Happy New Year!
Sending my love and warm wishes to everyone for a wonderful 2012!
I'm probably the only British citizen that had never set foot in the UK (Oh, wait … maybe my brother), until now that is! When Rich and Justin invited me to head over to Manchester for a couple of days, I didn't have to think twice.
This was my first ever Boxing Day celebration! My personal British history professor, Justin, explained, that back in the day the wealthy gave a box of gifts to their servants and the 26th of December off, so the servants could celebrate Christmas with their own families. Nowadays, it's just another excuse for a holiday, i.e., another reason to party! And as I learned, the British know how to party!
The Boxing Day Celebration started pretty much once I got off the plane … and went into the wee hours in the morning. I was definitely out of my league! Luckily, the next day was another bank holiday, as we all were moving a little slower than usual, so we took advantage and had a relaxing day and caught up. We eventually motivated, and I got a personal walking tour of Urmston, and the following day we conquered downtown Manchester.
While I was in Manchester, I was introduced to a host of British traditions, from Christmas cake to minced meat pie (a meatless pie - still confused at to why it's called minced meat though) to HP sauce a/k/a brown sauce. A trip to the UK wouldn't be official if there wasn't any curry … so of course my last night in Manchester we headed to Rich and Justin's favorite Indian restaurant, The Hilal in Altrincham.
Now, I just need to make it to London, Ireland, Scotland and Wales ...
