the first real day

our first day, we were allowed a 'lie in'... which is a sleep in... not an animal rarrr.we headed over to Sale, where simon and paul (his brother) grew up. it's a cute little town, but we were banned from saying that word... along with the word 'quaint,' so make of it what you will. we had a 'proper' english dinner {thanks to their adorable dad}... which means roast beef, yorkshire pudding, veggies, and the best roast potatoes of your life. why might you ask... because they're peeled, blanched, then cooked in the lard and fat from the meat... it's topped with gravy and thoroughly enjoyed by all. and since we were enjoying it so much...we didn't have time to take any pictures. sorry.

                      

 we went to the trafford center after dinner, which is a mall, that really puts all the talk about snotty haughty taughty scottsdale to shame. this place is really ooc... statues, arches, live bands, fountains... you'll see.

        

yes... this is an entrance to a mall.

have you heard of this? weasel coffee... picked and regurgitated by a weasel. nasty. included was civet coffee, which has a 'unique delicate flavour after fermentation in the civet's degestive track'... basically the animal eats the coffee...poops it out...and people enjoy it as a delicacy. strange things my friends.

    

food court modeled after a cruise ship... with the blue sky ceiling, the deck, and spiral staircases.

after this, we went to this pub called 'the swan with two nicks' in lymn.. an amazing little town nestled in the countryside. we were surprised to see a group of morris dancers, who perform traditional english folk dances. we were really lucky to see something so rich in tradition (because simon, paul and gran- natives.. have never seen it live)... and to top it off, they were just super cute old men... dancing around with their flowered hats and clogs.