Day 1 in Manchester

When I arrived in Manchester yesterday, the first thing I saw when I left the train station was a woman in an inflatable penis costume. Onwards I went to my hostel. I'm staying in a private room (instead of the shared sleeping space) which is nice although no quieter - last night's sleep was punctuated by noisy guests but also loud cheers from the streets below that I imagine were football related. My room is cozy, kind of has a view, and smells like old wood. You can't tell in the photo but the wallpaper is glittery.

The building is old and comes fully equipped with a cool elevator. I think they only use it when guests staying on the upper floors have heavy luggage.

Manchester is all about steel and brick.

After checking in, I went for a walk and my nose led me to street food. The pick of the day was italian tapas (the red stuff is REALLY TASTY chorizo sausage).

An ironic tree

My ears led me to this. Most street performers play guitars or other small instruments. This guy had a full drum kit, which is not an easy thing to lug around; my experience as the tag-along little sister of a drummer can confirm that. He was playing metal (as much as one can with just the drums).

After I was fully fed, I headed to the FutureEverything headquarters to check out some art.

This thing is one of many BUQS (Ubiquitous Electronic Life forms) placed around the city. They have an electronic computer part inside of them which allows them to chirp and beep and make noises (like birds) and communicate with each other. They're actually programmed to respond to each other. The person who was making them told me that "they use the city as an instrument" to break up the monotony of the typical city sounds.

Another one lurking

This one was newly constructed

The innards

Barely noticed this little cigarette wedding on my way down the road.

A view from my room

I treated myself to Thai food for supper. I opted for a veggie green curry with jasmine rice - it was the tastiest of its kind that I've ever had, and the serving size was big enough to reasonably split between two people. Paired it with a lovely Thai beer. The service was incredible. Overall great dining experience.

Night lights

Selfie in action