The night I threw the washing machine out the window

Ok it’s time to talk about UK washing machines. How absolutely fricking ridiculous they are. We are now in the 8th hour of a wash cycle here in Belfast.

The machines are a lot more complicated than just put it on cottons, press start and you are good to go…no you have 4-5 steps that never work the first couple of times. 

Turn it on. Press for few seconds. 

Next you pick how long you want it to go on. The shortest I found was in Edinburgh where you could choose one hour. Here in Belfast it’s 2 hr, 4 hr, 6hr, 9 hr. Yeah I said 9 hours folks! Now who in their right mind washes clothes for 9 hours? 

Next you select the kind of wash you want 1-15. Cottons, synthetics, blah blah blah. Sometimes there’s a water temp selection. I don’t know what temp the water should be! 

Then because some of them supposedly have dryers (it’s never really worked for me), you have to choose how dry you want them to be. (From not dry to ironing dry to completely dry I guess).  I cant imagine completely drying stuff, that would take 15 hours. Sometimes they have a drying temp selection. 

You really can’t stop this once it starts, If you turn it off, the door won’t open. 

So I have to ask, if you have say

a family of four, how do you wash clothes? These really don’t hold much. Are you continually washing clothes? I think washing clothes by hand down at the stream would be easier.

So these were M’s clothes and he probably overloaded which can causes the cycle to slow. About 2 hours in he got disgusted and tried resetting it. That probably starting the thing over. Apparently you can delay the cycle so the clothes won’t be sitting there a long time. That’s probably what happened here. 

Moral of the story: look up the instructions for each machine you encounter.

 

This blogger is on strike

 Yes I am on strike in sympathy with UK railway workers who are striking today. Although I support them 100%, the no blog is because I have a stomach bug.(Cue ahhhs …poor baby..).

Belfast: a city divided

 Things went a little bit too well with this travel day today. I’m scared.

Anyway, here we are in Belfast in a working class Protestant area. A little shabby looking but it will do. The air bnb is decent. 

Didn’t see central Belfast except to transfer buses to here. Will our adventures tomorrow.

Before I came here, I knew some of the history of Belfast with the troubles. I remember hearing about all of it when I was a young adult. I knew they had come to a peace. I didn’t realize it is still such a divided city. 

It is segregated on the basis of religion. There are even barriers between neighborhoods called “peace walls”. They were supposed to be taken down but few have been. 

I saw an article in the last couple of weeks of a Catholic  family being forced to move out of a Protestant neighborhood. Maybe there was more to the story.

There has been some trouble with brexit here which Northern Ireland voted against. It’s made crossing to the other Ireland difficult. There had

been free movement before.

There is still lots of bad feelings about those killed during the troubles. Boris Johnson proposed immunity for all involved if they cooperate with investigations. There is rejection of this because it is viewed as injustice and gives cover to police and British troops involved.

Then there is the Northern Ireland protocol post brexit. It aims to insure there isn’t a hard border between the two Irelands. It continues the free trade between Northern Ireland and the EU and assures their inclusion in any UK free trade agreement. The EU is objecting to some of it.

What a mess.

Impressions of Scotland

 So goodbye Edinburgh. Goodbye Scotland. I love Scotland and some day I’ll come back to explore all of its beauty.

Impressions of Edinburgh: Lots of tourists, kind of like London but on a much smaller scale. Such an old city that has preserved its buildings. Very hilly with the castle at the highest point overlooking the city. Very impressive the way it looks up there sitting on an old volcano.

Edinburgh is dark, kind of gloomy. Kind of eeerie. Cloudy. All these characteristics are perfect for the city that it is. It fits it. The building exteriors are rough and dark from the frequent rain. It looks like the medieval city it once was. You expect people from that era to appear in its alleyways. 

The harbor is beautiful, little development there. It’s a ways from the city center. UK cities don’t seem to develop their waterfronts like a lot of places. Maybe it’s the weather. 

I love everything about Edinburgh.

Impressions of Glasgow: Much more diverse. Not so touristy. More like a regular modern city. Much hipper than Edinburgh. Younger. More unique neighborhoods. 

