Sheffield is known for its history of steel and soccer hooligans. And it may look a little bleak, but we've found the people to be anything but.

• [CLIP: starvation]

• EVO: There are lots of ways to travel. And I don't just mean by air, rail, or boat. I mean the intent of the travel. Ours is based on opportunity. Which means we go where the opportunity takes us. 

• SHE: Currently, we're housesitting. Typically, this isn't what most of you think of when you think of travel. We go where the housesitting assignments are. This can be limiting as wintering in Jamaica isn't always -- and certainly wasn't -- an option.

• EVO: But housesitting almost eliminates the "I-don't-know-where-do-you-want-to-go?" discussions that make vacation planning a pain. For us, it's lead to some amazing opportunities. But it's still weird, so we find ourselves explaining how it lets us travel around the world. Here's a quick conversation we had over lunch with Katherine Inskip, an astrophysicist we met from the University of Sheffield. And thanks for lunch, Kath!

• [CLIP: wharncliffe side]

• EVO: Which brings us, a travel blogger and a travel photographer, to Warncliffe Side, a suburb -- ish -- of Sheffield, up in Yorkshire England. There's a very good reason you won't find this area on TripAdvisors Top 10 Places to Visit in Early Spring: 

• [CLIP: climbing]

• SHE: Sheffield's claim to fame is stainless steel, invented here in 1912. But the world knows Sheffield not only from industry, but from infamy.

• [CLIP: hillsborough incident]

• EVO: History aside, opportunity keeps intersecting us with current events. We were in Paris just after the Charlie Hebdo attack. We were literally blocks away from the synagog shooting as it happened in Copenhagen. And most recently, opportunity placed us in Sheffield the same time the Queen was in town. I know it's just confirmation bias, but it's damned odd. 

• SHE: But what's not odd is our ability to meet locals and make new friends along the way. Most often, this is done over a beer... or two. 

• [CLIP: hakespeare]

• EVO: Don't let the quiet audio fool you. Shakespeare started out as a quiet pub, because it was mid afternoon when we got there. It didn't take long for the crowd to show up as the day progressed. 

• SHE: We were getting hungry by then. We'd been drinking with these two college students, and they offered to take us across to town to get some food... and some more beer. Rutland Arms, here we come!

• [CLIP: students]

• SHE: Conner and Kit turned out to be excellent guides. We had a great time with them. Actually,  everyone we've met in Sheffield has been warm and friendly. Not so much the weather, but it Is spring in England.

• EVO: Cheers from Sheffield!

New episodes of the The Opportunistic Travelers Podcast are available every Tuesday. Of course, Tuesday can be a very different thing depending on where we are in the world. Cheers!