Princeton Tigers at Penn Quakers 4:30PM

                                  Raptors at 76ers 7:30PM

Sunday January 10th Packers at Redskins 4:40PM NFC Wild Card

Check back to see how it played out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

I hope you & yours have a very Happy New Year.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Royalty goes to Leicester, England & gets plenty of royal treatment!‏

Earlier this year, I was contacted by a guy named Rob Campion aka @allroads1 on Twitter. He was given my contact information by my pal Paul Swaney who's the founder of Stadium Journey, the website that reviews all the different sports venues here in North America & other parts of the World. As a result, he's gotten in touch with many interesting & down to earth people. ‎I've met some of them in my travels. I honestly have no complains. I always look forward to our next meet up. 

With that being said, I received a message on Facebook from Rob. He asked me about the possibility of getting him tickets to see the Mets play the Atlanta Braves in September at Citi Field. He told me that he & his wife Angela were planning to come to the States for the very first time. He said they were going to come to NYC for three or four days then they were going to fly to Chicago for another ‎two or three days. Ironically I told him I was planning to go to England & Europe for the very first time in October. In the meantime, we wrote each other back & forth. We arranged to help each other perfect our trip plans. Rob decided to pass  on the Met game when he finalized his plans. Instead he decided to see a soccer match aka football if you will. He looked at the NYCFC schedule. They were home the same day they were flying into New York. They were playing the San Jose Earthquakes at 7PM that night at Yankee Stadium. Despite the thought of being tired from the flight & time difference, he asked me if I could get them tickets. I said absolutely. The King & I already had ours since we planned to go as well after the Mets played the Yankees that afternoon at Citi Field. I wound up getting them seats in the same section as ours a row apart. A month later the hockey schedule came out. Rob noticed that the Rangers were playing an exhibition game that Monday night 9/21 at Madison Square Garden. He said he wanted to see the World's most famous arena. Even though it was a preseason game, this was his chance to do so. With that being said, I went ahead & spoke to a friend of mine who has season tickets. I told him I needed a pair for that game. He told me he would sell them to me so I could help these people out. When I told Rob, he was thrilled. He couldn't thank me enough for sorting that out for him.

8:29AM East Midlands Train Departure
Front of the East Midlands Train
East Midlands Train
Me at Leicester Train Station
Leicester Host City of Rugby World Cup
Thomas Cook Statue
View of Downtown Leicester England
In May, I told him I booked my flight to London. He said he was going to try to switch with someone at work to be off when I was going to be there. In July, he wrote me & he said he was able to switch. As a result, he was off that Tuesday which was October 6th. He worked nights. He told me that he lived in Leicester which is 100 miles North of London. He said I could take a train from London to Leicester. He watched the fares for me. At first, they were outrageously priced. He said he would keep watching them for me. A few weeks later they dropped to a reasonable price. He went ahead & bought me a round trip ticket for 32 pounds which was 50 US dollars. He got me a seat on the East Midlands train that left St. Pancras/Kings Cross Station at 8:29AM. It was scheduled to arrive in Leicester at 9:45AM. Rob told me he would meet me at the train station. When I got there, we met up again. We walked over to his car which was parked nearby. In the process, we passed a statue of Thomas Cook. Like in Australia, it was odd to get in on the left side of the car & not be the driver. Unlike that Monday, the weather was dry for the time being. Rob proceeded to drive around. He pointed out different landmarks along the way.

Rob Campion's car
Rob at the wheel on the right side of car
Melton Mowbray Town Estate
Melton Mowbray Marketplace
Ye Olde Pork Pie Shoppe
Melton Mowbray Pork Pie
Dickinson & Morris Pork Pie Champions
Sausages at Ye Olde Pork Pie Shoppe
Anne of Cleves - First built in 1384
Anne of Cleves House & Pub
Rob drove us to Melton Mowbray which was about a half hour drive northeast of downtown Lei‎cester. He parked the car & we took a walk to the area that consisted of a variety of different stores in the local village. First we stopped off at a pastry shop where we got some cookies to eat. Rob also got himself a cup of coffee. The cookie I had was delicious. After we walked around for a short time, we went to the Ye Olde Pork Pie Shoppe. Rob told me they're known for making famous local pork pies. They had a variety of different kinds of sausages there as well. Rob proceeded to buy us a few pies. He bought a big one for himself & he bought me a small one. We didn't eat them right away. We continued walking around the vicinity. He guided me around the village. It was eye popping as I got to see ancient buildings including one called Anne of Cleves Pub that was built way back in 1384. You did read that right. That was indeed 631 years ago.