Impressions of Linlithgow: A fantastic place to stay. So convenient to both Edinburgh and Glasgow. It’s a city of 8,00 that has a beautiful lake and historic palace where Mary queen of Scots was born. I absolutely loved the lake. Great sunsets. Nice Main Street with friendly people. I could see staying here again.

George Floyd and Linlithgow, Scotland

I took a long walk today through Linlithgow and beyond. On the way back I sat in a little green space with flowers. A guy named Tom was cleaning it up. He sat and talked to me for a while. 

One of the things he talked to me about was the Black Bitch. It’s a bar Tom likes to go to on Friday for karaoke. The name has a story to go with it. There was a guy way back in in the 1600s who was put on an island in Linlithgow loch and left there to starve for a crime he committed. . He had a black greyhound dog who swam out to take him food every day. When the town found out about it they chained the dog to a pole and later a pub was opened there in honor of the bravery and loyalty of the dog.The townspeople admired the dog and started referring to themselves as black bitches. It’s on the coat of arms of the town. There is a newspaper called the black bitch.

Zoom to 2020- Minneapolis Minnesota - George floyd is killed by police. The news goes around the world and there are protests everywhere including Scotland. Now there is objection to the phrase black bitch. Some people think it is offensive and should be changed. It is being studied by the Scottish historical trust (apparently they make these kind of decisions). 

Tom doesn’t think it should change. What do you think?

Scotland weather and train snafus

 So we did a train snafu yesterday. Wasn’t the railways fault. So….when you go from Edinburgh to Glasgow or vice versa, there are different routes. Linlithgow is between them two. Not every train out of either goes to Linlithgow. So yesterday we got on the wrong train for the first time. We ended up having to go to the station (Haymarket) before Edinburgh. It’s the only place we could transfer to back to Linlithgow.

The thing is the train we originally got on was the long route stopping at lots of small towns. Took 50 minutes to get to Haymarket to transfer. Then it took another 20 minutes to get to Linlithgow. So 70 minutes for what would have been a 30 minute ride. Oh well. Live and learn.

I miss the sun. I think my brain and body know this time of year is when there should be sun. In the UK, particularly Scotland, it’s mostly cloudy. That gets tiring. In Scotland it is mostly in the 60’s.  

The weather goes from partly cloudy to cloudy to rain and back to partly cloudy all in one day. You never really know what tomorrows weather will be because it will most likely change. We are on an island in the ocean after all.

I miss warm weather, sunshine. It’s like fall here. I love everything about Scotland and I will come back here but I do miss the sun.

Edinburgh seven hills of torture

 One thing about Edinburgh is that it is a city of hills. BIG hills. The main tourist street is a hill. It is a LONG hill. The street that goes down to the water is 3.4. miles long. It’s 3.4  miles back up. 

Edinburgh castle is up on on a huge extinct volcano. It is a beautiful scene looking up there. Walking up there is not so fun.

On the first day we went to a jazz fair and walked up near the castle, went up a thousand steps(!) and walked down steps to where the event was.

It makes for beautiful views. You can look down the street and see the harbor in the distance. There are big hills and little hills. There are small steps of stairs and steep long sets of stairs. 

Scots who live here must be in good cardiac shape or they avoid the hills altogether.  Edinburgh is built on seven hills. Not for those with a weak constitution.

Bagpiper hatred in Edinburgh

 I like hearing bagpipes. Who doesn’t like bagpipes? The thing is we don’t here them all the time. When we hear them it is special. 

You cant go far in Edinburgh without hearing someone playing. People play bagpipes like any other musician for money on the street. Some wear the big feather hat that is made of ostrich feathers traditionally. Some wear the day hat made of wool with ribbons on the back and decorative elements on one side.

The wear the highland dress with kilt with a plaid from their particular clan. I read there is a day kilt outfit and a more formal one. 

I have seen a couple of instances of bagpipe hatred- har. One time I’m walking down the street and this guy goes running by yelling at the top of his lungs straight for the bagpiper. I don’t think he physically assaulted him but he stopped him from playing. I saw somebody yell at one of them to “shut the fook up!”

