September – October 2021
The first day trip I took from London was to a super fun and funky city called Brighton in southern England.
Lots of wild vintage stores.
So many great lanes (streets) to check out.
Had a delicious poké bowl at a payment optional restaurant. I like this concept. They got a good donation.
The Royal Pavilion is an interesting building. It is a former royal residence with an Indian style exterior and Chinese interior.
Brighton Pier
Happy because I am here, and just found some excellent animal drawing prints.
You can get a great view from a glass elevator.
Pebble beaches. Looking forward to future visits.
My next trip from London was to Manchester. Even though I used to play as Manchester City when I played FIFA, I decided to tour of Old Trafford, where Manchester United play.
Historical pitch, over 100 years old.
The best player in the world is back in red! This is Ronaldo’s game day locker.
Man U wins a lot.
Attractive, modernized, industrial city.
Roman ruins. Manchester was first settled by the Romans about 2,000 years ago.
I was just walking down the street when I saw people walking into the Opera House, so I followed them in and saw a wild musical.
Bat out of Hell is a very edgy adaptation of Peter Pan. I really enjoyed it.
Lots of street art around Manchester.
And colorful stores.
These Charizard Pokémon cards could pay for grad school. The value of something is simply what somebody will pay for it.
Manchester was the first industrialized city in the world. It specialized in textiles.
The details this old machinery can produce are amazing!
These pattern making textile machines led to the creation of the first computers.
Splurged on books. I love the, “A Very Short Introduction” series by Oxford University press. Great way to get the most important information about 100’s of topics. Your mind is your greatest asset, and time is your most valuable resource. Use your resources to improve your assets, and you will do well.
So great to be at a music festival again. Razorlight and Kaiser Chiefs rocked out.
Manchester has a great music scene.
From Manchester, I took a train down to Cardiff, the Capital of Wales. Wales is one of the four countries that makes up the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland). 
Cardiff is a lovely city. Though I have to say, there was a noticeable economic divide between England and Wales. In my brief time there, I saw several people openly injecting drugs and passed out in various places around the city. There were many signs prohibiting drug use and I saw more facial tattoos than anywhere else I have been.
The oldest record store in the world.
I checked out the Cardiff Natural History Museum, but could not read most of the signs there. Wales has its own language, Welsh, and all public spaces put Welsh before English.
Mammoths may walk the earth again. Scientists are working to clone them. For reasons I forget, they could help the environment by occupying permafrost areas.
Rodin and Monet at the National Museum Cardiff.
Just like the interior of this pub where I had breakfast.
Cardiff Castle was originally built by the Normans in the 11th Century, on top of Roman ruins from the 3rd century.
The Welsh dragon was adopted by Welsh kings as a symbol of power after the Romans withdrew from Britain.
The Bute family had a presence in Cardiff from 1776-1947. They made a fortune in coal and one of them turned the Bell Tower into a bachelor pad
This demon was intended to scare the women away from the smoking room.
The women’s room was the Arab room.
Friendly decorations in the children’s nursery, heads on spikes.
Love this library.
Bute park.
A few weeks after Cardiff, I took a day trip up to Oxford. It is a small university city. Oxford University, founded 1096, is the oldest English speaking university still operating in the world. The University of Bologna (Italy), founded 1088, is the oldest university in the world that is still in operation.
I happened to be there while they were having a ceremony for new students. Thousands of brilliant new Oxford pupils were walking around all day toasting in funny hats and robes.
Lovely garden
Definitely my favorite picture from Oxford.
One of the college dinning halls. The University of Oxford consists of 39 independent colleges.
The Church of St. Mary the Virgin.
The Oxford Natural History Museum is amazing!
Oxford was great, looking forward to Cambridge.