Manchester

Just out of curiosity, I stopped in Manchester for a bit on the way home from Liverpool. Just like Liverpool and Bristol, I'd heard it was industrial and ugly...Well, it is, mostly. There were some beautiful older parts, but Manchester is very urban-sprawl. It reminded me of a European version of Philadelphia--some pretty sights, but I wouldn't want to live there. Friedrich Engels called it "Hell on Earth" in the Industrial Age. Today, it's not Hell, but it's definitely not Heaven, either.


Such an odd mix of old and new architecture...



Manchester's version of the London Eye

More Armistice Day poppies


Gaudy decorations, but it's a nice building



An artistic black and white shot makes the garbage floating in the river less noticeable

Manchester's library--isn't it gorgeous?

Armistice Day in Liverpool

Their parades are pretty much like ours in the states--very old veterans marching with flags. There was one notable difference, though--their military bands had pipers!


St. John's shopping center all decked out for Christmas

Wales

This time when I went up to Liverpool, I took a different route and went through Wales. It's beautiful and weird--gorgeous Brecon Beacons national park, lots of crazy little villages (with only one gay in each one), and of course the Welsh-English bilingual signs. I didn't hear anybody actually speak Welsh on the train, but the conductor's accent was so strong, he might as well have been speaking another language. I loved it!

Guy Fawkes Day

To celebrate Guy Fawkes Day, we had a fireworks display on campus this past Saturday night. It was good--not quite the same as American ones, but still worthwhile. After the show, we walked down the hill and went to a pub near Pultney Bridge called The Boater.
I was told there wouldn't be any fireworks on Monday, since it's a weekday. However, tonight I heard fireworks and looked out my window. There was a huge display going on near Pultney Bridge! I threw my coat on and went over to watch it. I caught a good 15 minutes or so before it ended. After the show, I walked around town a little. Every single take-away place was packed! So, apparently that's how the English celebrate. They watch fireworks and then get take-out food and eat it in the streets...

Lovely fall scene. This building is actually about a mile down the hill from the Royal Crescent, but it looks like a smaller version of the real thing. Cody and I found it when we were wandering around town this weekend.

Sara, Irene and Julia outside at the Boater. It's such a neat pub--you enter from the street, but you go two flights down the back stairs, and there's a huge garden area right by the river Avon.

Christine and I...again, she looks more intoxicated than she really was. I don't think I'm ever going to get a good picture of us looking sober...

Halloween and Skittles

Cody's Halloween party was fantastic. Most of the people in Euromasters came, as well as some other friends from school. We wound up having 50-60 people in that little rowhouse! Cody and I carved a jack-o-lantern and made little paper lanterns for the back garden out of the orange-tinted "Financial Times" paper and tea lights. Everybody was impressed.
The neighbors on one side were fine with the party, but the ones on the other side called to complain about the noise when it was getting late. After the complaint, lots of people went home or on to Green Park, our back-up plan. I stayed fairly late, and walked home with 2 of the girls from my building.
My camera was in my purse all night, which was tucked away in a corner with my coat. I've picked out a few photos that friends have put up on Facebook.

Henna, Marilena, me, Joanna, and Elizabeth. It took ages to straighten my hair, but it was worth it.

Kerstin, John, David and Lizzie

Stacey, Michaela, Sara, Irene and Matt

Vanja, Kerstin, Steffi, Karsten, Regine, and Lizzie

Rodianne, Christina, Irene, Michaela and Veronica
Skittles at the Royal Oak--it was basically like bowling, but made more difficult with a lighter weight rubber ball that was hard to control. I got 8 on my first go, but then failed miserably on my second turn. Beginner's luck!

Roman Baths and Abbey

Roman temple reconstruction in the Baths

Excavated forum area in front of the temple




A memorial in one of the chapels within Bath Abbey. Note the upper right hand angel is holding a skull, and the upper left hand angel is crying...quite morbid.

The pipe organ in Bath Abbey






Funerary effigy of James Montague, Bishop of Bath and Wells


Main altar in Bath Abbey

Rugby finals

A pic from Moles--Cody, me, Tobias and Agnieska

Before the game I made chili with tortilla chips & cheese...very American. Tobias and Maren came (the ones in the photo), as well as Agnieska, Luis and Maren's boyfriend visiting from Germany.


Luis, Me and Ed outside O'Brien's...it was hard finding a place to watch the match, so we wound up at Green Park, as usual...