So who knows? They are loud. The songs all sound alike. I don’t know if they are good or bad at it. 

What I really want to know is what is really in the bagpipers purse called a sporran. Purse you say? That ain’t a purse! It’s a purse just like my Hermes bag. (like I really have one of them). I cant believe these big manly Scots wear a purse. Har

Kilts have no pockets for some reason, the sporran is not only cool but practical. Traditionally made of leather and dapped out in trinkets

as much as you want. They were used for pistols, rations. Nowadays who knows? Cellphone, wallets, a container of haggis, breath mints?

I hope no one is offended by my attempt at humor here. I absolutely love Scottish culture. Just please tune down the bagpipes folks…

Seeing America from far away

 I was on my own today. M and I decided to go our separate ways for a day. I was sitting in a Starbucks today in a very touristy area of Edinburgh. I asked the barista “ how are you?” and she said she was glad it was Friday that working all week you are tired by Friday. 

I sat there thinking how all of us tourists must look to people like this. We look weary. Tourists hit the ground running and wear themselves out. Always afraid they won’t see everything. She probably gets tired of us and all of our various cultural quirks.

I sat there listening to a two American tourists talking. The young women recounted her other travels. Sounds like she had travelled lots as a kid. Probably comes from a family with extra money to spend.

It struck me how privileged we Americans are. How privileged I am. How many people can do what I’m doing? Very few. They don’t have the income. They have obligations. 

In the last few years I have wanted to leave the United States. I just couldn’t stand what it had become. All the violence, the political crap, the racism. I’d had enough. 

It’s interesting to see cultures where violence is not overwhelming. There is violence here. There is knife crime. One thing that isn’t here is the pervasive gun culture, the mass shootings, the everyday violence. 

Perhaps I am naive but people don’t seem to fear each other here like they do in the United States. They don’t hate each other.Things seem normal here. They don’t feel normal in the United States.

Edinburghs underground city

 Scotland is, and looks, so old. The buildings here have been left to age and look brown and black which makes them look even older. Maybe it’s the climate, lots of rain. Could be the effects of being on the coast. 

All of it make Scotland feel like you are going back in time. It’s weirdly eerie. I keep wondering what it must be like in winter with mist and fog. 

It feels like a Harry Potter movie here. The building, the old churches. Streets have alleys called closes. They have names like Mary Kings close or the Bishops close. At the end of them are usually houses. They were  usually named after a notable resident.

They were built for security against attack and had gates at the entry. They also allowed for high density housing in the old days. 

There is one that is really interesting. Mary Kings close. Mary was a merchant who lived in the close. The thing is it is this close is underground.

 It lay abandoned for many’s years until two brothers dug it out and now tours are offered. 

In 1644 the plague hit Scotland. Edinburgh’s narrow closes and overcrowded housing was a breeding ground for the disease. Marys close was quarantined. People were taken care of there and given food and water. Many died there. It was abandoned in

It lay crumbing and decaying until it was closed off and things were built on top of it. People still knew about it and managed to get into part of it. 

A man claimed he saw a ghost there. It was a little girl whose family abandoned her and she was looking for a lost doll. He brought a doll down there and it remains there to this day. 

It is known to be haunted and ghosts of people who live there roam the halls.

Beautiful Scotland

 

Scottish insults for shites and giggles

Me and M were laughing yesterday about hearing Scots cuss. Lots of fookin' hells and shites.

So I looked up how to pronounce Scottish curse words and that led me to videos about Scootish insults. Apparently the Scots are among the top insulters in the world. These are some of the tamer ones.

So let's start with words. 

BAWBAG -ball bag (yup it’s what you think) not really offensive apparently -playful

EEJIT - idiot

NUMPTY -idiot

GLAIKIT - stupid

MINK - gross/dirty person

CRABBIT - grumpy

JOBBY - shit

Let’s use some in a sentence shall we? You are a crabbit numpty bawbag.

