Again, with the Football

Because I have been ill since we arrived here, my day to day life is not realy interesting thus far. I do go out every day now and walk around the city a bit - go to a store to "look" at clothes (the dollar being what it is here I am not buyinng much), stop at the "chemist" (drugstore) for whatever, and go to Marks &Spencer for a few groceries. M&S is actually a department store but it also has one floor dedicated to food - mostly prepared food for people who don't cook. The sandwiches are wonderful and nothing like we get in the States - my favorite is poached salmon with cucumbers and cress and mayo on brown (whole-grained) bread. The choices are varied and all delicious. Kitchen and refrigerator space are limited here so it's typical to "market" every day. Mike & I look forward every evening to going out to dinner. We just take the lift downstairs, walk out on the street, and walk to whatever restaurant we have chosen. There are so many that sometimes we discover another on our way and stop there. Our favorites tend to be Tapas style restaurants, whether they are Greek, Spanish, or Italian, they are all great (thus far). Because we don't have to drive we always have wine. :)

Ok, football. The Manchester/Chelsea game is in Russia this evening. Many of the fans who were not able to go to Russia will congregate here in the Manchester Arena which has big screened TV's. They began pre-game celebrations last night! Some singing and cheering. Today, it has increased in the number of people, and the volume of singing and cheering has also gone up! Groups of men (mostly) stand on the streets and sing and cheer in some random manner that I don't understand. Yes, beer is still allowed on the streets so they have that liquid courage to keep them going! As I type, there is a rousing cheer of some sort going on! Horns will begin beeping in support as the day goes on! Mike has become a soccer fan since coming here so we will have the game on tonight in the apartment. He sometimes goes to a local pub to watch the games and drink a few pints.

A correction to my previous statement about damage from last week's riots. As we walked along the street, Mike & I notice cracked store windows, missing fire extinguishers, etc. Should have known there wouldn't be all that rioting without some property damage! Wishing "our boys" luck in Russia and a less than violent night for those of us living in Manchester Centre.