Manchester
and Liverpool: Audrey Pfluge '99 and Matt Konowicz '99
Because of its importance to the Industrial Revolution, Manchester
had been allotted three nights. Given its strong economic base,
Manchester became the first "modern" city in England.
It is served by the nearby port of Liverpool, where cotton arrived
from the United States and textiles departed for the world. A statue
of Abraham Lincoln stands in the city, a monument to Lincoln's effort
to protect Manchester's industry, which was linked to the cotton
production threatened by the American Civil War.
Manchester is also the site of England's newest and most "posh"
youth hostel, located amidst a maze of canals, bridges, and trendy
night spots in the city's renewed docklands area. Returning through
drizzle from a pub supper, we happened upon a theatrical performance
of music and light, with amazing projected images intricately choreographed--one
of those unexpected magical experiences that seem to punctuate foreign
travel.
The students spent their first urban morning searching out an Internet
Cafe--to check their grades--then converged on the Manchester Museum
of Science & Industry. Manchester's history as a textile center
is demonstrated through its Power Hall, 1830s Station House and
Warehouse. The Power Hall contains dozens of working steam engines
in every scale and designed for every kind of production or  transportation
application. The city provided a much-needed chance for independent
wandering.
The group proposed an unplanned side trip for Sunday to nearby Liverpool,
where Matt, a  volunteer
fireman, was able to visit a British fire station. An additional
draw of Liverpool, as Matt explained, was that "the trip would not
have been complete without walking the path of the Beatles. The
Beatles Museum tour gave me an opportunity to relate to my mom's
childhood." |
Stratford
and Oxford: Todd Ertel '99 and Laura Segedin '00
The trip from Manchester to our Stratford guesthouse was the longest
leg of the journey. Thirty miles north of Stratford we visited Warwick
Castle, one of the best-preserved Norman castles in the country.
At Warwick, dramas of two different historical eras have been represented
using lifelike wax figures in fascinating tableaux: preparation
for medieval battle and an Edwardian house party.
 Stratford's
Tudor architecture provided the backdrop for an overnight visit
to Shakespeare's birthplace. Next we continued to Oxford for a taste
of "college life" of a somewhat different tenor than that of TCNJ.
We explored the town, dodging cyclists in academic robes--it was
exams wee--and independently explored Blackwell's Bookstore, the
Ashmolean Museum, and the Internet Cafe. Later, desperate to stretch
muscles after so much riding, we opted for a real Oxford experience--punting
on the Thames (or Isis, as it's called there). Each six-person boat
required a nimble-footed volunteer to stand in the rear, poling. |
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