Here are a few insults: 

SHUT YER SHITEHOLE, YE FANNYBAW

YIV A FACE LIKE A SKELPIT ERSE -you are ugly. Your face looks like someone’s red butt.

SHUT YOUR GEGGIE - shut your mouth

YER BUMS OOT THE WINDAE- talking rubbish.

OAN YER TROLLEY YOU FUCKING WEAPON - get lost, you dangerous arsehole

I’m 5% Scottish and proud of it.

Street performers in Edinburgh

We are staying in Linlithgow. It is actually 20 miles from the center. It takes 20 minutes to get to the center by train. It’s a couple of blocks from the train station and a grocery store. Very convenient. 

So the 2nd day we were here we went to Edinburgh to the jazz festival. Stayed there a while then walked back to central part again and ate at a pizza restaurant because I was getting gnarly.

The street was on a cobbled street that is a pedestrian mall. There was a circle of people gathered around this guy who was yelling. He was a street entertainer.

M wanted to stop so we did. Turns out this guy is an American. He has lived in Scotland for 18 years. It was about a half hour long show. 

When he first started he had a flaming stick in his hand. He had a suitcase with other unlit sticks. You are assuming he juggles fire right? Nope. He uses that as a prop to attract people. That’s not the act.

So he chooses two people from the audience to assist him. Lots of jokes about them. He has laid a chain in a semicircle and the crowd stands behind it. There is a straight jacket on the ground with leather straps. See where this is going?

So he has two guys from the audience put him in the straight jacket and buckle it up. Then he has them take the chain and rap it around him. Then he moves people closer.

He gets out of the chains. Okay that’s done. Now comes the weird part. He tells people who are queasy to look away. He then dislocates one of his shoulders to get out of the straight jacket! 

Being a former ER nurse I knew there were people who had repeated shoulder dislocations. In fact there were people who could do it at will and put it back in. At least once I saw someone come in to try and get narcotics by doing it.

So it’s done and he passed the hat recommending we give him 10 pounds ($12 or so) for the performance knowing he wouldn’t get it. I gave him a few. He worked hard for it.

Bob Dylan on the train to Edinburgh

 Trains are both fun and not fun.. When things go wrong, sudden changes not so fun. We have (by the skin of our teeth) managed to avoid rail strikes. 

We have taken 3 longer train rides so far:  London to Cardiff, Cardiff to Manchester, Manchester to Edinburgh.  

In London you didn’t know the platform number till about 5 minutes before it was scheduled to go. So there was a mad dash for the train like someone was giving away free ice cream. There are no seat assignments so it’s a free for all . 

So Cardiff to Manchester, there is a last minute change of platform. Of course it’s up a staircase, so bag drag. The train is 30 minutes late. Then 4 stops from Manchester there is an announcement that because of a problem with the train, we have to get off at next station and get on another train. 

Manchester to London train was cancelled. Got new tickets for train leaving about two hours later. Of course train change but no problem. Then at some point they announce only four of the eight cars are going on from the next stop. Everybody else had to move up to the cars moving on. Fortunately we were already in car moving forward so no move.

This is where the trip gets interesting. An old guy with a leather  hat comes into the car and finds a seat across from a young couple. He proceeds to tell them his entire life story for the rest of the trip.

He was a musician in a rock group most of his life playing the guitar. They played everywhere around England and had lots of stories of what they got up to. They never really made much money. He has six kids, 9 grandchildren. He is on his way to watch one of his daughters play in a nightclub in Edinburgh. 

After all of that the conversation turns to football (soccer) of course. He is from Brighton (which he hates). He proceeds to talk trash about the womens hometown club Liverpool and the guys hometown club Newcastle.  They talk about Manchester United. He thinks they are overrated and old coach Sir Alex Ferguson (who is revered) was full of himself.

So we’re almost to Edinburgh and they come around to pick up trash and this guy has can after can of beer to throw away. The guy with the trash was amazed. This guy was blotto.

We saw him later on the platform and he had another beer in his hand.  By the way, you can buy booze on the train.

Edinburgh city of hills

 There have been times on this trip when I have thought we should pack it up and go home. Especially on travel days. Sometimes I want to be in my own home, my own bed.

