We left London for Manchester this morning. The train ride was pleasant and got us into Manchester right on time. I wish airlines could be so precise. We took one of the free buses that go around city center and found our hotel. Our hotel was built in 1815 and is steps away from the Manchester Cathedral. The kids were happy because we have two rooms and double the space we had in London. Because the hotel is so old, all the floors are not terribly even. The bed is so slanted I feel that I will roll off the bed. After a break to let the kids check their wifi we went and explored and city. We first checked out the cathedral. Apparently it was the second most damaged cathedral in all of Britain during WWII. They fully restored it and then in 1996 it suffered damage from an IRA explosion nearby. The cathedral was nothing like the cathedrals in London, but it was quiet and peaceful and a nice place to hang out for a little bit. Manchester city center has a number of shopping areas so we checked them out and then went to a pub for dinner. On the way back we stopped and got some ice cream. While we were eating we started talking with some locals (one was a City fan and one was a United fan). They asked us where we were from and then they asked if it had something to do with cars (Indianapolis??). We are finding out that not many people here are familiar with Minneapolis or Minnesota. We went back to the hotel and called it an early evening. Tomorrow we rent a car and head over to the village of Rimington (as long as I don't pull a Clark Griswold and start driving on the wrong side).