A Night Away From Home
In May of this year I went on a little jaunt with one of my brothers. You may have read on a earlier post that I had bought tickets to go and see the band Travis in Leeds. I had never seen them before live and I was extremely excited to say the least!!
It was going to be a bit of a fun time for just me and my brother and we decided that we would travel up to Leeds on the train that day and stay overnight. I thought I would just document here my experience and how it all went!
I had booked train tickets for us and I have to be honest, I had not travelled on a train for such a long time!! The tickets were extremely cheap; to go they were £1.50 each and coming back just £4 each. That's cheaper than a bus ride from my house into the city centre!!
My brother met me at my house and we had a coffee before setting off. My partner dropped us off at the train station. We were a little early so just sat on the station doing a bit of people watching!! One thing I have to say though; my brother decided to buy me a bottle of water for the train journey and the cost of that was unbelievable!! £4 for a normal bottle of water!! More than the train tickets!!!!
We boarded the train, which turned up on time and managed to find two seats on our own. We had a good journey up to Leeds and I really loved chatting with my brother and catching up, just the two of us.
Leeds is always a busy station so when we arrived it was quite full (bearing in mind this was on a Wednesday around noon). We had a couple of hours before we could check into the hotel so decided to have a wander around and have a coffee. We had a good walk around Leeds city centre and managed to find out a number of restaurants that we could go to for something to eat later. Leeds has a good number of places to eat and drink in very close proximity to each other so there is always something to suit everyone.
It was time to find the hotel! I had booked the MET Hotel. I booked it through Booking.com, which I found really easy to use. It had mostly good reviews and cost £72 per room per night. The MET is one of the older buildings in Leeds and I actually quite liked the look of it when we got there. It has a modern reception area and the staff were really helpful and polite. We got there an hour before we were due to book in and my room was ready, so we decided to drop our bags off and then go out for a bit more. I was pleasantly surprised at the room. It was larger than I thought it would be and was very clean.
We decided that we would go and find the venue so we would know where to go later on. My brother decided to get out his phone and get the directions so we could follow them. Well, this did not go to plan!! We must have walked around for more than an hour and every time he looked at his phone, he would turn around to me and smile and say ' don't worry, follow me, it's just around the corner!' Without fail, it was never around the corner!!! In the end I took control of the directions and within 5 minutes we were at the venue!! It was hilarious! I am not saying I am good at directions, but on this occasion, yes, I was! We could see the tour buses there and I was about ready to go up to them and ask for a cup of tea; I was knackered!!
We went back to hotel so my brother could check into his room and to get freshened up ready to go back out and have something to eat. With that done we ventured out again! Directions from my brother again! We managed to find a Bill's restaurant (after getting lost again!). I have been to Bill's before and I do not mind the food there. The one in the centre of Leeds was lovely inside and larger than I expected. We both had the Bill's burger with fries, my brother had a Coke and I had fresh orange juice. It was a lovely meal and the staff were very good. Very polite and informative. We then finished it off with a coffee for my brother and tea for me. The whole meal and drinks came to about £42 which I thought was very good. It certainly filled us up!!!
It was time to go to the venue to get in line! We managed to get to the venue without getting lost!! We were going to the O2 Academy in Leeds and as we neared we could already see people in line. Now I found this a little confusing because there were two lines, but it did soon become clear that one was for standing and one was for balcony seats, but there wasn't anything pointing this out until we asked a steward when they came out. We had got balcony seats and we had managed to get in the right line beforehand, but others had to do a bit of swapping around!
Getting through security was very easy and the staff were very good and were having a laugh with everyone, which just helps puts everyone in a good mood. Getting into the venue did not take long, we were probably in a queue for about 15 minutes. When we got into the venue I was impressed as it wasn't too big and I like the smaller venues. I have been to large concerts in stadiums and I have enjoyed them, but the smaller venue draws me every time, it's just more intimate.
We had a choice of seats so opted for two at the end of a row which had very good views of the stage. We didn't buy any refreshments while we were there so I couldn't tell you if it was reasonable or not.
Now I just need to tell you that my brother had never been to a concert of any kind before this one and I wasn't sure how he would find it. I was a little nervous about that, but my brother is very laid back and just likes to have fun wherever he is, so I wasn't too worried about it!
The supporting act was Ben Ottewell (formerly of Gomez) and I have to admit he was amazing. A brilliant opening act and I was completely overwhelmed with him. At the end of his performance I looked to my brother and asked him if he had enjoyed listening to Ben and he admitted that he enjoyed it more than he thought he would! Good start!!
Now, on to Travis! I had been waiting years to see them live and when the lights dimmed and the colour changed on the background on stage I was absolutely enthralled from start to finish!!! I sang along to every song and didn't take my eyes of the stage!!! I couldn't even get my phone out to film or capture anything so my lovely brother did all that for me!!!!! They were amazing and well worth the wait. I have seen a few bands live, but I have got to say that Travis has been the best band I have seen live. Amazing performance!
When we were coming out of the venue I asked my brother if he had enjoyed it. He surprised me when he turned to me and said that he had thought it was great and if they come back he would definitely be coming with me to see them. I was so pleased that he had enjoyed it. We had such fun dancing, singing and just having a laugh! A night to remember.
We managed to get back to the hotel without getting lost! It was a comfortable night in the hotel and in the morning we checked out early and went for some breakfast. We ended up at Wetherspoons which we enjoyed. We had a couple of hours before we had to catch the train and decided to have a look around Leeds centre and get lost again! I enjoyed going in the Trinity Centre. Lots of shops to have a look around.
The train journey back was again easy and comfortable. This time coming back I had booked specific seats and it was a good journey back. My partner picked us up from the station and it was a flawless journey.
We had an amazing time together and just enjoyed time together, which we hadn't done for a long time. It was fun getting lost, laughing, exploring, singing and dancing together. Definitely something I will be doing again with my brother. We may have to get lost in a different town next time!!
Travis were amazing and I have to say if you get the opportunity to see them live, then do it. One of the best bands to go and see. After we came back I decided to get a momento for me and my brother and bought us both the Travis Invisible Band Tour t-shirt. Just a little reminder of the fun we had.
Pictures: My Own
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