Then something remarkable happens. Like the train trip to Scotland where I see some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen.  Beautiful ocean views, rolling hills with cows, sheep and horses. It makes it all worth it.

How can I let some minor inconveniences stop me? It would be insane to miss out on all of this.

So settled in our new airbnb, the best one

 so far. That’s been the hardest part, adjusting to staying at new places. 

Found out today Edinburgh is a city of hills. Seven of them in fact. Experienced a couple of them today . Also lots of old stone stairs.

Today(sat) we went to jazz/blues festival which required going up a long hill, going through a narrow steep walkway with several flights of stairs. I did ok. London s underground got me in shape for it.

The jazz/blues festival was great.

The Scottish coast is stuuning

 It is travel day. We have already begun the fiasco. It's 945 am. We have to leave the airbnb at 10. We get a notification that (WAIT FOR IT!!) the train is cancelled!! So it's only canceled to out train transfer point. So you are thinking get a ticket to the transfer point and continue on your merry way. 

I looked at at later trains  - sold out. I thought I better getter get another train quick with the way this is going. I'm sure it's chaos at the ticket counter. So I booked it thinking I'll get a refund for the first one.

So the new one is at 235 pm. We have a 3 hour wait. We are perched on the 2nd floor of Picadilly looking at people scurrying around.

SCHREEEEECCCHHHHH!!! Stop the blog! I take back whatever I have said about the rail system. This 4.5 hour train was some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. Starting with rolling hills of wheat fields and pastureland with cows, sheep and horses to the beautiful Scottish coastline, it was otherworldly. 

We travelled along the coast for probably an hour and a half of the trip. Gorgeous cliffs and beaches. Pretty coastal towns.

I was thinking what it must be like to live on a big hill with the ocean view on one side and rolling green hills dotted with trees on the other side. A paradise.

Ode to the northern quarter, Manchester

 Goodbye Mani. Goodbye to very slow trams that I grew to like because it showed me the city. 

Goodby northern quarter. You are one of those run down neighborhoods the cool kids find. They start going to the pubs and making them hip. They open vintage clothing shops. Coffee places start popping up. Little funky businesses rent shops that are dirt cheap. For now. 

Pretty soon the artists and cool kids start renting the cheap apartments even though the neighborhood is still iffy. Because it looks rundown, it still keeps a lot of people away. For now.

Street art starts appearing, a lot it is really good. Music spots start opening. More people are showing on weekends. It becomes THE place to be. 

Other people start finding out about this quirky, funky neighborhood. Weekends start to be really busy. More and more “normal” shops appear. It is written up in the paper as the next trendy place.

Then it happens…tourists appear with their iPhones taking selfies in front of the David Bowie mural.

 The northern quarter is now TRENDY. Uh oh.

UK Train fiasco # 129 in which I tear half of my hair out

Sit back and get your popcorn , this is a long story.

 The UK train system is expansive and efficient if you know what you are doing. We don’t know what we’re doing.

We decided to make the 27 mile trip to Liverpool. It’s one of those places everyone has heard about because of the you know who’s. 

So okay, no big deal. We’ll go directly from Eccles to Liverpool. Eccles train station is very small consisting of 2 platforms on either side of two tracks. There is one guy in a very small ticket booth. 

So I had bought what I thought were two tickets online the day before. For some reason I couldn’t get an e ticket so I printed them at another station the day before. I got two tickets or so I thought. Ah,no, it was a ticket and a receipt. Called them and they told me to call another number to straighten it out. I decided to buy another ticket instead and print it at the station. It wasn’t that much money.

So tried to print it and it didn’t work. Went to guy in the booth and he printed it. We asked him what side we go to and he said platform 2. Went that way and there was a “to Liverpool” sign . Great.

Go down the stairs and notice an electronic sign says train to Liverpool is at 11:37 but our ticket is for 11:15. Huh? We asked a person there does this go to oxford road, our first stop and they said no, it’s across to the other side. Well it’s like 11:14, so we rush up the stairs, down the stairs to the other side just as the train pulling in. Turns out our train goes into Manchester before going to Liverpool. 