All Saints Church Asfordby in Village of  Hoby
All Saints Church Asfordby
Countryside in Village of Hoby
The Blue Bell
List of Real Ale & Cider
Lunch at The Blue Bell
 After we got done looking around there, we got back in the car. Rob proceeded to drive us around the countryside so I could get a different perspective of the surrounding areas of where he lives. It was breath taking to see the beautiful scenery as we drove along. ‎He pulled off to the side of the road to show me the All Saints Church Asfordby which has been around since the 13th century. After the brief pit stop, we proceeded to drive until we got to The Blue Bell, which was a local pub in the village of Hoby. We parked the car took a quick look at the scenery then we went inside for some lunch.

Rob Campion's House in Leicester England
Millie
I was attacked by Millie LOL
 I wound up having another great meal that consisted of a piece of broiled fish that came with mashed potatoes & vegetables. It was excellent. I also enjoyed a local ale called the Everard‎ Sunchaser Blonde. It was tasty. I'm not a big alcohol drinker so I can't tell you much more about it. After we finished eating, Rob said he needed to stop off at his house. We went inside for a little while. By doing so, I got to see his very friendly dog named Millie. The dog loved me. She jumped all over me in a playful fashion. I love animals so it was an added treat for me. 

Stay tuned for another special post that will go into detail about the rest of our time together that day.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, December 28, 2015

Royalty schedule w/o 12/28

Here's the game plan:

Monday December 28th Stony Brook Seawolves at NJIT Highlanders 7PM

Tuesday December 29th Hurricanes at Devils 7PM
                       
Friday January 1st  Montreal Canadiens at Boston Bruins at Gillette Stadium 1PM Winter Classic

                                Bridgeport Sound Tigers at Springfield Falcons 7PM

Saturday January 2nd Red Wings at Sabres 1PM

                                   Blues at Maple Leafs 7PM 

Sunday January 3rd Jets at Bills 1PM

Check back to see how it turned out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

I hope you & yours have a very Happy New Year.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Royalty is starting 2016 appropriately on the road!

Here's the game plan:

I'm renting a car on New Year's Eve December 31st from Enterprise Rent A Car for four days to start 2016 off right.

The King  & I will be driving out to Foxboro & Springfield, Massachusetts then on to Buffalo & Toronto before we return home late Sunday night.

Friday January 1st  Montreal Canadiens at Boston Bruins at Gillette Stadium 1PM Winter Classic

                                Bridgeport Sound Tigers at Springfield Falcons 7PM

Saturday January 2nd Red Wings at Sabres 1PM

                                   Blues at Maple Leafs 7PM 

Sunday January 3rd Jets at Bills 1PM

If you're interested in going on this exclusive getaway royalty style just let me know so I can arrange to have you join us.

It's going to be a blast so why not come for a "royal" ride.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Royalty schedule w/o 12/21

Here's the game plan:

Monday December 21st Holiday Dinner from my boss at work

Wednesday December 23rd Mavericks at Nets 7:30PM
                       
Saturday December 26th Westchester Knicks at Delaware 87ers 3PM

                                         Redskins at Eagles 8:25PM
                     
Sunday December 27th Patriots at Jets 1PM

                                      Maple Leafs at Islanders 6PM

Check back to see how it played out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

I hope you & yours have a very Happy Holiday season.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, December 14, 2015

Royalty schedule w/o 12/14

Here's the game plan:

Monday December 14th Magic at Nets 7:30PM

Tuesday December 15th Panthers at Islanders 7PM

Wednesday December 16th Timberwolves at Knicks 7:30PM

Thursday December 17th  Christmas Party

Friday December 18th Grizzlies at Mavericks 7:30PM Central Time
                              
Saturday December 19th Jets at Cowboys 7:25PM Central Time
                     
Sunday December 20th Abilene Christian Wildcats at TCU Horned Frogs 1PM Central Time

Check back to see how it turned out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Royalty goes to see a football match in Hitchin, England!‏

Me by National Rail Ticket Office
Train to Hitchin 17:10PM Platform 11
Great Northern Train
After I finished looking around London back on Monday October 5th‎, I went to the St. Pancras/Kings Cross train station which is where you can get commuter & international trains in & out of London. I told my pal Sean MacDonald that I would meet him there at 5PM. I got there around 4:45PM. I waited for a short time by the National Rail ticket office then Sean spotted me. We were taking a ride to Hitchin which is about 35 miles north of London in Hertfordshire. We wound up taking the Great Northern train that left Kings Cross at 17:10PM. We arrived at the Hitchin station around 17:45PM which gave us plenty of time to get to a football match we planned to attend that was starting at 19:45PM that evening. When we arrived we had to walk a mile to get to the grounds they were playing at called Top Field, home of Hitchin Town FC. They were hosting Leamington FC who were one of the best teams in the Southern Premier League, the semi pro 7th level in the English soccer pyramid.
 
