Train to DC

Thanks to our reconnaissance the previous night we were able to cart our 4 cases and 5 backpacks the 3 blocks to Penn station with sufficient time for a quick breakfast and coffee before boarding.  The boarding process was relatively smooth, except there were no reserved seats so we had to make a good dash to secure 5 seats together on a full train.

Travelling by train gave us an opportunity to travel through smaller towns and get a different perspective of the USA.  Although vastly different to home, each town seemed naively familiar thanks to the plethora of movies we have seen set in America.  Irrespective of size, each town had a bar and many churches of different denominations, unlike the UK’s formula of a church and many pubs.

We arrived at Union St Station in Washington DC 3 1/2 hours later and were pleasantly surprised to walk straight out and find a cab to take us to our hotel.  We had a big splurge on our hotel in DC because it was where we would be spending New Year’s, avoiding the crowds and stupidity in New York.  We were staying at the Hilton Embassy Suites with views of the Capital Building from our room.

After checking in we dropped our bags at the room and made the short walk to the White House.  As we walked around the city we couldn’t help but draw incredibly close comparisons to our own capital of Canberra.  With the city being mostly populated by Government workers from around the country it was a ghost town for the holidays.  The buildings were largely height restricted but the clear difference to Canberra was the history and beauty of the buildings. The Government buildings and museums stuck out like dog’s bollocks as they were grand, ornate and made mostly of sandstone.

Before reaching the White House we were surprised to find the Treasury Building to be the first on the block. The grandeur of the building was equal to its influence in running the country.

As we approached the White House we were disappointed to find our view of the site to be heavily obscured by temporary fences. The fences, of course, were being erected in preparation for the inauguration of Mr Trump later in the month. The infrastructure which was being set up was a sight in itself. We decided to take a punt and walk around the fencing to the other side and were rewarded with a much clearer, although still slightly obscured, view. The building, of course, was exactly as we had seen it on TV although perhaps a little smaller than we had expected.

After some photos we decided to walk the block and look for the clothes line in the backyard. As we were leaving we were forced to stop at the driveway for the Obama moving vans. Sharing the block with the Treasury and White House is the Roosevelt Executive Offices of the Government’s administration. Unfortunately we didn’t see the clothes line or the slip n slide in the backyard but we did see the familiar grassed hill leading up to the house. We were excited to see a kitchen garden taking up part of the lawn.

From the back of the White House we could see the National Christmas Tree, Ellipses and the Washington Monument which looked particularly impressive in the sunset. We could have explored the monument closer but instead chose to return to the hotel where a 2 hour manager’s reception was waiting with free drinks and snacks.

We arrived at the hotel and Yvette and the kids joined the queue for complementary MnMs, corn chips, pretzels, crisps and gummy bears while I headed for the bar for free lager, cocktails, wine and juice. After gathering our supplies, we discovered that another area of the lobby housed a kids snack and drink buffet with board games and console games. This allowed Yvette and I to enjoy more drinks and a relaxed chat while our kids mingled with other kids. After filling our boots with free food and drinks we retreated upstairs. Unfortunately, we chilled a little too much in front of the TV and before we realised our anticipated early night had disappeared.

Mark (on behalf of the wandering winrows)

A big day in the big apple

Despite a late night we trudged on earlyish again today to squeeze as much as possible out of the Big A, so we desperately needed coffee. Thankfully we were blessed with a Starbucks (from our first choice for coffee) on the corner of our block so settled down for a jumpstart and quick breakfast. After the trek of the day before we decided to take our chances on the subway today. Our first point of call was the 9/11 memorial. Although the boys had heard of 9/11 they were naïve to the details. We chose to give them some basic details before we arrived but continued to keep them in the dark from the more graphic depictions, given we still had flights left and they were already anxious of them. With this in mind, we did not visit the museum but rather settled on some contemplative moments at the memorial fountains. For those who saw those graphic pictures of the disaster, it is impossible to visit the site and not relive the tragedy in your mind. Tears nearly streamed from our eyes as we almost heard the screams of shock and devastation lurking in the shadows. Although the falling rain set the tone for misery, there was still some hope to be inspired by the sight of the survival tree.

Suitably sombre, we took a stroll towards Battery Park where we hoped to catch a glimpse of the famous Statue of Liberty across the Hudson on Liberty Island. We had originally hoped to get up close and personal with Lady Liberty but tickets for the day had been sold out. Instead, we settled on the customary Staten Island Ferry. The free ferry ride which travels back and forth between Manhattan and Staten Islands, provides some tremendous views of the Manhattan skyline, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (where many of America’s millions of migrants were once processed).

