Manchester

Thursday morning came a lot faster than I had hoped it would. We had to get up nice and early in order to be on our way to Manchester. We got to eat a nice meal the hostel provided for us and then we packed up and left Liverpool behind. On our way to Manchester we passed a few more key points and the people who had conducted the research presented to us. After that we just rode in silence as we made our way into Manchester. Nathan and I played a few board games. He beat me at snakes and ladders and checkers! As we neared Manchester we went over the answers we had to figure out while in Liverpool. Our group was rewarded with the CD Jerry and the Pacemakers which has the song “Ferry across the Mersey” that we sang to Lyndon on it! He also handed out the prizes for the groups that won our pub quiz on the way to Liverpool.

Once we got to Manchester we were assigned our task for the day and then told to explore on our own. We had three hours to do whatever we wanted before we had to meet back up on the coach. At 1:45 we were to depart for Old Trafford Stadium where Manchester United plays. During our time in Manchester we walked around and tried to see as much as we could. Our main goal was to take pictures for our photo assignment that we have to complete upon returning home. The other task we had was to complete the questions about Liverpool and conduct some more survey work like we did in Dungeness and Rye. We had plenty to do to keep us busy for three hours. Besides stopping for a quick lunch break (we got Mexican…Jeana’s favorite!) we pretty much kept busy exploring the streets of Manchester. We had fun talking to some of the locals as we completed our survey work.

When the three hours was up we were pretty exhausted from all the walking we had done. We headed back to meet the group at the coach stop. Our bus driver was a little late but he picked us up eventually. This sort of put us behind schedule since we had a tour we were supposed to be at but we ended up catching the tour just as they were about to begin so it all worked out. The tour of Old Trafford Stadium was pretty neat. We got to see the stadium first. Now no one is actually allowed to touch the ground but as our tour guide was talking this little kid ran out onto the field. It was extremely funny and the kid’s parent had to run out and get him. All of us were thinking that parent was really lucky! The little boy couldn’t have been more than two or three so it was really just adorable. From there we got to go into the players’ lounge and their dressing rooms. Finally we got to make an entrance on the field as if we were the teams. Then before the tour ended we were able to sit in the seats where they players sat. All in all it was a really interesting experience even though our tour guide was a bit unique! He was one of the referees and was very nice but he just had an odd personality.

When the tour was over some people spent some time in the gift shop while the rest of us headed back to the bus to wait. Once everyone was on board we were set to head back to London. Everyone was thoroughly exhausted after two pretty long days. Most people slept until we reached our dinner stop. We had a half hour to eat our food and then board the coach for the final leg of our journey home. For the last part of the trip they put in the Star Wars movie though I didn’t watch it. I tried to take a little nap since Jeana and I had to be up very early the next morning to depart for Ireland. We finally made it home around 9:30. Once we got home Jeana and I unpacked and then packed our backpacks back up for Ireland! As I got ready I also got the good news that my parents are coming to visit me in London!!! I helped them search for a hotel for a little bit before having to call it a night as our alarm was set for 4:10 am!