Manchester

This post is a long time coming. Work has been nearly all consuming. While things aren't slowing down, I think the learning curve is easing up a bit. At any rate... a long time ago in a land far, far away... called Manchester... I spent two weeks working. :)

Manchester is beautiful, peaceful, and in some parts serene. England, in general, is pretty cool... the accents, the culture, the order, the history, the architecture, and, yes, my friends, even a little bit of the food (mushy peas and fish and chips are alright with me).

One of the first things I noticed about Manchester -- in the cab ride from the airport to the hotel in the wee hours of morning -- was Manchester United. Football (soccer) is quite popular there. ;) With the imposing stadium, the pubs decorated with United stuff, "Hate Glazer/Lover United" stickers on walls and poles all over town... I could sense the fanaticism. While I'm not a football fan, it was interesting.

http://www.manutd.com

During my stay in Manchester, I did go on a tour of Old Trafford Stadium. While I was walking around, listening to the guide's presentation, and thinking "these people are a little over the top... I mean... it is just a *game*". Observing fans that are passionate about a sport that I'm not very interested in... well... it seems all seems a little silly. However, when I see American football, basketball, or baseball fans go nuts over their team (or I get worked up over rooting for my favorite team)... it seams so normal... so very normal... but I can really get worked up during a game at times (as my family can attest to, I once accidentally broke a chandelier, my sister's chandelier, with my head while jumping up after a great play while watching the Rams vs. Patriots Super Bowl -- only to watch St. Louis lose the game a few minutes later).

I did want to go to a United match, but unfortunately I missed it by a day. For another visit... :) I definitely want to experience it, see the crowd, and cheer the team on.

Another stop along the way was the Imperial War Museum North ("War Museum" isn't enough... it is the *Imperial* war museum... like something out of Star Wars).

The museum, though not huge or stuffed chock full with stuff, is beautifully designed and dramatically presented -- using video and sound in many of the exhibits. One of the main presentations -- The Big Picture Show -- rotates between three shows (one each hour) and uses the whole Main Exhibition space to show photos on multiple walls along with powerful sound to replicate some of the sounds of war (such as Germany's bombing of London). During the shows, I could feel the sounds of bombs and guns rattling in my body.

There is also a kind of timeline of the exhibits going from the first World War all the way to the wars of today that Britain has/is engaged -- letters, photos/video, various artifacts, and some weaponry.

It was an awesome and heavy visit to the museum... some of the Holocaust stories for WWII were very moving. WWII, especially, was a massive tragedy for everyone involved. And I think in Europe and the States we have lost sight of it... and that it can (and probably will) happen again on a larger scale if we don't pay attention to history and learn and grow from it.

On another note, the museum has a cafeteria on-site that makes great food (and I got to try Eccles cake, which just so happens to be made in the nearby town of, ahem, Eccles :). Great dessert. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eccles_cake.

One more things about this beautiful and unique war museum -- admission is free.

http://north.iwm.org.uk/

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I also spent some good time in Manchester the city (technically, the Quays is not IN Manchester -- it is in Salford and Trafford) walking around, visiting the local restaurants and pubs, and taking in the sights.

One of the places I visited was the Manchester Art Gallery. (free and especially good for seeing some of the artwork/history of Manchester - http://www.manchestergalleries.org/). I also stopped by a large mall near Piccadilly Gardens and walked to Piccadilly Station.

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As maybe you can infer from above, I stayed out near the Quays -- first at the Copthorne for a few days and then at the Golden Tulip Manchester. The Copthorne charged for breakfast and about $40 per day (yes, per DAY!)... plus the carpet and some of the other stuff was old... so I switched (though, it did have a good view of some of the waterfront). The weak dollar is not cool. :(

Almost everything at the Golden Tulip was better -- free Internet, a rate that included breakfast, new carpet and upholstery, generally chic, and it a pretty cool bathroom (while the total rate was the same as at the Copthorne).

http://www.goldentulipmanchester.co.uk/

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Okay, so why do I like Manchester? Well, on most evenings, while the sun was setting, I would walk to the mall along the Manchester Ship Canal... mostly cool breezes but sometimes light (once heavy :) rain. I would go to a gym overlooking the canal. So much was peaceful... and so many appeared at peace and cheerful. Even when I went downtown, it felt positive. The times I went to Piccadilly Gardens, the place was packed with people enjoying their day -- couples, children playing in the fountain, people playing soccer (where no clear field existed), and so forth. Going to pubs and restaurants with co-workers was a lot of fun (and I certainly consumed more alcohol than I'm used to... though, that is still not much for those who know me). Great food, beer, wine, atmosphere... one night we were at a Spanish restaurant, another at an Italian.

And Manchester sure tops London far and away in my book. :)

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Etc.

To further add to the disjointedness of this post.

If you ride the tram in/out to the city during evening, it passes by a bunch of apartments where you can see so many different apartments lit up -- people eating dinner and going about their lives. Strange place for them to be -- on such display. I don't admire the packed city apartment lifestyle.

The "Hate Glazer/Love United" thing is about the Glazer family in the United States owning the Manchester United Football Club. It would be kind of like a British family buying the Boston Red Sox.

Here is a map of the area that I stayed:
http://www.thequays.org.uk/howtogetthere/map.asp

The Golden Tulip hotel is just diagonal to the stadium.

Also, I will soon post something on my Guatemala trip... where things stood in stark contrast to Manchester, but great in different ways.

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