After returning to Manhattan aboard the ferry we returned to the subway to visit the Guggenheim. While the museum houses and displays the largest private collection of art, there was one piece which drew our particular attention. We had read about the unveiling of an artwork entitled America before leaving Australia and were determined to see and use it. America is a solid gold working toilet and we were prepared to use it to its full capacity. We lined up for an hour to enter the museum and found another hour long queue for the artwork itself. As the primary interested party, I waited in line while the others explored the museum. From where I stood in line I didn’t appear to be missing out. While the building itself is a creation (its interior is also used in Mr Popper’s Penguins) the artwork I could see looked like nothing more than blank pieces of paper with a few lines (I figured there’s hope for me yet).

The time in line was worth the wait because I made sure I used it to its full extent, as did everyone else in the family. Waiting in line for so long certainly builds up an urge. I also had to visit with the boys so I could take advantage of some unique photo opportunities. Suitably relieved we explored other rooms in the museum. Most of the art did not capture our imagination, although we were all captivated by an installation which involved a robotic arm moving red liquid around a glass cube. We also enjoyed the room housing some of the more famous artists like Monet, Renoir, Ruebens and Picasso.

We left the Guggenheim through the gift shop, where they did not provide me the opportunity to buy a shirt celebrating my triumph on the gold can. Bitterly disappointed we foolishly underestimated the length of the walk to our next stop. The upside of the walk to Tiffany & Co was a chance to skirt the famous Met Gallery and see the sun setting behind the Manhattan skyline.

Yvette has long dreamt of visiting Tiffany & Co in New York, a location for her favourite movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s. She has always hoped to emulate the footsteps of Audrey Hepburn’s character, Holly Golightly, walking through the shop filled with dazzling jewellery. She was like a kid approaching a candy store when the familiar sign appeared before us.

We entered the store with all tiredness of the day’s events washed instantly from Yvette’s mind. She prowled the shop with a real spring in her step. To be fair, it was like walking around a gallery given the quality of the product they had on display. After studying every item on the showroom floor we discovered an elevator which took us to the other 5 floors of showrooms.

As it was Yvette’s 40th this year I had squirrelled some of my winnings over the past year with the full intention of buying her a special gift from the shop. After exploring all of her options she returned to a Turquoise necklace which she had seen almost on entering the shop that matched the Jane Austen ring I bought her. Once we had recovered from the shock of the cost we left the shop with the necklace and a very happy woman. No amount of money could ever be too much for the joy it brought her. Audrey too left with a MUCH less expensive necklace.

Having spent considerably longer than expected at Tiffany’s we realised that it was time for dinner. We discovered that Grand Central Station was a few blocks away so decided to head via that landmark. When we arrived we were excited to find it just as we had seen it in many movies. We were also excited to find a food court with a surprisingly good choice of quality food.

No trip to New York is complete without climbing the heights of the Empire State Building (if you are comfortable with heights of course). So it was decided that Yvette would head home with Jack and Audrey while Harry and I (the adventurers) would emulate the mighty King Kong.

On the way we visited Macy’s – touted as the World’s largest store. Before entering we joined the throngs of people admiring their Christmas windows which were outstanding. Upon entering the store we were happy to endorse the store’s bold statement because, although a single store, it was as big as any Westfield we had entered.

From Macy’s we split up as planned with Harry and I heading for the Empire State Building and the others heading home to pack and sleep. We had seen incredibly large lines to enter the building when we arrived in New York but hoped that at this late time they would have decreased. We rejoiced when we found no line at all to enter the building but that joy was short lived when we found queues inside to pass security, further queues for tickets and more queues for the elevator.

Sadly we couldn’t get tickets for the 102nd floor so had to settle for a trip to the 86th. The elevator first stopped at the glass observation deck on floor 80 where the views were incredible. However, the lure of a higher vantage point meant we didn’t stay there too long, instead Harry and I chose to climb the stairs for the last 6 floors avoiding another queue.

The open air observation deck provided a much clearer view of a truly spectacular city. There are few places, if any, where you can be so high and still have buildings towering above you. The carnival of lights below was mesmerising and the ants skating on the ice at the foot of the Rockefeller Christmas Tree delighted Harry. It seemed surreal to spot the giant black hole of Central Park among the sparkling towers.

We made our way around each side of the observatory but spent precious little time on the New Jersey side as we were welcomed with arctic breezes which took our breath away. As it was nearing 11pm we took the stairs back down to the 80th floor and boarded the elevator to the ground.

On our way back to the apartment we passed Maddison Square Garden which was brightly lit by a rainbow of colour. As the famous venue is also home to Penn Train Station, we chose to investigate the best entrance for us to lug our cases into in the morning when we would be catching a train to Washington DC. Opposite the venue is the New York post office which is open 24/7. Exhausted we eventually arrived home and fell into bed.

Mark (on behalf of the wandering winrows)

The city never rests so why would we?

