So, we’ve gotten out to explore Manchester a bit. Yesterday the girls and I went for a walk around the neighborhood we’re in. It’s a largely working class area residential area, so there’s not much to see. We did find a playground they enjoyed for a bit.

 

Today I decided we really needed to see the city. The girls and I took at an Uber to the Manchester city centre. There is an old building there called The Printworks. It was originally a newspaper printing facility that was converted to an entertainment venue in the 90’s. Full of clubs, restaurants, and a HUGE movie theater. It’s only 20 screens, but it covers 4 floors and seems to go on forever. We saw Wreck It Ralph 2.

A few observations about the theater, for my fellow Showplace alumni: Tickets were sold on the main floor, with a number of self-serve kiosks to the side. Tried using one of those, but the touchscreen was badly calibrated, so I gave up and went to the box office. There are no screens on the ground floor, just ticket sales. There was then a concession stand on each floor. They looked fairly similar to what you see in a large chain (such as Stadium 16). Popcorn was available in two flavors: salted or sweet. No butter. No extra salt sitting around. It was good, but not nearly as much so as in the States. Presentation was great, but the workers started cleaning before the credits ended and the theater was empty. There were two post-credit scenes for the movie, but I felt uncomfortable with them cleaning around me and left before the second one.

After the movie, we walked to Forbidden Planet, a major comic book store chain in the UK, then Kyla met us for dinner. We went to a place called Frankie & Benny’s, which advertises itself as American style. Food over here tends to be better and healthier than the States. They use fresher ingredients (they don’t need the preservatives as food doesn’t need to be shipped as far), no high-fructose corn syrup, and less artificial ingredients. Overall, it’s good, but the taste is very different than in America. The kids in particular are having trouble adjusting. I’ll talk more about food differences in a future post, but I think I’m going to turn in now. Tomorrow we leave Manchester and head for Basingstoke, our home town for the next few years. We’ll be in a hotel for until we find a place, but hopefully that won’t be long. Wish us luck.

Sorry about the lack of updates, but the last few days have actually been fairly uneventful. 

On Tuesday morning, we checked out of the hotel and began our trip to Manchester, for Kyla to take the few days of classes she needs before her practical exam. The train ride up the country was fine, but somewhat frustrating. Getting 8 suitcases on the train was maddening. There was only room at the front of the coach for three of the suitcases. There were overheads, but our stuff was far too large for that. We finally had the three at front, one under Lizzy’s feet, then four in the seats in front of us. Thankfully the train wasn’t full. Praying that the trip back south is the same. 

After arriving in Manchester, things have been relatively calm. I’m not much impressed with the city. It’s gloomy and dirty, but then again, we’re not in a tourist area, so maybe I’m being too harsh. 

Kyla has been attending classes yesterday and today. Besides a late car pick-up this morning, that’s been going well. The girls and I have been mainly hanging around the AirBNB trying to get acclimated to the time zone. Of course, they’re doing better than I am. 

No real pictures worth sharing, but I am attaching one video that displays a bit of the cultural difference.

Today was a little low-key, at least compared to the last few days. Most of it was actually spent on a bus. We slept in a bit this morning and then got out to go exploring. First stop was Waterloo Station to do some money changing. It was the girl’s first time in a train station and they were pretty fascinated by it. 

We then joined one of the hop on/hop off bus tours that goes around the city….and that’s basically where we stayed for the rest of the day.  I think the girls got a little bored at various points, but Kyla and I loved it. We got off a few times for meals and sites (Trafalgar Square), but otherwise we just enjoyed the city. 

Lunch and supper were both in little “lunch counter” style restaurants, fairly American in style in order to get Molly to eat. 

At the supper counter, we had an interesting experience. Again, it was a little counter place, with only two tables. The entire customer area was about 15 foot wide by 6 foot deep. A couple came in with what was obviously a homeless man. They bought him a meal and they all left. I mentioned it to the worker, and he started telling us about the homeless people in the area and how he goes to check on them every night after he gets off work. I think some American Christians could learn something from that Middle Eastern Muslim. 

After supper, we wandered back toward the Eye for a few pictures and discovered a little Christmas Village that has popped up near the park. We walked around there for a few minutes before returning to the hotel. 

Final excitement of the day: just as I was finishing the previous paragraph, the fire alarm went off in the hotel! We jumped up, put shoes on and rushed down the stairs. We gathered out front for a few minutes to find out it was a false alarm. A very alarming end to the day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last 36? (I don’t know. Time zones are confusing.) hours have been crazy. We flew from St. Louis to Reykjavik, Iceland, then on to London: Gatwick. A driver brought us and our eight(!) suitcases to our hotel in the middle of London. After lunch at a Subway (normalcy for the kids) and a short nap, we went exploring a little. 

The look on the girls face when we turned the corner and saw the London Eye was worth every minute of the journey. Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) is apparently under construction and is less than impressive at the moment. We walked across Westminster Bridge and around Westminster Abbey before stopping for supper at a pub that was established in 1777. Fish and chips and Guinness! 

We’re back at the hotel now and getting ready to settle in, while everyone in Evansville is finishing lunch. So weird. I’m attaching a few pictures below. 

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton