The train from Manchester to Sheffield was about an hour and a half, but it was through beautiful countryside where I saw lots and lots of daffodils. I feel like 2010 is going to be a great year if I get to see daffodils twice. I think my travel mates are annoyed at how excited I get to see daffodils.
My host family is very nice, though still hectically recovering from their trip to the States. They recently went to Florida for the beach and got stuck because of the volcano. Tony is Portuguese and Helen is from Sheffield. They have one son, Alex, who is away at University and two daughters Maddie (13) and Sophia (6) I told Tony he will have to teach me some Portuguese recipes to bring back home.
Today we found our way around Sheffield. Tony drove us through the countryside which looks exactly like every English novel I've ever read. Very green with lots of stone walls and sheep spotting the hills. In the area there are many good cliffs for climbing and there were many cyclists out enjoying the morning sun.
Later we made our way to the city center and got bus passes, so now we can do a little more exploring. There was an international market today, but the prices were very high for a market, even comparatively. We stopped for lunch at a local pub and I sampled my first English beer which is brewed locally by Abigail Brewery. It was tasty, but I'm not sold yet (on the beer, everything else is wonderful) It will be nice to get more familiar with the bus system, so we will gain more independence from our host families.
Tomorrow will be a day at the Pub cheering for Sheffield United...
Glad to hear that the trip is going well so far, can't wait to see some pictures of the city. Hope that you don't get too spoiled by your host family with good food...I might have to sharpen my skills for your return. Talk to you soon and look forward to the blog posts.
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