Having skipped dinner due to our early night, induced by the incredibly long journey, we all woke fanging for breakfast. So we braved the truly arctic temperatures and rewarded the children for their mammoth travel efforts with a MacDonald’s breakfast (when in Rome…). We were all surprised to find it difficult to find menu items which matched those we are used to at home. In order to have a bacon and egg sandwich we were given the choice of griddle cakes or biscuits rather than a muffin. Through trial and error we discovered that griddle cakes are essentially pancakes with the maple syrup cooked into the batter, and biscuits are scones. I doubt either choice will catch on back home. With something of substance, not quality, in our stomachs it was time to embark on day one of our 2 days in New York. With a city as big as New York we knew that we would be doing an extremely condensed tour but were determined to see as much as possible in the 48 hours we had.

We had done precious little preparation for our time in New York due to the busyness of the Festive Season and therefore knew nothing of the public transport options. Therefore we chose to use our own steam to navigate the city. We figured that this would also maximise the assault on our senses and would give us a better feel for the place than riding the subway or buses.

Our first destination was pegged out by the kids a long time ago. We had deterred them from visiting every zoo and aquarium in the world with the promise of a visit to Central Park Zoo, supposed home of the kids’ much loved Penguins of Madagascar. We could see on the map that, courtesy of New York’s grid roadway system and its sheer size, finding Central Park would not be difficult but, in hindsight, we should have done the maths of how far it was from 35th St to 85th St.

On the walk we chanced upon Carlo’s Bakery from the TV show Cake Boss. We often watched the show back home marvelling at some of the creations but never expected an opportunity to taste them. Obviously we aren’t alone in watching the show because there was quite a line stretching from the counter. We ordered a selection of treats to enjoy later at the zoo.

Walking to Central Park gave us a true appreciation of the scale of the big apple, it seemed almost as high as it is wide. The kids required rescuing a few times from aimlessly crossing busy roads while gazing up and we all couldn’t help but feel a little insignificant in comparison to the towering skyscrapers.

As we approached the park, we were greeted by Trump Tower near the entrance. Its size and opulence suggested an over-compensation for something. The sudden contrast of the natural park directly opposite some of the world’s largest man-made structures was incredible.

At the entrance to the park we were bombarded by offers of tours of the park aboard bikes, legs and horse and carriages. While tempted to take up the chance for a unique experience we declined so we could enjoy the park at our own leisure. As we walked on in search of the zoo, we almost wished we had accepted because we totally under-estimated the size of the park.

Walking past ice-skaters, and bridges the boys guessed were used in Fantastic Beasts, we eventually found our destination. Throughout the walk the kids were all discussing which animals they were most looking forward to seeing (giraffes, penguins, hippos) and for amusement value I stated I was most looking forward to seeing the ants.

As we scanned our online tickets the kids became very excited but were soon disappointed to find that very few of the animals used in the Madagascar films reside at the zoo. In fact, few animals of any kind reside in the zoo. The only animals from the films were penguins and lemurs (and even they were a totally different species). Still it didn’t stop the kids having a good time. Our favourite place could have been the Tropical House though because it provided welcome relief from the cold. As we rounded a corner in the Tropical House Audrey was delighted to find, of all things, the Ant enclosure.

Our trip to the zoo also included a 4D cinema, children’s petting zoo and of course the gift shop. We chose to wait until 2:30pm for the penguin feed to satisfy our resident penguin obsessive but were hugely disappointed to simply witness a man throwing them fish.

Our other main destination for the day was the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, the setting for Night at the Museum. It was on the other side of the park and a little further up which gave us the opportunity to visit 2 other destinations within the park which are dear to our hearts. The first was the Cavern on the Green, a key location in Mr Popper’s Penguins, where we required a hot chocolate break, admiring the gingerbread model of the buildings.  The next was Strawberry Fields, a contemplative area dedicated to John Lennon, found opposite the Dakota Hotel where he was sadly shot. We were amazed at the number of people paying their respects and being photographed with the simple “Imagine” mosaic.

When we arrived at the Smithsonian we were disappointed to find a hefty admission fee for entry once we entered the Great Hall. As there was not a lot of time left in the day we instead chose to visit the gift shop to satisfy the boys’ need to find a memento of their “visit” to the film location. After buying a small token we must have “accidentally” exited the wrong way because we “found” ourselves inside the museum. Harry, being such a stickler for all rules but ours, was mortified and was on constant lookout for the Police to remove us, that was until we stumbled across the Gem and Minerals exhibit. From the moment he entered the first of the 4 rooms he forgot all notions of being an outlaw. On display are samples of EVERY mineral and gem known to exist on our planet, including meteorites and Mars rocks from other planets. He was in total awe of the collection. Even Audrey was interested in the most impressive – and expensive pieces.

With Harry now distracted from his fear of being an outlaw, we were even able to search for some of the characters from the Night at the Museum movie like Rex and Dumb Dumb. The museum was by far the biggest we had ever entered with the most amazing collection. I believe we could have spent a few days there and still be entertained – I guess that’s why it costs so much.

