Monday 13 October 2014

Don't Chase the Dragon: A Snapshot of my Visit with Scott!

Well, I've been slacking on updates, mostly due to the lack of exciting things to post about. Classes are going well, and I'm just short of two weeks away from my first assignment's due date. I'm slowly starting to make friends, and I'm pretty much settled into my new home.

After a fairly hectic week, and one which on a personal level I wish to never repeat (which only furthers the likelihood that I will be an old woman with cats), a familiar face jumped the pond for a visit - my step-dad, Scott!

Our first visit was rather short, as I had a tutorial that I was presenting in, but we spent a few days exploring a few of the areas outside of Manchester, before having our final visit on and around campus. All in all it was a pretty amazing few days. It was great to see a different part of the country, even though we didn't go far. Our first day adventure was to Liverpool, while the next day we ventured to Leeds/Kirkstall. Both were really interesting, although quite different.

Sorry folks, still few pictures of campus, but the few I will include in this post will just have to do!

The entrance to the University of Manchester
Whitworth Hall/Building and the Manchester Museum
...apparently parts of Harry Potter were filmed here!
Part of the view from my kitchen

Liverpool:

Lime St. Station
St. George's Hall

War Memorial


St. John's Gardens...and proof that Scott was there!
Another view from the Gardens 
Memorial for those lost in traffic crashes 
Two of "The Three Graces" 
The third Grace
Grr...none of these turned out, but if you look hard enough you can see the sights of Albert Dock!
The Three Graces are in the background, along with the Museum of Liverpool, and that nifty looking building is the Open Eye Gallery
Things I did not expect to find in Liverpool of all places: The International Slavery Museum!
The International Slavery Museum was part of the Merseyside Maritime Museum, and was one of the highlights of the visit to Liverpool. It brought back so many memories of my time in Ghana visiting Cape Coast and Elmina. It wasn't quite the same without my buddy Fred, nor was there the heaviness that I experienced when visiting those castles. However, it was really well done, despite the heavy European influenced side of the story. Seeing figures like Kwame Nkruma, Steven Biko (super shocked to see his name!), and so many other influential Africans represented throughout this exhibit was really neat! Also, side note, I learned today that Manchester's Students Union Building is actually called the Steven Biko Building! How cool is that?! 

Leeds:












Proof, once again, that Scott was with me!





Hope Blooms: Kirkstall Abbey Edition? 
Man I'm bad at self-photographs... but, now you know I was there too!
From here on out, I'm sorry folks, I just started snapping pictures of really amazing architecture - no idea what I'm taking pictures of unless labelled! At least I know that I am in the city centre of Leeds. 


Leeds Town Hall
Leeds Central Library
Okay, so I still have no idea what this is, but I'm pretty sure I had nightmares about it last night!


Mill Hill Chapel
Nifty little seagull sculpture 
The Old Post Office 

The Majestic...perhaps after a fire?
The Queens Hotel
So, as you can see, we had a few fun adventure...and I've gotten over my fear or public transit...kind of. A quickly approaching field trip will be the true test! You will no doubt have noticed that our trip to Liverpool resulted in a Beatles-less experience. Some might say that this is unfortunate, but fortunately for me, I am not one of those people. Paul McCartney - 0, Emily - 1! 

Scott will be heading home in a few days. Hopefully he enjoyed our time together as much as I did! Safe travels home, Scott! Thanks for all the fun adventures!

Anyway, it's back to the books for me... here's one final photo of the view from my room when I returned home from Leeds.

Check out those colours! Sorry it's a bit grainy...I took it from the window!
Happy Thanksgiving to all of my Canadian followers! 

Until next post, 
-the Orange Canadian

2 comments:

  1. Selfie Practise is required, get on that!
    Looks like fall has arrived in Manchester, but I can not get over how bright green the grass is!
    Love the pics, and the blog and am very happy you had Scott "drop by" for company :)
    -Sweetcheeks

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  2. The change in leaves is very present in some areas, but not others. I haven't quite figured it out yet!
    Scott brought along some great weather with him. Lots of afternoon sunshine sandwiched by morning and evening rain/cloudiness! It's a pretty good deal I've got join' here so far!
    -tOC

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