North Hyde, England

Have you ever heard of it? I hadn't... yet today I spent a bout an hour and a half there doing absolutely nothing. That's right nothing... and I enjoyed every second of it. Today I got to experience a typical English day.

I did all sorts of traveling on the mass transit systems of England. It started with a bus ride to a train station and then a train ride to Manchester for the Christmas markets. We wandered the streets and had brats from Germany, fudge by the Swiss and some French Crepes. A great day of eating, which is always my number one hobby while I am here.

After we arrived by the train, we took a tram, which is a hybrid version of a subway and a cable car... a great way to travel around a city.

Last year I read an article about transportation throughout the larger cities of England. What the article said and I truly believe is true, is that the cities are pedestrian friendly... they do not want cars in their cities and it works. Down towns in America are dying, down towns in Europe are thriving... it is truly a sight to see.

Anyway back to North Hyde. On our way back home, our train stopped about North Hyde and decided it didn't want to ride anymore. It was losing air to its breaks and we weren't going anywhere. We sat on the train for an hour and a half waiting for a coach bus to come and get us... and wow... what a bus it was. This was a bus that you would imagine a rock and roll band riding on as they went from city to city on their tour.

So, a day of experiencing all the joys of mass transit in England. It was fun and comical. Comical because the coach bus left and was going the wrong way, so we made a circle back around to that now famous town of North Hyde....