Now for some reason there are two train changes on this 30 mile trip. First one goes smoothly. Have 9 minutes to make the change. The train is 3 -4 minutes late (ding ding ding warning!) So we come to the next change and pull in late. We get off and notice people start running in the direction of our new platform. So we start moving quickly the half mile(!) to the other platform. As we are coming down the four flights of stairs the train pulls in. We barely made the train.

So okay La dee dah spent a few hours in Liverpool. We have etickets for way home. We go to the place where we scan into the station. Doesn’t work…. Ask staff there WTF? They tell us we have to go to another station a few blocks away. We drag our sorry butts over there. 

It turns out that even though our tickets were from Liverpool Central on the itinerary, we were supposed to walk to Lime street station from Central. Who in the #%~$&@ has walking as part of the ticket?!

We were way early, having had more time because the original time on the ticket gave you 20 minutes to get there to Lime street but it was a 5 minute walk. So we got on this train and there were no train changes home and we lived happily every after. The end.

Moral of the story: look at your tickets closely before using them.

Beatles rule Liverpool and make people a few bucks too

 So today we went to Liverpool, home of “Ladies and gentlemen the Beatles!” (Their first appearance on Ed Sullivan show in 1964). I was nine when they played on Ed Sullivan.

This is Beatles town. There are Beatles stores, Beatles restaurants. There are Beatles bus tours called the “Magical Mystery tour” in which you can visit where they played before they were famous, John, Paul and Ringos childhood homes, where they went to school, etc.  I hear they stop where Ringo used the toilet once. Har.

There are Beatles museums. I imagine there are old guitar,

lyric sheets, clothing, etc. One place has an ashtray with a cigarette that was actually smoked by John Lennon on May 6, 1965.

Here’s an interesting fact; “ After a 2008 topiary tribute to the Beatles was unveiled in Liverpool, Ringo’s leafy head was cut off after he said he missed nothing about his hometown”.

You might think I don’t like Liverpool. I loved it! Especially the waterfront. Oh and I love the Beatles Who doesn’t?

Manchester Temple bar is in the toilet

 Manchester is the greatest place! It is down to earth, funky weird. It would take a long time to explore it all. 

Here’s a unique part of the city. It’s called the Temple bar. It is an underground bar (literally). It looks like you are going down into the subway but it’s a bar. The thing is this was a Victorian toilet for 100 years! 

It’s very popular, especially with musicians. It’s very small and intimate “encouraging you to make friends and talk to people near you”. Two dozen people can fit in here and that’s pushing it. It supposed to have the best jukebox in the city, many songs from popular local bands.  According to local reviews “it’s not crap”. Bada bing.

There is a unisex toilet. They say you don’t have bring your phone in there because the walls are covered in graffiti to keep you entertained. Only in Manchester.

Mens hair is fading in Manchester

 All young men here seem to have the same haircut. It’s kind of like the are in a cult or something. It’s called a fade. It consists of shaved hair on the sides and longer hair on top. 

So some men have straight hair that is fairly long that that use gel or something to have combed back. It stays like that! That amazes me. My very short hair is fine and thick. I lays flat. I always try to give myself sort of a ultra hipster tousled look on top. (!) It never works no matter what I try. It goes flat. Maybe superglue would work.

There are so many barber shops here. It seems like more than hair salons. Maybe they are just more noticeable, I don’t know. I guess mens hair upkeep is very important.

When we walk to the tram station every day, we pass a very small barber shop. It’s open 7 days a week. There is one guy. He’s there everyday. I guess he never takes a day off. Busy chap.

The world of hair is a very profitable one. From men and their fades,etc., to women and their braids, haircuts, highlights, baylages (really have no idea what that is but sounds good so I threw it in), lots of money is being made.

Las Vegas in Manchester England

 I found a place that could be found in Las Vegas. It is called the Trafford palazzo. It is a huge shopping center made up to look like a Roman palazzo. 