Hitchin England
Traffic in Hitchin
Victoria Pub
Monday Night Supper
On our way towards the ground, we were surprised to see so much traffic in the area. It was rush hour but we didn't think we were going to a major town but a suburb of London. As we got closer to the ground, we stopped off at the Victoria Pub to have dinner. Sean had told me he wanted to go to this place. I had done research online. I noticed they had a great looking menu. I told him, I'll join him. Since it was Monday, we were able to take advantage of their Monday Night Supper. As a result, I had a lemon butter chicken breast that came along with mac & cheese bake & green beans to go along with some English ale. In addition, I had a chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream & fudge sauce for dessert. When we finished, we continued on our way over to Top Field. Shortly thereafter, we noticed a gentleman who was wearing a Hitchin FC scarf. He was obviously going there as well. We walked & talked with him. He told us he's been going to their matches for 55 years. He also told us that the ground was in danger of being torn down in favor of a supermarket but thankfully the local community got together to prevent this from happening. When we got to the box office, we parted ways.

Top Field in Hitchin
Sean & I proceeded to buy tickets for the match for 10 pounds which is roughly 15 US dollars. We were given a small ticket stub that just said adult on it. There was no detailed information on it not even the date. ‎We proceeded to walk inside. It was a damp rainy night. The grounds had wooden stands on both sides of the pitch that were covered so we didn't have to worry about getting wet. We wound up sitting by midfield on the far side. They also had an area called the Canary Club which is a bar that's open to all supporters during the match.  The team was referred to as the Canaries when they were founded back in 1928. 

Live action from the match
‎As for the match we saw, Leamington FC scored twice to take a 2-0 lead in the first half. In the second half, Hitchin FC came roaring back as they managed to tied the score at two. They wound up getting a hard fought draw in front of a crowd of 311 people. After the match, Sean & I walked back to the train station. We got lucky as we were able to catch an express train that left just after ten. We got back to Kings Cross around 10:45PM. We said our goodbyes as we headed back to get some sleep.

Stay tuned for a special post that will go into detail about another adventurous & exciting day I had that Tuesday.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, December 7, 2015

Royalty schedule w/o 12/7

Here's the game plan:

Monday December 7th Mavericks at Knicks 7:30PM

Tuesday December 8th Rockets at Nets 7:30PM

Thursday December 10th 76ers at Nets 7:30PM

Friday December 11th Red Wings at Devils 7PM  

Saturday December 12th Clippers at Nets 5PM
                                                                                 
Sunday December 13th Titans at Jets 1PM
                                                              
Check back to see how it played out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Royalty is going to Dallas the weekend before Christmas!

Here's the game plan:

I'm flying to Dallas, Texas on Southwest Airlines. I leave New York LaGuardia Airport on Friday, December 18th at 6AM Eastern Time, I arrive at Love Field at 9:10AM Central Time.

Upon arrival, I'm renting a car from Alamo Rent A Car for the weekend.

I'll be meeting up with some very special people I met at the end of June here in NYC then again in August in Seattle. They all live in the Dallas area. I can't wait to see them all again.

I fly back home Monday morning. My flight departs Dallas at 7:10AM Central Time. I'm scheduled to land at 11:20AM Eastern Time at LaGuardia Airport if all goes well.    

Friday December 18th Grizzlies at Mavericks 7:30PM Central Time
                              
Saturday December 19th Jets at Cowboys 7:25PM Central Time
                     
Sunday December 20th Abilene Christian Wildcats at TCU Horned Frogs 1PM Central Time

If you're interested in going on this exclusive getaway royalty style just let me know so I can arrange to have you join me.

It's going to be a blast so why not come for a "royal" ride.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Royalty takes a Royal Tour of London!

Back on Monday, October 5th, I decided to spend the day looking around London. I left the Grantly Hotel where I was staying that morning around 9AM after I ate a hearty breakfast there. I took the Underground three stops to the Queensway station on the Central Line from Shepherd's Bush which took me to the area they refer to as Hyde Park, which is one of the largest parks in London.

