Impulsive day

Tuesday, I met with my adviser, Gale.  I always feel like I should have worked more or harder before I meet with her, then feel like maybe I did enough, but encouraged to work better or more for the next time we meet.


Afterward, I took a bus to Picadilly Gardens.  The fountains were on, which was lovely.  It was a beautiful day, blue skies, cold enough to wear a coat, but not cold enough to need it buttoned.  I walked up Market Street, which is the local version of a mall, to find Selfridges, a store that has American food.  I needed some Reeces for a meeting of ladies who had asked me to talk about America and bring some American food.  You can get hot dogs (canned in brine, but whatever), and hamburgers, so I thought I'd bring something not so conventional.

The main window of the store had a two story tall painting of Wonder Woman and what I assumed was Medusa, who was green with snake hair and bound with a blindfold.  Just outside the store was a large Ferris wheel, which I decided to get on before going to the store.  It had a recorded 'lecture' given by some local DJs explaining what could be seen from the wheel.  I had my camera with me, so I took pictures.

From the wheel, you could see the old Medieval section of Manchester, including a couple of pubs that survived WWII and IRA bombings.  People were having lunch outside because it was such a nice day.  More impressive is the Manchester Cathedral.  There has been a church on that site for over a thousand years.  The current building has been standing since the 1400's.  I'm going to have to see that soon.

After getting the Reeces (and deciding NOT to get Krispy Kreme, at almost 10 pounds per dozen!), I walked around the mall a bit.  Some ladies tried to get me to take a survey about my clothing purchases, of which I have made none since arriving.  They were kind enough to suggest some places to shop for a gal my size.  Then I found a Sony store and asked about some form of connector for my camera so I could upload pictures.  They found me one!  Now I just have to work out how to use it.  My usual approach of looking up and saying "Um...Huz?" is just not going to be effective this time.  It does mean new pictures soon though.

After all that, I took a bus home.  (Discovered yesterday that the Oxford/Wilmslow Road route I spend most of my time on is the busiest bus route in Europe.  Don't have to wait more that two minutes for a bus, which is nice)  I got home just as the local weather reasserted itself, bringing a cold wind and overcast.