I have just returned from what I like to call Publand. Publand because from the moment I got on the train from Manchester airport to head to my boyfriend’s dorm it reeked of beer. Strong, penetrating beer. The rest was not that unpleasant. My first impression of northern England is that is looks a lot like New England, many tall trees, not big on humidity, so not such green grass. Manchester itself is the British version of Worcester, go figure. It is mainly composed of old factories that remind its citizens the old glory Manchester represented for them. Now they are empty, unused spaces, and the city revolves around the two universities in Manchester. Like I said, same exact scenario in Worcester. The weather is not unexpectedly horrible. But surprisingly, it was sunny quite a lot and it was not as cold as France (I guess that is the ONE good thing about the smog).
It was not that rainy either; it was just gloomy most of the time. The nightlife is quite interesting, which is expected being that their economy derives mostly from students. There are many clubs, but the best thing is that there are all kinds of clubs: from gay village to the Hilton Bar and everything in between. They do beat Strasbourg on nightlife. Food, well, I should not have to remind you that few countries beat the French when it comes to food, and England is certainly not one of them. I have a theory now: Anglo-Saxon cultures are not big on food. The US is certainly not into the gourmande life, and the UK’s national dish I believe is Chicken Tikka. At least I, as a tourist who lived amongst British people for two weeks, only had pie as a typical dish. I must say it was really good pie though. It is just my impression.
After two days in Manchester I finally went to London for the first time in my life. I was lucky enough to stay at a friend’s house so I actually experienced the London life, in a London house, eating London food, etc. He is a very artsy person as well, so I got to go to some pretty amazing places. Of course I did the mandatory at first: Tate, British Museum, National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham, St. James Park, Camden, the markets…The Thames is very nice, if only it was safe enough to go in it…We spent one of the evening at a really nice bar right in front of the river covered in blankets and drinking cider. London is a city that is alive, much more than Paris. There is art everywhere, every street is different, every corner has a different aura. You gotta pay a lot for that uniqueness though. It is a bit cleaner than Paris as well. The one uncomfortable reality is that it is not a city where people walk much, you need to rely on the Tube. In Paris you can walk from one end of the city to the other (being very vigilant of course) and you will have things to see no matter what arrondisement you are in. The best part of London? Going to the House of Lords. It brought me back to life after months of no intellectual stimulation in France. But you can never have it all, every place has its ups and downs!
See you next week!
