Familiar Faces

After a long, expensive (we ended up buying six tickets and only using two) and cramped bus ride we arrived in Manchester, and then at the apartment we were to be staying in for a night or two, little did we know that we'd be held prisoner and not allowed to leave.

Friends of Hannahs sister, Jemma, Liana, and Cindy, have a nice apartment just out of Manchester, overlooking the Sportcity Stadium. Home to the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002, and the home ground of Manchester City (not United!) Football Club, it also hosts the big acts that come up this neck of the woods. Apparently the sounds travels very clearly to the girls' balcony, and many pounds have been saved by not having to buy tickets.

..."eat that one, Aussies" ...

It was very good to see the girls' smiling faces, lots and lots of laughs and reassurances that their first days in London were as bad as ours. Jemma took a day off work to show us around the city, which is a lot less frantic than London but still busy. Heaps of shops kept the girls occupied, while Trumble was allowed to carry bags for a while.

Next day, St Patty's day, the girls and their friends Damien and Craig took us out for Tapas, and a night out on the town. Jugs or sangria were consumed, and then we headed home to bed for a sleep.

We were meant to return to London the next day, but really couldn't be bothered waking up early to get the bus. We all went out for breakfast into a pretty new restaurant in the city, and watched the world go by. Back at the apartment, the Commonwealth Games were being telecast 24 hours a day, and Melbourne looked beautiful. The Pommy commentators were delighted if an Enlgishman or woman beat an Aussie, even if they both didn't finish in the top three. Comments like "eat that one, Aussies" made us laugh, as it must be hard for them being a second-rate competitor. Always.

More eating, drinking and television watching took place, as well as numerous trips into town to, well, shop. Good news came on Monday, confirming that our seats were booked on the European Contiki tour we'd been inquiring about, leaving London on the 28th March. Check out the itinerary at http://www.contiki.com/en-GB/Tours/Europe/European.Vista/Itinerary.htm. Hopefully we'll make friends with some rich people who will give us a house...

Still no photos, need to get to a different internet cafe. It will happen, we promise.