Manchester

So after making it to the bus station just in time at Bath, of course I effed things up and missed my bus in Bristol. Yep. I had to connect there with the Manchester bus and I got my bus times mixed up. Well done. I was also freaking out because I was supposed to be meeting Trent and I had no way of contacting him to let him know I'd be late. So then I had to quickly hop on a bus to Birmingham, after a stern lecture from the bus driver about how he shouldn't be doing it and that I need to learn to read the times etc. (yep, that's fine, but I did offer to purchase a new ticket and was told it wouldn't be necessary...) I got on the bus. When I got to Birmingham I purchased a new ticket and made sure I did nothing but stare at the timetable to make sure I did not miss that bus.

Manchester is a nice enough city, with lots of pretty buildings. We went to this huge shopping centre called ... something-or-rather. Googled it. It's called The Trafford Centre. It's nuts - it's even on facebook and twitter, although I don't know why anyone would need to add a shopping centre to their facebook/twitter accounts. What information could they add? Status: still a shopping centre. Anyway, it was awesome - the food court was two levels and designed to look like a cruise ship, complete with deck chairs to sit on, and the ceiling changed from day to night every few minutes. The shops themselves were just your regular chain stores, but apparently in the shopping centre complex there's a bowling alley, laser tag plus other cool things.

I nearly peed myself with excitement when I found out that Elizabeth Gaskell's house was right around the corner from Trent's. I couldn't actually go inside because it's only open the first Sunday of every month, but it was cool to see it. Only... it's a little... rough looking.

We also spent a day in Liverpool which was great fun. It was the European Culture Capital. Last year. But they're still riding that parade. More power to them. I did like the slogan on the side of one of the buildings - "Liverpool - Not Just Another City." Erm... OK. Well thought out, Tourism Liverpool.

So yeah, that was Manchester. It ended pretty dramatically, but it's all good, because I was on my way to see more family.