Map of Kensington Gardens
Statue in Hyde Park
Since the forecast called for rain that day, I packed my umbrella just in case. It was a wise move on my part since shortly after I entered the park, it started raining. Luckily, it was on the light side so it was tolerable. I got to stroll around for a short time. I got to see the Kensington & Italian Gardens while I was there. If you like nature, this is a great place to relax & take in the beautiful scenery. Unfortunately ‎I was pressed for time because I needed to get to a tour that was starting at 11AM that morning. After getting a taste of the park, I wound up getting back on the Underground to save time. I got back on at Lancaster Gate which was the next stop. I then took the train two more stops to Bond Street where I got off & transferred to the Jubilee Line which took me to Westminster. By doing so, I was within a short walk of the tour meeting spot, which was the Winston Churchill Statue in Parliament Square. When I got off the train, I got to see Big Ben. I then proceeded to the Statue where I saw a young man holding up an umbrella that said Free Tours of London. His name was Glenn Hodge. He asked me a few questions then we waited for others who were interested in the tour. After a short time, ‎he rounded us up & he gave us an overview of what to expect. He said when he's done, you can decide if you want to join him for a few hours or do something else on this rainy day. I decided to stay with him. For that matter so did the other ten people who were there too. In retrospect, I'm glad I did. By doing so, I got to further my knowledge about London.
Glenn told us that he's from England. He enjoys sharing his knowledge that he has attained from doing extensive research. He told us that he doesn't get paid for his time. However he suggested that if we enjoyed his company & his knowledge that we should give him a donation for his time & efforts. As for what to give was up to us. In addition, he  told us that if we wanted to join him after the tour for lunch at a pub we were all welcome to do so. If so, he would be able to get us a discount there. 

We all proceeded to follow him around. It was a nice group of people. It consisted of a few young ladies from Brisbane, Australia, a couple named Edward & Karen who were Chinese & lived in Perth, Australia‎, a few guys from Poland & a young lady named Nadia who was from a small island in Africa called Mauritius. I was the only one from the United States. It was a diversified group which made it a more enjoyable experience.

Me in front of Buckingham Palace
Statutes of King George VI & Queen Elizabeth
Free Tours of London Group Picture
As for the places we got to see along the way, we walked by the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey‎, Methodist Central Hall, the Churchill War Rooms, St. James Park, Buckingham Palace, St. James Palace & we saw statues of Queen Elizabeth & King George VI as well.

Bar Soho
Me & Nadia at Bar Soho
When the tour was over, most of us decided to join Glenn at Bar Soho. I wound up having a Great British beef burger that came along with chips aka fries. It should be noted that it did taste different than a burger here in the States‎. While I was eating there, I got to talk to most of these people who I was with. We had a good time getting know each other's backgrounds. In fact, Edward & Karen told me they were coming to NYC the following week so I did my best to guide them along. We exchanged contact information & I wrote them with ideas. In addition, I spent a lot of the tour talking to Nadia. She was very sweet, friendly & well traveled. She told me she was going to work for Nestle's in Switzerland for a year. Furthermore, she said she's working on getting her PHD at either Brown or Harvard. She was told to apply to those schools. She's a very intelligent young lady. We also exchanged contact information. I look forward to hearing about her future endeavors & accomplishments. When you travel, you never know what you're going to see or who you're going to meet. By taking this tour, I expanded my horizons immensely. After we got done eating, Nadia & I walked out together. She wound up taking a bus somewhere & I continued on to the nearest Underground station.

City of London Tower Bridge
London Tower Bridge

Cars Driving on Tower Bridge
When I got on the train I headed towards Tower Hill where the London Tower Bridge was. Ironically I ran into some people on the train who were staying at the same hotel as me. Since I had some time I was able to help them out since they were not sure of themselves. They were from Iran but they lived in Germany they said. However they didn't really understand English well which made it difficult to communicate with them. We stayed together for a little while. Once we saw the London Tower Bridge up close, we parted ways. They said their children were hungry. As for me, I needed to get back to Kings Cross/St. Pancras train station because I was‎ meeting my pal Sean MacDonald there at 5PM. I got there around 4:45PM. We were catching a train to Hitchin to see a football match if you will.

Stay tuned for a special post that will go into further detail regarding that.

Thank you for reading & following along. 

Yours truly,

Gary Herman