Our hope of also visiting the Guggenheim gallery across the park were now over as it was closed, so instead we decided to walk back past the Dakota in search of Times Square and the famed Rockefeller Christmas Tree. On route we spotted Carnegie Hall and an enormous queue that lasted nearly a block to the Carnegie delicatessen (which we later found out was due to it closing its doors that day after over 80 years of trading).

As we approached the blocks surrounding the Rockefeller Centre and St Patrick’s Cathedral we became alarmed by the sheer volume of people milling around. It was so busy that streets had been closed and police were controlling the flow of vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The chaos was the result of a perfect storm – people lined up for a Christmas show at Radio City, tickets to the Late Show with Jimmy Fallon, skating and photos at the Rockefeller Centre, viewing the Christmas lights and window displays of Saks and of course the Lego Store. We were forced to wade through this traffic to participate in three of these lines (guess which?). To be fair two of the lines were worth the wait.

Now bogged down by more Lego minifigures, we made our way home via Times Square. The square was a little underwhelming for us, but that may have been due to the forest of temporary structures in place for the impending New Year’s celebrations due in a couple of days.

We now realised that we had walked over 21km for the day but hadn’t eaten since our frozen picnic at the zoo nearly 8 hours earlier. This made dinner a priority. We seemed to find ourselves in the only part of town devoid of dining options and were nearly home before we found a suitable diner. After scoffing we walked the few blocks left to our hotel to round off an 24km walk for the day, especially impressive for a 5 year old.

Mark (on behalf of the wandering winrows)

Next Stop… the U.S. of A

I was right…it was very difficult to wake up at 2:30am but we had no choice as a taxi was booked to collect us and all our bags from the hotel at 3:30am to take us to Manchester airport for our 6:30am flight to New York.  At home we wouldn’t expect a busy airport at that time of day but in Manchester it is almost as busy as any other time.  The line to check ourselves and our bags into the the flight wasn’t too long fortunately, but we knew we had security to pass through.  Security is incredibly tight in Europe and today was to be no exception.

We put EVERY liquid in plastic bags for separate inspection as we had learnt that even lipstick needs to be inspected.  We then took off our belts, removed everything from our pockets to walk through the scanners and placed our bags on the conveyor belt with our fingers crossed.  In keeping with tradition, our bags did not all pass the scrutiny of security.  I had to wait while Audrey’s bag was swab tested for explosives and my bag was inspected for an unidentified object, which turned out to be all the foreign and collectible coins that were stashed in my bag for Harry so they didn’t add 6kg to our checked baggage.

Eventually we were ushered through the security and were free to search for coffee and food.  After exiting the duty free shops which all must walk through to their gates, we grabbed a light breakfast and coffee.  By the time we had finished it was time to board.  Our first flight was taking us to Frankfurt to board another plane to fly back over the UK to New York.  The flight to Frankfurt was uneventful and passed by quickly.  The flight to New York, also uneventful, did not pass so quickly.  We were in the air for over 9 hours and while Yvette and the boys enjoyed watching movies, I was tasked with entertaining a very tired Audrey while catching up on blogs.  The highlight of the flight by far was passing over The Arctic and seeing icebergs floating in the sea.

While we were very excited when we arrived in New York we were also tired.  We arrived at about 3:30pm local time and figured we might try to go for a walk when we arrived to find dinner and take in at least one sight because we had precious little time to see such a thriving metropolis.  Once we turned the corner from the gate and saw the length of the line for border control we realised that this wasn’t going to happen.

Harry was desperate to use a toilet so I asked an officer where the nearest one was.  He gave us permission to go downstairs and when we arrived at the top of the stairs we saw that the long line we were in was just the preliminary line to a much longer line downstairs.  When we eventually made it downstairs we were herded into joining the thousands of other travellers.  After an hour I asked if there was an express line for families as we had been on the road for so long.  Thankfully, we were given permission to join the express line.  After 3 1/2 hours in line we were through border protection to find our bags sitting beside the turnstiles with thousands of others.

The next task was to find our transport to the hotel.  We completed this task surprisingly easily and were escorted onto a minibus.  The drive through Queens into Manhattan basically involved crawling through thick traffic.  It felt like being in a movie set as we drove through the streets seeing so many familiar sights like yellow school buses and taxis, traffic lights hanging in the middle of intersections, sharing the road with huge suburban trucks and NYPD vehicles.  There were also some cultural adjustments to be made like seeing basketball courts and baseball diamonds instead of football fields.

As we neared Manhattan we saw the enormous skyscrapers growing out of the ground before us.  Little prepares you for the size of Manhattan and its impressive skyline.  It was even more amazing to weave in and out of them as the bus made its way to our hotel.  We simply could not believe just how busy and diverse the city is.  Unfortunately, Audrey and Harry would have to wait until tomorrow to see the splendour of the city as they were fast asleep.  20 hours after leaving our hotel in Bardsley, we arrived safely at our hotel in Times Square and collapsed into bed, serenaded by the sounds of New York.

