Ted Lasso is a comedy series on the Apple TV+ streaming platform, and is also the name of the main character. The American is hired as the coach of the flagging English football team AFC Richmond. But he is only used to American football, whereas European football is played here. Nevertheless, with his unshakeable belief in the good in people, Ted Lasso manages to turn the players into a team. That’s a message Gabi and I really like. Ted Lasso became the only sports programme that we enjoyed watching regularly. We are currently looking forward to the fourth season, which is due to start anytime in the future.

Here’s the Ted Lasso trailer:

Today we are travelling in the footsteps of Ted Lasso in Richmond. Unfortunately, Dan isn’t feeling well, so Clare is coming alone. And we still have a bit of time left before lunch. So we explore the little alley where Ted lives and take a look in the big fan shop.

But now it’s time for our reservation at The Prince’s Head, where the victories of AFC Richmond are celebrated. Gabi and I opt for the Sunday Roast – after all, it’s Sunday! Gabi orders it with roast beef and I get lamb shoulder, Clare a pork pie with mash. I try the non-alcoholic Guinness beer that Dan recommended. Everything is simply marvellous! The meat is so tender that it just falls off the bone. The potatoes are nicely fried on the outside and soft on the inside. The vegetables are full of flavour, the Yorkshire pudding is crispy and the gravy goes well with everything.

After lunch, we visit the Ted Lasso store again. I buy a football shirt – only my second ever, after the golden yellow Brazil shirt that my Dad brought me back from a business trip as a child –, a coaching jacket, an AFC Richmond fan scarf and, of course, a box of shortbread, which Ted always bakes for the owner of the football team in the series.

But Richmond is also a beautiful city in other respects. We stroll along the Thames, which is really busy today. Boats and ships pass by, people walk their dogs (we see lots of dachshunds!), and of course there’s an ice-cream van.

And we visit Richmond Palace, or what remains of it. The actual palace, where Kings Henry VII and Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I resided, was demolished in the 17^th century. However, the neighbourhood next to a large park is still clearly a preferred residential area.

We then say goodbye to Clare, who is travelling back home by train, and make our way to our next and last hotel of our trip. The route takes us right across London. We notice a small English Fiat 500 with a Swiss ‘CH’ sticker next to the licence plate. That’s interesting! We can’t turn into the mall at Hyde Park Corner as the road is cordoned off. So we don’t drive past Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square, but at least we see Big Ben. Then we reach the banks of the Thames and turn onto Victoria Embankment opposite the London Eye – a through-road to the east.

We actually make good progress… until we arrive at the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre, where our hotel is located. In the multi-storey car park, we search for a free parking space for an incredibly long time. Then we wait almost as long for a lift to finally arrive. In this part of the shopping centre, only one of three lifts seems to be working. And when we check in at the Hyatt, we have to fill in a multi-page form, the likes of which we have never seen before.

Finally that’s done too and we’re in the room. After we’ve had a bit of a rest, I set off on the hunt for dinner: I pick up a ramen noodle soup from Wagamama and marinated chicken pieces with sweet potato fries for Gabi.