Ahhh, Manchester... where the men are men, and so are the women.. seriously.

Manchester has gone through some tough economic times over the last 10 years, and isn't exactly a luxurious English city. In fact, if you ever think to yourself, "Hey! I want to go to Manchester!", save your money by going to inner-city Detroit and pay a bum to speak to you in an English accent.. it'll pretty much be the same experience.

Neither of us have have ever really enjoyed Indian food, but thanks to Alumni Band members, Patrick and Diana Herak, we visited the "Curry Mile" and had great food, and a great time. Beer of choice there was "Cobra", a crisper beer brewed in Bangalore, India. Not our favorite beer of the trip, but it was a nice change.


Liverpool was one of the stops we were looking forward to the most. There was a lot of unique history there. In this picture you can see the Royal Liver Building. It is near the docks and has the largest clockface in the UK (2.5 feet larger than Big Ben. On the top are the Liver Birds, which stand 18 feet tall. They are the guardians and protectors of Liverpool. The one on the left is the female, who watches over the water and waits for the men to come back from time at sea. The one on the right is the male and he watches over the city, and finds out which pubs are open for the sailors.


Anyone who knows and follows The Beatles is probably aware of Mathew Street. It is a back-alley street with several pubs that feature bands and local music. We visited the Cavern Club, where the Beatles got their start, and The Grapes, a pub that was known to be the Beatles' favorite watering hole. Here we are on Mathew's Street in front of Lennon's Bar.














This is one of the "duck boats" that are a popular tourist attraction in Liverpool. They are amphibious and give a tour of the city on land and water.
















Liverpool's Fab Four.










We both agree that the most moving experience of the trip so far was having the chance to perform with the St. Helen's Youth Brass Band. The band is composed of brass and percussionists ranging in age from 9 to 19. They were very talented and everyone in the band was happy that we performed first and did have to follow them. They performed many classics, but their most impressive piece was "Rule Britannia" featuring a euphonium soloist. After both bands performed, we came together to play "Hang on Sloopy", and "Le Regiment de Sambre et Meuse" (Script Ohio March).









We made a stop in Stratford-On -Avon for 2 hours to tour before we went on to London. We went through the streets which were littered with souvenir shops and street performers. One man was painted completely white and performed as a statue of Shakespeare's Ghost. Points of interest were Shakespeare's Birthplace, Holy Trinity Church and the Royal Shakespeare Theater. His birthplace is pictured on the left and has been converted into a museum.





The Holy Trinity Church is home to Shakespeare's grave. The courtyard of the church is filled with old grave stones that have lettering that's been worn off by the elements. The pillars of the church that support the spire were built in 1210. Apparently they know how to build things that last over here.









After Stratford, we arrived in London for the remainder of our stay in the UK. We have a lot of items on our "to do" list while we are here. If any of you readers have a suggestion for us, please comment on our blog. Also, we have only had time to update you on a small part of our trip - if you want to know anything we may be leaving out, please ask questions on the comment page and we will get more discussions going. Stay tuned!! Cheers!