paraphernalia

Today was the first day that I've travelled on my own in the UK. All the other days so far have been with family and in the car.

So off I began getting a train from Warrington Central to Manchester (£5.55 return), arriving in Manchester at 11am. After some minor issues with the train (namely it not running according to the timetable I had seen, nor reaching Piccadilly station), I went to Urbis. Urbis is the museum of cities and it's brand new. I loved it, but I think that has more to do with me liking cities than the museum itself being good. The highlight was the exhibition on he IRA bomb in 1996 and the repecussions of that. Many believe it was the catalyst for cleaning-up and rebuilding the city centre into the bustling, modern place it is today. Others in turn find it impossible to see how you could say such good things about a terrorist act.

Whilst the jury is still out, I tend to agree with the exhibition in that it wasn't a good thing, but the response was. Manchester bounced back very quickly and very professionally and made the most of a bad situation.

The other big thing I got out of that museum was the notion that all cities are quite similar - most have similar structures, networks of roads and rail, rivers, buildings etc. Quite profound when you think about it.

For lunch I walked through the town centre, deliberately avoiding going shopping, as I can do that anywhere, and you're only in Manchester once! Eventually I settled on a pasty (Cheese and Bacon - mmmm!) and headed on the tram to Stafford Quays. The Quays are relatively new, and very modern. They house the latest housing developments in Manchester, the Lowry and the Imperial War Museum North. It seems to be obligatory that all museums in Manchester look imposing and are made of steel or glass to excess.

Regardless, the museum was brilliant and focused on the effect of wars on people - both directly and indirectly. I love that sort of stuff so it was great!

And then I got a call from Camilla, who I met in Singapore last year. She lives in Manchester, and it had always been an aim to see her and say howdy. So we went for a drink and caught up. It turns out she's just graduated and is heading down to London to work - look who has a couch to crash on after all! Thanks SOOO much Camilla - I'll take you out in style with all the money I'll save!

After all that I was spent, so I got the train back to Warrington and had tea at Helens house. We watched the World Cup Final in between looking at photos and discussing the ever-confusing family tree which Mum is writing up as we speak. I also heard loads about many of the places I'm planning to visit in Europe, as both Andrea and Helen are avid travellers.

And just before I went to bed I got to speak to Flis, which was great as I hadn't actually spoken to her since I left.

Tomorrow its off to Wales so I better head off now. Ciao!

PS: For photos of Manchester, click here