Manchester

February 6^th 2010

Well the last week went by fast. Salsa dancing was a tad pricey but super fun, (which basically describes everything here). There were French boys there who couldn’t speak English, which was sort of a plus. The highlight of Thursday was watching the new episodes of LOST, and Friday I slept a lot. Woo!

Today Melissa and I went to Manchester. When we got to the station there was some American rocker type dude at the coffee shop, talking loudly on his cell phone about his various MTV performances. My first thought was “wow this guy is loud” followed by the realization that he was American, followed by a total blank on who the heck he could possibly be. We took the 9:15 train to the main station, which is just like a giant airport where you pay to use the smelly bathroom, and then took another train to Primark. After that we walked forever… to the art museum, but we were starving and stumbled upon Chinatown. We walked around Chinatown a bit comparing businesses and statues and signs, until we came up to an all-you-can-eat buffet. I haven’t had all I could eat anything since December. AND it was only five quid. I was sold. It was this tiny little basement full of friendly Chinese ladies and mirrors and tea and delicious food. I love food. I mean obviously everyone does, but I really love food. I love cooking, trying new things, going to restaurants, bars, cafes, taco stands, and I just love that world. ANYWAY. It was good. Melissa tried to read my tea leaves, but all she could come up with was a smiley face. We then popped into a casino and checked the Everton v. Liverpool score (Liverpool won, 1-0) while I talked to this lady who was in her late seventies who was a proud patron of the establishment. At first I was sort of grossed out, because she kept spitting on my face when she talked, but then she started telling me about her life. When she was a little girl, American soldiers were still bopping around because of the war, and they used to buy her ice cream and she liked their uniforms because they were better than the English ones. She then went on to become a scientist and rocket tester for the British government until the eighties when she moved to Florida and then New Zealand and then back to the UK. Which is either an awesome life or a great story.

We then went to an awesome art museum for like three hours. Here’s a bunch of links of what I saw (they’re going in tomorrow). I think my favourites were the Goya sketches, the pre-Raphael paintings, the Victorian nudes, and the seventeenth century icons. After that we walked…very far… to the Museum of Science and Industry. My family’s rule has always been if you can see it you can walk to it. So there was this GIANT glass Hilton next to the museum that we could see for miles, so we walked. We got to museum at 4, an hour before closing, and like blew through the exhibits. Manchester was the textile capital of the world. It was intricately tied to the slave trade in Liverpool and the States, the cotton growth in the U.S., and a huge wave of immigration similar to what Ellis Island saw. Manchester also has always put tons of money into chemistry and atomic weapon research. Mining was big here too. The railroads basically came about to link Liverpool and Manchester (products) with London and the South (money). It was bombed pretty bad in WWII. It’s also riddled with gangs and racial and class warfare.

Then we stumbled back to the train station where we counted attractive men and women who weren’t wearing leggings or tights. And that was my day.

My mom comes next week : ) : ) : ) HAPPY DAY!