Wed 19 March
Arrived in London at 8:30 am. The sun is out, something I never expected. I made plans for the day. We would see Csaba later instead of earlier. We would take a run in the park first, see some of London at eat lunch at my favorite vegan restaurant 222. James and I had planned on meeting at baggage claim and if that did not work at the British Airways ticket sales and if that did not work at the Underground station. He was scheduled to arrive 20 mins earlier than I. I arrived and immigration was smooth and short. I arrived to baggage claim to get my bag. It appeared that his baggage carousel had already stopped. He must have left baggage claim. So I went to the BA ticket sales. No James. Damn, where was our back up back up option? Oh yeah, the Underground station. No James. I waited, waited, waited going up and down the escalator to arrivals, tickets and underground. No James. The final plan was email. I found an email computer and no mail. I sent him mails asking where he was telling him where I was. Our cell phones did not work there. I chatted with Csaba for a bit finalizing plans for our arrival there. Again I waited and waited. 2.5 hours had passed and I went from frustration to worry. What if immigration had sent him back? For what reason I don’t know. What if he got hurt and was rushed off to a hospital? I heard that people could be paged at the information desk so I went for it. The woman asked what time he was to arrive and checked on her computer. She said his baggage carousel closed 20 min ago and he was probably in customs. Still she paged him. 2 minutes later here he is. His plane landed on time but waited on the ground for over 1.5 hours! He then waited in a very long immigration line. He just got out. I was thrilled he was safe and here.

We were exhausted. It was lunchtime now. The run is not happening. We stowed our luggage at the train station. Wandered London feeling drowsy. We saw Wesminster Abbey and Downing St. We ate at 222 and as always I was pleased. I love their vegan crepe with ice cream and chocolate and vanilla syrup. Absolutely divine. We made it to our train to Manchester. We were looking forward to sleeping at Csaba’s.

Arrived in Manchester after dark. It was a neat city. Reminded me of Oslo, Norway with a combination of modern and classic and the atmosphere of a college town. Csaba lived off the Curry Mile. A long street of nothing but Indian and Middle Eastern shops and restaurants. The street had a lovely aroma of curry. We took to bus to the stop and realized we didn’t know where Csaba lived. We called his house and no answer. Oh well, let’s just stop at a restaurant, get warm and have an Indian snack. We will try again. James ran out to call again and spoke with Eva and was disconnected. We ate our food and I spot Csaba walking by. James ran after him and brought him back. He took us to his house. We were close. It was so wonderful to see all of them. Most exciting was Ezster. She spoke perfect English and wanted to talk with me. It was sweet.

Thurs 20 March
James and I woke up past noon! Yikes! We grabbed a handful of granola and went for a run in Platt Field Park near Csaba’s house. It was cool and rainy but nice to move after a long day on various modes of transit. We explored the park. There was a lovely Shakespeare garden where I ran a few figure eights looking forward to what else I might find. I came across a pond full of Canadian geese and ducks. Making my way over pavement, dirt paths and gardens I estimated that I ran about 3 miles. I went for another loop hoping for a 10K. I did it. It was wonderful. By the end though, as I frequently get a bit silly, I ran past a duck. I wondered if it would in fact start running along side me. Then I realized, rather sadly that it would not. Ducks are already in shape and incorporate fitness into their everyday lives. They don’t need to do the silly things we humans do. I snapped out of it with a laugh realizing how funny my stream of consciousness was. I was nearing the end of my run thrilled that I got to explore this beautiful park. We spent the rest of the day with Csaba, Eva and Eszter. Csaba’s friend from South Africa, another Unitarian minister visited for palinka, snacks and conversation. It was fascinating hearing about congregational growth in South Africa.

Fri 21 March
Today we went to the city center in Manchester. The buildings are beautiful, a combination of modern and classical. We saw the Ryland library which is home of the original Odyssey. Lunch was on the Curry Mile at Csaba and Eva’s favorite restaurant with large portions of Channa Masala. We bought ingredients to make a vegan chocolate cake and were home by 2:00 in time for tea. Eszter loved playing with my swim goggles.

We went for a shorter run at the Platt Field Park, about a 5K. We returned, showered and spent time with Csaba’s friend from school. He was a ministry student from Birmingham. James knew him from his blog. It was fun.

This was our last night here. We stayed up very late with Csaba and Eva drinking well. It was fun to drink palinka again with Csaba. We had some meaningful discussion on motivating people to make change and dealing with change ourselves. The conversation moved to raising children and realizing how special friends we were.