Birmingham

Alicia & me at the Christkindlmarkt

Huge version of a German candle carousel

St. Martin's church--it's in between the "bull ring" (shopping centre) and the markets

Tannenbaum in der Christkindlmarkt

Carousel in Victoria Square

Victoria Square

Industrial scene in Sheffield

Evidence that the EU is funding projects in England (just funny to me b/c of European Studies, re: Thatcher's classic 'give me my money back' claim that England pays too much into the EU and doesn't get enough out of it)

Another shot of Sheffield--'A City on the Move'!

The train station looks just like the one in Bath--didn't expect that from seeing "The Full Monty"



Crown Point shopping centre--my first time at a normal mall in Britain, where suburban mini-van drivers go to Mothercare, Asda Living, and the Marks & Spencers outlet (among other shops).

Bleak shot of consumerism--empty parking spots a sign of the global crisis

Victoria Quarter's Christmas tree

County Arcade hall of Victoria Quarter all done up for the holidays

Today I met up with Alicia down in Birmingham. First we checked out the Christkindlmarkt (big and very pretty, but mostly food and the same sort of stalls as Leeds's smaller one has) and had some rotwurst (smoked bratwurst) for lunch, which was really good. Then we wandered around town, window shopping everywhere--from the High-Street-posh House of Fraser to the crazy-garage-sale markets. We chatted over Starbucks' holiday drinks & ended the day with dinner at Pizza Express. It was so fun catching up with her, and I really liked exploring a new place together.
My train went through Sheffield, so I finally got a glimpse of the setting for one of my favorite movies, but I have to say, it was disappointingly nice. It was industrial, but also had some nice tall modern buildings. It didn't look at all like it did in 'The Full Monty.' On the train home, I mentioned this to my seatmate (who was from Sheffield) and she said, "Well, that was a long time ago." Yeah, 1997 was eleven years ago, but Bath still looks like it did in "Persuasion," filmed in 1995...