Mark (on behalf of the wandering winrows).

Fond Farewells

Today was our last day in the U.K. and it was to be filled with great joy and great sadness, almost in equal measure.  It was always going to be a tough day to say goodbye to family for an indefinite period of time, but there was also going to be a highlight as I had tickets to my first Boxing Day game at Old Trafford.

We woke late due to the sins of the day before and nearly missed breakfast at the hotel.  After breakfast we had the unenviable task of packing lots and lots of square pegs into a few square holes.  We set the kids up in their room with TV, craft and digital babysitters (iPods) and became totally overwhelmed by the task at hand.  We had tried in vain to keep our suitcases in good order while at this hotel knowing we were only here for 4 nights before leaving, however Christmas had thrown us.  We also wanted to try and have a system for our packing as we would be dealing with extremes in America (sub-zero temperatures in New York and DC then 30 degrees in Orlando and 20s in LA).

With a crude system established, we set about removing Christmas presents from their packaging to fit it all in.  I was then saved by the bell because I received a phone call offering a lift to the Manchester United v Sunderland game at Old Trafford.  This meant that as much as I wanted to continue helping Yvette with the packing, I had to stop and get prepared for one of my dreams to come true.

Watching Boxing Day football is a long standing tradition for me.  Even when Yvette and I were in the UK last we tried in vain to get tickets to Old Trafford for Boxing Day.  As it would have been impossible not to be at football on Boxing Day we settled on a trip to Boundary Park to watch Oldham Athletic play Scunthorpe on that occasion.  To finally have tickets for a United match at Old Trafford on Boxing Day was a true fairytale.

I quickly changed into my new jersey that I received for Christmas and scarf and raced around to catch my ride.  I was very grateful for the lift from Lynsey and Nathan’s neighbour as without it I would have been catching buses, trams and walking and would have been gone for most of the day.

When we arrived at the match the atmosphere was electric.  We had been playing well and winning recently and the expectation was the same for today.  This was to be my 6th United match (4th at Old Trafford) and they had never lost while I was watching them.  In fact, given they had even won 4 of the previous 5 I was half expecting season tickets from Jose as their lucky charm.

As we were there early I used it as my last opportunity to visit the megastore and found some small gifts to take home.  I then headed through security and upstairs to take my seat.  Strangely, I realised that although this was my 6th game, it was my first league game.  I realised it because the stories I had heard about the atmosphere being different to other matches were completely true.  While season ticket holders don’t attend all Cups and ancillary matches, they never miss a league game, providing an extra dimension.  The songs were ringing from every seat in the stadium with an added Christmas cheer.  Fortunately I was able to join in most of them, including some golden oldies about former greats like Eric Cantona and Jaap Staam.  The ones I didn’t know were the twisted Christmas Carols which I quickly learned and enjoyed.  My favourite being “Feed the scousers, let them know it’s Christmas time.”

While the first half of the match wasn’t the reds’ finest ever, they came out in the second and dominated Sunderland.  The jubilation of the crowd each time United scored their 3 goals was something I am never likely to witness at a sporting match again.  I have absolutely loved the opportunity to watch the team I am passionate about playing live both at home and away during my trip.  At the end of the match I came to the stark realisation that I would now be back to waking up in the wee hours, all bleary eyed to watch them on the screen at home – I won’t even be able to sing alone because the rest of the house will be asleep.  I guess I’ll be singing on the inside from now on.

I met Will and Tom at the car after the match but we had to wait half an hour for the roads to clear and reopen before we could set off.  When we got home I wandered next door to my cousin’s house knowing Yvette and the kids would be there enjoying their last play.  We had arranged to have dinner at Harry’s new found love, Frankie and Benny’s.  We drove down to Ashton to the nearest franchise and arranged a kiddies table and a parent table.  While we had a great time and gave the kids free reign of the menu to order from, there was the unspoken sadness lingering as we knew when we said goodbye it would be for a good while.

Throughout the meal Nathan continued to threaten to buy the restaurant’s CD for Harry so he could remember the excessively loud music which is played on constant rotation.  Not to be outdone in the wind-up stakes, I had a little trick of my own up my sleeve.  Many people come to Frankie and Benny’s to celebrate their birthday because they make a big deal of them.  A grand version of Happy Birthday and another celebration song are played even louder over the PA system and the whole place sings Happy Birthday as they deliver your cake.  So I mentioned to the waitress on the quiet that Nathan was celebrating his birthday (which of course he wasn’t).  The look of surprise and confusion on his face was better than I could have imagined when they delivered his dessert.  Lynsey was laughing so hard I though she might actually burst.  It now seems I may have given birth to a new family tradition of surprising people (including random strangers) whenever they visit the restaurant.

