Manchester and Bath!

Tiff and I left my beautiful home of 6 months 3 days ago, and so much has happened.
Leaving hasn’t hit me yet. I believe it will once I’m home for a few weeks. Right now I’m in the “Oh I’m only going on a break and then I’ll be back” phase. Saying goodbye was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done before, just because these people have made as much of an impact on me in 6 months like others have done in my whole life. After a beautiful walk around the loop one last time, Tiff and I got on the bus and drove away, my castle getting smaller and smaller in the distance.
After one last apple streudel and custard from Café Edelweiss, we hopped on the train, carrying my 6 months worth of luggage.
Manchester was pretty fun. It’s a huge city and pretty exciting. The first night we just walked around and hung out around town, and then went and saw the King’s Speech, (fantastic movie by the way, make sure to go and see it sometime.) The next day, after sitting in Starbucks for a few hours, we hopped on a very crowded train and headed to Lyme Hall, also known as Mr. Darcy’s house from the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. It was lovely. However, after walking in a mile in the wrong direction, we found the right direction, and then had to walk 5 more miles, uphill, to get to it. It was lovely and very pretty. After that we were so tired, but we made ourselves go the Trafford Center, which I’m so glad we did because it’s fantastic! It’s huge and beautiful and has a dining area shaped like the Titanic. No, I’m not kidding. It was really fun. After that, we were so tired we crashed in our hostel, woke up early, and headed out to our train.
After a lovely train ride where we had 3 minutes to lug all our stuff onto a different train, we made it, to find watch as my suitcase handle fell off. Awesome. 50 pounds is not fun to lug around without a handle. I’m so glad to not live out of a suitcase soon!
Bath. Oh my word. Probably the COOLEST city I’ve ever been to. It’s the perfect mix of old English style and Italian. Everything from the buildings to the shops to the view, it’s incredible. We’ve just spent all day marveling and walking around enjoying the sunshine and the beauty that this city is full of. If there’s one place in England I could see myself living, it’s in Bath. So watch out mom, I may just have to move back here one day ;)
Now we’ve just been hanging out in Starbucks and MickyD’s, getting free internet and relaxing since everything closed at 6 here. It’s been so great to travel with Tiffany because we’re both so laid back and love to just enjoy being in another country without being stressed out with having to do lots of stuff. I’ve enjoyed it.
Tomorrow we’re going to set this city on fire and visit Jane Austen’s house, roam around, look pretty, and just enjoy these times we are so blessed to have.
Cheers!