I’ve seen pictures of the Venetian in Las Vegas which looks a lot fancier but it’s kind of a similar effect without the canal. I’ve never actually been to Las Vegas.

Other than the theme of a palazzo it’s a regular mega mall. There is part of it in the food that is made to look like bourbon street in New Orleans. The mall has everything you would ever want.

Other than that we went back to the center to people watch at a table outside Starbucks. We did the same thing the previous Saturday and it was fun. So many different kinds of people going by. There are a couple of popular hipster bars down the block so it's busy. 

Groups of people come young women out looking for young men and vice versa. Couples all dressed up. A few rich people. A Lamborghini went by. It fun to see how people dress. Boring ordinary a running dress to punk to designer, you see everything. There was a hen (bachelorette) party of about 40 across the street.

Observing people is probably one of the most interesting part of this trip.

Manchester’s eerie library

 Manchester is one of those places that you would need to spend a long time to discover it all. There are lots of things to see in the center but also in the neighborhoods along the canals and rivers.  Two weeks is too little time.

I went to the John Ryland library today, probably the coolest place I’ve seen yet. It was a woman’s tribute to her husband opened in 1900. 

It is an amazing place that looks like an ancient church. It has these reading rooms that stretch the length of the building all in a row down both sides. Inside each rooms are all these old books behind glass dating back hundreds of years. The oldest one I found was from 1415.

No one can take any books out. It is a place to store a vast collection. Once in a while a researcher will request to see a book and it is brought out, but rarely. 

It is kind of an eerie place that is dimly lit. Feels like there could be ghosts. 

Getting your prescriptions filled for a slow traveller

Naturally I love Mani. I love all these places. 

The women's European cup for soccer started here last night. Over 70,000 people at the first game. That’s amazing for womens sport. Never happen in the U.S. By the way England won against Austria. 

So I am on 3 medications that I take every day. I knew that this was going to be a challenge.  So starting looking into how to get more. Asked a pharmacist who told me I have to see a doctor and have them prescribe. He gave me a number.

No go. Said he never should have given me the number. Went to another pharmacist. Gave me a number to a private doctor that you can see the same day.

Called them and made phone appointment which was cheaper than in person. So next day wait at at appointed time. Nothing. Called them an hour later and the woman had put me down as in person. Couple hours later nurse practitioner called me. Able to give me one month supply. Messaged a local pharmacy. Cost: $60. 

Went there few hours later. Not ready and oh by the way we can’t fill one of them. We ran out. Called back to NP office. They gave me paper prescription to try at another pharmacy. Cost for two meds for a month supply:$30.

I don’t know if I’ll be able to get it or not. It is usually combined with another med. We’ll see.

How can she travel for a year?

 You are probably wondering how did she manage to do this? The whole travel the world for a year thing? Doesn’t she have obligations?

Before this I lived in an apartment and paid rent, electric gas. I had a cell phone bill. I had credit card payments. I was buying groceries every week. 

I had no car. That saved me a lot of money. No payment, gas, insurance. I used an hourly car rental that was a block from my house. 

I ate out, went to coffee shops, events.  Bought stuff on Amazon. In other words I had a normal life.

I have a decent retirement income after 30 years as a nurse plus social security. It’s average. I had a small business that earned me about 9,000 last year.

The biggest reason I could do this is that I didn’t have any big obligations. I don’t own a house. Didn’t have payments or have to worry about it while I was  away. No car to pay for or store. I am retired. No work obligation. My son is not married, no grandchildren yet.

The biggest thing is I have always been is a risk taker. Not afraid to do something different. Always confident I could take care of myself. I have a big sense of adventure. 

I thought what is the worse thing that could happen? I would hate it and have to come back. I would have to come back for a family emergency. If I had to come back, the world would not end. 

I have made sure I have money in the bank for any emergencies or extraordinary circumstances. I also have credit cards. I will only use them if I need to. I have health insurance in case of emergency.

I don’t know what the future holds. Something could happen that brings this to an end prematurely. In the meantime I’m going to enjoy every minute of it.