After dinner came the inevitable, we had to go back and say goodbye (after a brief lounge room disco).  The farewells were filled with the obvious tears and Audrey again had to be physically removed from her cousin Tia.  I had to be physically removed from Al, our faithful Nissan Almera.  Making it worse was that we had to drop into the Daisy on the walk home to say goodbye to Terrie and Billy, which we knew meant saying goodbye to the whole village again.  Let’s say our plan to get home early was thwarted.  While the kids were in bed by 9 Yvette and I had some last minute packing and preparing (although I must say Yvette had done the lion’s share for which I was truly grateful) so we weren’t in bed until midnight.  Getting up at 2:30am for our 3:30am taxi was going to be tough.

Mark (on behalf of the wandering winrows)

Far From White Christmas

Our hopes of a White Christmas were dashed with the forecast for a tropical 13 degrees on Christmas Day.  Despite the lack of snow, this Christmas promised to be different from our usual day of extreme heat, seafood and salad, slip n slide and storms.  This Christmas we would wake up in a hotel, share it with different family members, visit the pub and eat a warm buffet.

The stage was set on Christmas Eve when we arrived back at the hotel from the pub. We were split between two rooms with the kids in one and Yvette and I in another.  To deter the children from attempting to stay up all night to see Santa, we “convinced” them to set up the stockings, Poundland tree and gifts, snacks and letters for Santa in our room.  The excitement was still too much so Yvette ended up sleeping with the kids while I was left to complete the parent Christmas Eve duties watching the usual dad movies until the wee hours.

I was stirred very early Christmas morning by the first of the Australian family phone calls.  Since everyone else was asleep next door I tried hard to ignore the phone call and stay asleep.  After a few more attempts at making contact I realised my resistance was futile and answered the call, explaining that astonishingly the kids were still asleep.  We arranged to reconnect an hour later.  Unfortunately, I was still sitting watching TV and drinking coffee alone in the room when the hour was up.

Eventually I succumbed and knocked lightly on the door to stir Yvette.  We swapped places so Yvette could speak with her family and I could watch the kids.  It wasn’t long before Jack stirred wishing me a Merry Christmas.  Like an alarm clock, the words immediately stirred Harry from unconsciousness.  Audrey continued to snore loudly when all of a sudden she stopped mid-snore to literally jump up and join in the merry wishes.

We raced next door to join in the video call.  I admired the kids reservation at engaging in the conversation with a hoard of presents in clear sight awaiting their attention.  Their resolve was to be further tested when we instantly received another video call, prolonging their patience.  It was pleasing that they genuinely seemed more interested in speaking with family than opening their presents.

Immediately upon finishing the call, the excitement in the room was ramped up considerably as the kids had their first chance to examine the treasures sitting around the tree.  They started emptying their stockings with squeals of delight, especially at the authentic Wonka Bar Santa had gifted them.  Next it was time to exchange family gifts.  The kids were so excited at some of the treasures we had snuck in on our travels.  Some of these created great disappointment when we refused to buy them at the time we saw them (all the time knowing they would be Christmas gifts), like a glass quill from Murano and a Legoland T-Shirt.  Finally it was time to open the gifts from Santa, who apparently didn’t get the memo that our bags were already full. Luckily we had the foresight to buy Audrey a larger trunk for Christmas.

With the presents now open, it was time to have breakfast and get ready for the day.  We were surprised by the number of people who were staying at the hotel for Christmas and even more astonished that a further 200 were booked for lunch. Prying the kids away from their loot to get ready was quite a chore, but thankfully we had the promise of playing with family and friends to lure them away.

It was nearly 12 by the time we were ready and had walked to my cousin Lynsey’s house to start the family Christmas.  After a quick wishing of Merry Christmas and exchanging stories of the gifts received, we wandered down the road to my Aunty Terrie and Uncle Billy to wish them good tidings.  We were warmly welcomed with Sangria and lager.  With our drinks finished it was time for the Bardsley Christmas tradition of meeting at the pub.  I say Bardsley tradition, because the whole village turns out and the place is shoulder to shoulder teaming with people.  Although different to the traditions of home it was a welcome inclusion as it was a last chance to share an ale and say goodbye to many of the friends and family we had met on our trip.

After a good number of hours, we headed back to Lynsey’s with a crew of people for a traditional Christmas buffet.  We devoured gammon, turkey, beef, lamb, vegetables, pork pies, baps and a host of other goodies.  We all continued to pick at the feast all afternoon and into the night.  Obviously, there was an equally healthy selection of beverages to select from also which were also enjoyed well into the night.  The kids all spent the whole time upstairs playing and having a cracking time without any conflict.

While a totally different way to experience Christmas we loved it.  Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and the difficult task of saying goodbye loomed.  While we would have the chance to catch up with some on Boxing Day, many of the goodbyes were final ones for the indefinite future.  The realisation then took hold that our time in the UK was coming to a rapid close.  It was tough to say goodbye but necessary.  The kids found it even harder than I did with Audrey needing to be torn away.

