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Here you'll find some personal notes I took during my trip.
I didn't really write this to be read by others, but you can take a look if you like. This is about what happened in London during the week or so I was there. *Diary written between September and October of 2000 London Diary: Day 5 - Off to ManchesterAt first there was nothing to see but red brick houses lined up row upon row, but before 10 minutes had passed the landscape became lush and green. Looking closely, I could see sheep and cows scattered here and there, making it seem as though we were crossing through a large stock farm. The flat green fields seemed to stretch out forever. I had never seen anything like it in my life. It was just like a country side scene out of one of Conan Doyle's books.
I got off the train at Stockport station, and the friend who I had arranged to meet was there waiting for me. My friend took me to a nearby market and shopping district. The shopping district was quite different from those in Japan. It was on a road which was about 20 meters wide with no traffic, and there were shops with bright and colourful displays on both sides of the road. If you come here you'll find all the usual shops, from HMV to McDonalds to WH Smith. A Manchester Metrolink tram. These trams connect the city centre and the residential areas. I even thought that I could smell the ocean, but this was Manchester. Manchester is quite inland. From which it follows that the sea must have been far away. I'm backtracking a bit here, but although I referred to the Lowry as a "memorial hall", the Lowry was actually in a ridiculously huge building that had many of Louis Lowry's work on display and also a theatre and other facilities. It had a very modern air to it, as it had just been built. Entrance was free. After taking a look at the works on display (rather slowly and carefully), I had a cappuccino. It was delicious. After my cappuccino I went for another stroll along a nearby canal, returned to Chinatown and had lunch, and then went straight to my friend's house in Stockport. The residential districts of England have houses of the same colour and style lined up as far as the eye can see. It's a world that would be hard to imagine from Japan. |