alive & well

We did in fact arrive in England more or less on time, and we are well (some sunburn aside).

Evidently public libraries are the places to get Internet access, but we only figured this out a day or two ago. But here we are!

Since we only have a few minutes for free on the computer, I'll just stick to the highlights:

Manchester is gritty, gritty, gritty. Not super pedestrian-friendly, though now that I think of it so far everywhere we've gone people have been driving like maniacs. Had some good food and some not so good food in MAN. Friend P. picked us up from the airport, showed us around, nice time had but wouldn't recommend MAN to the masses. Lyme Park nearby, however, is definitely a must-see.

Then there was Prestatyn and Rhyl. Oh. My. God. Miles of arcades and kiddie rides and tacky. Nice walk by the ocean between though.

We're in Conwy now, which is PERFECT. Exactly what I imagined our trip to be: quaint, picturesque, lots of nice walks, history to see, beautiful rolling hills on one side and the ocean on the other. Lovely scone with strawberry jam and clotted cream yesterday helped too.

Walked to Llandudno, which is where we're using the library. When we started out this morning it was raining lightly and looked cloudy for miles, but about halfway around the estuary the sun came out and burned my face. Again. Only on the days when I'm not wearing sunscreen, of course. Boo.

But to sum up, we're now having a brilliant time and loving it...though based on our energy levels after two days of walking we are worried about our ability to walk the Cumbria Way without collapsing from exhaustion at the end of each day.

More when I can. Pictures will be posted when we get back to the States.