We headed home for a good rest before our final day in the U.K.

Mark (on behalf of the wandering winrows)

Horrible Christmas

Sorry if the title of this blog is misleading – it was the title of a play I took the boys to. One of the things the boys, in particular Jack, have become obsessed with on this trip is the Horrible Histories series of books and TV shows.  So when they saw that a play titled Horrible Christmas was showing at the Lowry they couldn’t resist.

We had booked an evening show and Yvette decided to take Audrey to the cinema for a Girls’ Night Out to watch Ballerina.  They left the hotel a little before the boys and I walked a few blocks away to catch a bus.  Thankfully, the bus arrived shortly after we arrived at the stop.  We hadn’t travelled on this bus before so we were flying a little blind on when to get off.  We weren’t even sure if it stopped at the Lowry itself or just close to it.  So when it was near the Lowry and started to turn in a different direction we hopped off.  Unfortunately, when we arrived at the Lowry, we saw it waiting at the stop right outside for its return journey – at least we knew where to catch it on the way back.

We arrived as planned, with enough time for dinner.  The boys chose a French café, Café Rouge.  Although the food was delicious, we were forced to eat quickly to catch the show on time.  Eating quickly is not one of Harry’s strengths so the struggle was very real.  With a few spoonfuls of ice cream still in his bowl we raced across the square to arrive at the theatre in the nick of time.

The boys were excited to discover I had secured front row seats, a fact I kept as a surprise for them.  We weren’t sure what to expect of the show because we had read precious little about it, but the boys were very excited nonetheless.  Not long into the show I came to the horrible, sickening realisation that the show was indeed a pantomime – in my humble opinion the lowest form of entertainment.  I knew this would be a torturous 2 hours for me as I would be forced to singalong and do all the ohhs and ahhs and actions being in the front row or face ridicule from the stage.

Fortunately, the boys loved the story and characters and were happy to participate.  The premise of the story line was that a young girl (Wendy Watson) saw Sydney Claus stealing her presents from under the tree on Christmas Eve.  Joined by Shirley Holmes (you can imagine the poor puns) she travelled back in time to stop Sydney from ruining Christmas forever.  They convinced Charles Dickens to write a Christmas Carol, ensured Prince Charles remained King of the court after the puritan Oliver Cromwell died, stopped King Henry IIIV from being poisoned by his Christmas Turkey and thwarted attempts to steal St Nicholas’ first gift and stop the birth of Jesus.  While the show did share some accurate history of Christmas, it was like having teeth extracted for me.  Thankfully the boys loved it, especially some of the characters.

Mark (on behalf of the wandering winrows)

The National Football Museum

One of the true treasures of Manchester which we hadn’t yet visited was the National Football Museum.  The first point to make is that it is situated in Manchester and NOT London, proving Manchester is the rightful “throne of football”.  We had heard great things about the museum so I was very keen to finally visit.  The Museum was erected on the sight of the final IRS bomb on English soil. We arrived about 2pm giving us 3 hours to explore, which proved far too little time to do it properly.  I was soon to find that I personally could have spent days in there and remained fully entertained.  We were incredibly surprised to find that entry to the museum is free, although donations are encouraged.

Our self-guided tour of the museum began with photos being taken with the FA Cup and the Premier League Trophy (exact replicas of course because at least one of them is housed at Old Trafford and next season they both will be).  The bottom floor housed George Best’s mini, an exhibition of portraits of footballers and a rolling presentation of great moments in football on a wall of screens.  The ground floor is also home to some football themed arcade games and, of course, the gift shop.

Up the stairs we found the main permanent displays.  They documented the history of the game with multimedia displays, interactive games and quizzes, photographs, stories and literally thousands of items of memorabilia.  It was a veritable treasure trove of footballing history.  It told the history of club and international football and included some of the most famous, infamous and obscure names in football.  There were items like tickets, trophies and medals from the first FA Cup final, seats removed from the old Wembley Stadium, a woollen jersey worn in the very first international match and a host of merchandise sold by teams over the years.  There were games and quizzes like matching teams to nicknames, correctly placing the league a random selection of teams played in during randomised seasons of the past and an opportunity to comment Match of the Day.

Further up the museum, we found a collection of ancient football themed slot and arcade games.  They were so old that they used old pennies to run.  On this level were also opportunities to participate in football related challenges.  Harry had a crack at the penalty shootout.  He took three penalties which were scored for speed and accuracy.  He was well chuffed to finish in fourth for the day ahead of many adults.  There were also passing and dribbling skill games.  I had a go at a referring game which showed real time footage of controversial incidents in matches for the player to make a decision on the correct outcome.  Somehow I scored 5 out of 5 when agreeing with referees has never been my strength.

