Quick trip to the UK

We were home from the States for a few days over New Year's Eve and had time to celebrate with friends here in Munich-but 2 days later we were off again to the UK.  The Hub had a business trip in Manchester which coincided with our anniversary, so I went along to get my fill of British shopping and tv.  In Manchester, there is a wonderful tea shop called Teacup and Cakes.  I visited them the last time that I was in the city with the Hub and wanted to make sure that I found the shop again on this trip.  The staff are delightful-friendly as can be-and the food is top notch.  Last time I went, I tried their eggs benedict. Holy hollandaise was it good!  This time, as you can see above, it was the cream tea that I sampled.

Cream tea consists of a pot of tea for one, two scones and clotted cream and jam.  I am always undecided about the proper order of the clotted cream and jam on the scones, and I forgot to ask my server (they were busy and I was hungry).  So, I went with what I knew: warm scone topped with clotted cream and then jam on top.  No one gasped or stared and pointed when I did this, so I guess it was executed in a satisfactory way.  Anyone have an opinion about this process?  The team at Teacup and Cakes lets you hang out as long as you like and even offers you a warm-up of more water for your fresh leaves.  Brilliant, as they say!  If you ever get to Manchester, find the Northern Quarter, and on Thomas Street, go and have tea. (On a side note, the scones were so good that I almost ate them without the clotted cream and jam....almost....)

After spending the week in Manchester, we headed down to London (it's only about 2.5 hours by train!) for the weekend where we spent a nice weekend discovering a new part of the city-Marylebone/Hyde Park.  I wanted the Hub to get to see Hampton Court since he missed visiting it there with my this past Spring...and so we spent our Saturday there.  It felt like a quick trip, but I know that we were away for a week.  It was fun to stay in a completely different part of London and explore and we have promised that we will stay in another area next time we are in jolly old London town!

Manchester side trip-Shropshire and Chester

 After an auspicious beginning, we were off from Manchester in our (2nd) rental car and driving on the other side of the road:

 We decided to throw caution to the wind and take a weekend trip from Manchester out into the country.  The Hub worked a half-day and then we were picked up by the rental company, only to find out that they had no GPS's in any car in their fleet and they not reserved an automatic for us.  I can drive a stick shift, but I am not so certain how well I would do with it left handed instead of right...so they hunted down and found us an automatic at another location...when we arrived at the second location, we found out that there was a place to buy a map up the road, so we set our sights on there first.  But, within minutes we discovered that there was something seriously wrong with the car-at stop lights it lurched and calmed down in neutral.  Hmmm.....

We decided to turn around and go back to the rental place-the mechanic took a look under the hood and asked whether we had had it serviced recently...umm, since we had the car a total of 13 minutes, that wasn't possible...he told us then that someone had left the oil cap off and there was oil all over the engine as a result.  Yikes!  Thank goodness we turned around-we would have been stranded on the side of the English highway system for sure.

So, a new car was organized and we were off...what we didn't know is that while all of this was going on, we were losing valuable daylight...and by the time we drove to our destination for the weekend, it was pitch-black and were driving on the opposite side of the road than we were accustomed to driving...on winding 2 lane roads with thick hedges that looked like concrete walls and were closer to my side of the car than I was happy about....

After a good dinner, some wine and a good night's rest, we were ready to get back in the car again, and at the suggestion of our hosts, we headed up to the town of Church Stretton and the hills above, where we got out and did a little hiking about:

 We then found our way to the little city of Much Wenlock, and drooled over the local pottery in the shop windows:

 ...before finding our way back to where we were staying.  We passed a lot of sheep on our travels about and even saw a sign that read "Please don't feed the sheep"!

 I would be absolutely remiss if I didn't mention that we stayed at a wonderful B & B in Shropshire, very close to Ludlow:  The Stone Barn Guest House.  Here are some pictures and then the link.  Our hosts, Helen and Colin were absolutely terrific.  I have to be honest with you all, this is the first B&B we have stayed in...I wasn't completely sure that we were B&B sorts...after our stay here, though, it is settled.  If every Bed & Breakfast is as warm and inviting as this one, maybe I am one of those sorts.  Helen and Colin were interesting, very kind, and made our visit to that part of the UK so great.  They gave us suggestions of places to visit, made reservations for us at a Michelin starred restaurant (which they then canceled once we tasted the amazing dinner that Helen cooked-we decided to eat in both nights it was that yummy!) and offered us a lovely glass of wine when we arrived.  If you are ever in the region, I hope that you will look them up-we liked it so much, that I think that we have gotten Helen on-board for a cooking weekend with us (and maybe a few of our friends?...).  They have 5 guest rooms...and this old stone barn has been updated and made into a wonderful place to hang your hat for a few days.

http://www.stonebarnshropshire.com/ 

Don't you like the Hub's attempt at making the bed?  You can tell his part is on the left, huh? After our stay at The Stone Barn, we were off again, winding our way back to Manchester in order to fly out on Sunday morning.  We wound our way through the edge of Wales and then into the town of Chester.  We arrived on a busy Saturday in the shopping area...and walked around, did a little shopping of our own-Robert found a new pair of Timberland boots and I drooled over the woolens in the Joules store there.  Chester is full of Tudor-style buildings and was really pretty!

 We were sad to leave quaint Chester, but alas, had a plane to catch the next morning...so one more cup of tea and a mince pie and we were off to an impersonal hotel at the airport...dreaming of Helen's chicken with garlic cream cheese and her goulash.....and planning our next visit.....

Magnificent Manchester

The Hub has been on the road every week in this month of November, so I decided to tag along with him to Manchester, UK...I had very few expectations about Manchester-except for the fact that it, in fact, had both a Marks & Spencer and a Gap store, that it lays claim to such bands as the Beatles and the Smiths for both of their unique sounds...and that it was 2nd banana to London.

Boy, was I surprised by what I found:

Manchester provided us with some of the best Thai curry we have had in a long while-maybe since we were in Thailand.  It has an area that is nicknamed "The Curry Mile" and one of the largest Chinatowns to be found. I found the city to be lovely-red brick and mortar buildings and bustling streets.  I stopped and had a lovely tea at a small tea shop (as shown in all of it's beauty in the first pic) in the Northern Quarter-which I could have spent days exploring.  The Quarter is chocked full of independent and artist owned stalls and shops...heaven.  And good tea too.  The thing that I liked about Manchester the most, though, was the friendliness of the people.  Everywhere I went, I met happy and cheerful people-ready to help in shops, cafes or with helpful directions on the street (my map was pitiful).

I had come to Manchester thinking that I would find a broken down, dodgy town. What I found was nothing of the sort and  I left realizing that it was a real jewel...and with my bag full of Cadbury treats!