UK is not a paradise but it’s a relief

 I’ve noticed something since being over here. I am not  holding myself tense or grinding my teeth. 

There is no doubt that I am more relaxed. It’s hard to say if it’s having less worries about everyday life or because life is more relaxed here.

Traveling like this, there are challenges. Being in a foreign country away from your home. Traveling a lot. Staying in different places all the time. However it frees you up too. All I really have to worry about is what’s the next air bnb, train ride and food.  Sure I still have bills back home but they are automatically paid. 

I don’t have gas, electric, cable, phone bill (I’m using SIM cards), car payment, gas for car, car insurance. Food is cheaper. 

Probably the biggest difference here is the lack of gun violence. There are no shootings. No mass shootings every other day. There are stabbings here but it doesn’t seem to be on the level of US violence.

My experience here is certainly not like the people who live here on a daily basis and all their worries.  

It feels different here. There is not the tension or fear of other people.  Mentally unstable people are not yelling or aggressive on the street. There are homeless but they just sit with a cup on the street. I know there is racism here of course. Race doesn’t seem to permeate the very fiber of the country like the US. Black people don’t have to worry about the police gunning them down. 

Riding transit is so much less stressful than the nightmare it is in the US. Politics are as stupid here as they are back home but they don’t seem as extreme. I don’t know maybe they are.

I’m making this sound like a paradise. It isn’t. It’s just more like what would be normal life. It’s not crazy. But that’s just my perspective. I’m probably way off.

It’s cold in Manchester for this slow traveller

 I could live in Manchester. It is like a very big city but in a smaller package. It has everything London has but not so much of it. It’s so much less hectic and frantic. 

It has a very extensive public transport system with the trams, albeit very slow.  Easy to reach rest of UK from here with 3-4 rail stations in the central part. Lots of culture, music, arts. Lots of diversity. History. 

It would be cool to live in one of their many high rise buildings. The only drawback I can see is weather. (This coming from someone who lives where there is 6 months of snow and cold). 

I think Manchester has maybe two months of summer where it gets to maybe 68.  Rest of months range 44-62 degrees. They get more rain than most UK cities.  Cold and damp winters? No.  I guess you get used to it. What is worse 10 inches of snow and -15 or cold and damp winters. It’s a toss up. They typically get 2.8 inches of snow in winter.  (See photo) The UK doesn’t seem to have clear days. It’s a lots of clouds, then partly cloudy periods.

I’m looking forward to exploring more of this fascination’ city!

View from Manchester Deansgate tower

 Lots of people out today. Tram was full with people standing. 

Went down to central Manchester. The tram’s slowness and many stops let’s you see different areas. Manchester is a city of rivers. They meander through the city. A lot of neighborhoods are named so and so key. 

In the 2000’s the city decided to develop an isolated area with nothing on it. They decided it was a place that skyscrapers could be built. It was named Deansgate Square.

Four very tall residential buildings were put up. They range from 460 to 659 ft tall. The tallest building has 62 floors. That is the tallest building in Manchester. Imagine living on the 62nd floor!

Here is a picture of the towers and a view of Manchester from the tallest one. Obviously view is not my picture.

Manchester is hip to this slow traveller

 It's a new day. Here we are in Manchester.  Or “Mani” as the locals call it. The city itself has a population of 535,000 but in greater Manchester (suburbs and all) has 2.7 million. It's the 2nd biggest metro area in England. We're in northwest England now. Accents are thicker.

Manchester has two rivers that run through it so lots of scenic spots along it with shops and places to live. After Cardiff this feels really big.  Very sophisticated.

We sat outside a Starbucks today and people watched.  A wide variety of people went by.  Everything from bachelorette (or hen parties as they are called here) parties to a marriage party led by the bride to hip young women in the latest fashion. Add some good looking young men and you got the picture.(I’m not dead yet)

Manchester is a mix of old and new. Very old intricately designed building to 40-50 story modern skyscrapers. It’s sort of like a less crowded, less harried London. I love it so far. 

I’m even enjoying the very slow trams that are actually kind of relaxing and let you see the scenery. 

So a good start to a new and exciting place!