The final floor housed a temporary exhibition marking the 50th anniversary of England’s World Cup win on home soil.  It was terrific.  They had recreated the dressing room, documented the day of the final from many different people’s stories (eg players, manager, ticket ushers, band members, players’ wives etc), displayed memorabilia, showed the match and a range of other commentaries.

As it was nearing closing time for the museum I raced down to the gift shop while Yvette took the kids back to the games area.  The gift shop was like a candy store for me.  There was an enormous range of signed memorabilia, merchandise from some of the bigger named teams in the country as well as the local teams and books and gifts that were simply football related (not team specific).  I restricted myself to a couple of small items before we headed back to the hotel.

Mark (on behalf of the wandering winrows)

Early Christmas with Friends

After doing very little other than relaxing and battling the throngs of people in Manchester City Centre for last minute Christmas shopping, today, we were venturing a little further afield.  Our good friends Paul, Carol and Val had invited us to share a traditional Christmas dinner with them as a last chance to catch up before we leave the UK in less than 2 weeks.  Even though we weren’t meeting until 1pm we still managed to be late because we were busy packing the items that don’t fit into our cases into boxes to post home and didn’t realise the time.

We briskly walked through Deansgate and Castlefield to the Metrolink.  The walk took us through parts of the city we hadn’t seen yet and even threw some old Roman gates which I didn’t even know existed.  The tram dropped us a few blocks from Paul and Carol’s house so we arrived very soon after.

As is always the case, we were very warmly greeted even though we were late.  We sat in the living room where we shared stories of our adventures through Europe and the UK and, like everyone else, they were amazed at the distances we had travelled.  While we were chatting and drinking, Carol must have been very busy in the kitchen because when we arrived in the dining room, we were greeted to the most wonderful traditional Christmas dinner with so many plates of chicken, potatoes, vegetables, stuffing, pigs in blankets and other trimmings that it couldm’t all fit on the table.  It was so delicious that Audrey and Harry even had seconds, I may or may not have snuck in thirds.  There was even pudding to polish off and Czech Christmas cookies handmade by Val’s soon to be daughter-in-law.

We eventually rolled back into the living room to continue chatting, drinking and making merry.  We were surprised with a visit by Paul and Carol’s daughter Tracey, who I hadn’t seen for over 15 years, and her 2 boys who I hadn’t met before.  After the initial shy period, the kids were soon off sharing technology and coming back and forth to show us the Elf Yourself dances they had been making with photos of us adults.  There was then even more laughter watching some of the adults trying to download the app to create their own.  At some point, Val and Audrey slipped away to Val’s house where she gave Audrey a little gift.  Audrey has become so close with Val, like a long-time friend, that she will be very sad to say goodbye.  They have exchanged emails to keep in contact.

The fun and frivolity carried on for hours.  I always love hearing Paul’s stories of his and Dad’s childhood and youth and of Paul’s days playing football for Manchester United, Oldham Athletic and England Youth. We were even treated to Paul and Carol’s wedding album which had photos of Dad from 50 years earlier which I had never seen.  The kids nearly didn’t recognise him – must have been all the hair that threw them.

Eventually it was time to say our goodbyes.  We exchanged some gifts.  The kids were incredibly excited to have their first US dollars and Paul was intrigued by his authentic kangaroo scrotum bottle opener.  Paul escorted us back to the station where we journeyed home, all a little sad knowing it would be a good while before we see them again.

Mark (on behalf of the wandering winrows)

Irish Sea at it again

We had to rise very early this morning for a 7:00 am ferry ride back across the Irish Sea to Holyhead on Anglesey in Wales.  We opted for an early morning ferry in the hope the sea might be calmer – how wrong we were.

After an interesting drive through the Dublin Docks we eventually found our terminal where we were forced to sit in the car in the rain for over an hour before boarding with 3 tired and hungry kids.  There were in-car celebrations through the fogged up windows when we were called to board.  With the car parked safely aboard the ferry, we climbed the steps to the upper decks to secure a table near the kids area.

The kids and I had some breakfast (Yvette can’t eat aboard a boat) and we all headed for the cinema to watch Angry Birds.  Not long into the movie we all realised that this boat ride was going to be our choppiest yet.  When the movie was finished, we summoned our best sea legs as the kids dragged us to the on board pantomime which was like having teeth extracted.  With about an hour left we waddled our way back to the cinema to watch the end of The Secret Life of Pets which took us through to the end of the journey.  I thought Yvette was going to get all Papal and kiss the ground when we docked in Wales.

Once safely on dry land we drove along the North coast of Wales back to Manchester.  The drive was again lovely, especially given the weather was lovely on this side of the Irish Sea. One thing which surprised us on the journey into and out of Ireland was the lack of border control.  It made us realise the the IRA peace agreements are one of the few lasting peace agreements of our time – a real tribute to both sides.

The rest of the day was uneventful with us simply driving to the hotel in Manchester which is to be our home for the next week.

Mark (on behalf of the wandering winrows)