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5 weeks have flown by at the speed of light and I’m in my final week of living in Manchester and working with Hurst.  I’ve loved every minute of being here and I can’t believe it’s almost over!

Last week, my friend Victor from Spain/Austria came to visit for the week and we really made the most of being in Manchester!  I loved playing tour guide and showing him around Manchester City Centre.  We also ventured out to the Manchester United Stadium and The Lowry (an area in Manchester that looks like a modern Venice with lots of canals).  We met up with Gemma, her friend, Jayne, and their boyfriends for another delicious curry on the Curry Mile.  (Are there any good Indian restaurants in Harrisburg?!)  I was also working near Liverpool, so we visited Liverpool one evening and saw the club where the Beatles got their start!  It was such a fun week and it was great to be able to spend so much time out and about in my new home.  Check out the pics here!

On Friday, my Hurst friends through me a “leaving do”.  Instead of saying party, here they refer to parties as “do’s”.  Two other very common do’s are “Hen Do’s” and “Stag Do’s”  which are bachelorette and bachelor parties.  And Hurst has an annual “Christmas Do”.  Maybe we can use this as the name for our Christmas party this year!   We went out to a place called Bredbury Hall.  The building itself was incredible with secret passageways and dungeons.  Very fitting for England!  In the morning, I treated all of the girls to an American breakfast.  I’ve made such great friends here!  I’m going to miss them all so much!

On Sunday, I decided to take a road trip to Stonehenge.  It was about a 3.5 hour journey both ways but well worth it!  The drive itself was amazing.  I was on a lot of old country English roads and passed through some really cute English towns where all of the houses had thatched roofs.  Stonehenge itself was an incredible sight to see!  The mystery of why the stones were moved there remains unsolved but it is known that they’re from over 3000 years ago and the stones were moved from miles and miles away!  Click here to read more about Stonehenge.  Despite the hail storm that started right as I arrived, it was the perfect day to see Stonehenge and the storm clouds really added an ominous feel to the pictures – Stonehenge Pics!

I’m still amazed at how well they make use of their space here.  Parking is far and few between and I’ve never seen so many cars parked it such small places!  At the Hurst office, there is an employee parking lot but once all of the cars are parked there, there’s no leaving until the last car in decides to go.  I had to go to to the office one morning before heading out to a client so I got in early and made sure I parked in the farthest possible spot so I’d be able to get out easily.  When I went to leave, three more cars fit into an area that I thought wasn’t big enough for one car!  They are impressive parkers here!  Because of the limited parking spaces, when you work from the office, everyone works from 9 until 5:30.  And basically, there’s no leaving until everyone decides to leave!  Talk about team work!

I’ve also noticed that clients make the most of all of their office space.  On the audits that I’ve been on, we normally sit in the office of someone who is on holiday.  This week, I’m working on a client in Liverpool.  They’re a chain of really popular bars in Northern England.  While at the client’s office, we are actually sitting at desks directly across from the Financial Director and Financial Controller and in a room with the entire accounting department.  It definitely makes everyone very easily accessible and it’s very easy to ask questions.

Tomorrow night, Gemma and I are going to take advantage of working in Liverpool and spend an evening there.  Then on Thursday, my parents and grandfather are arriving to Manchester.  Friday is my last day (I CAN’T believe it!) and I’ll have to say goodbye to my new family at Hurst!  I’ve had such an incredible time here and I know I’ll be keeping in touch with everyone once I get back to the states!

I have lots of plans for the next couple weeks.  On Sunday, my family and I are travelling to Scotland.  We’ll be staying in the town of Crieff which is where my Great-Grandparents lived!  My 89 year old grandfather is also joining us on the trip and we’re going to show him the house where his mother was born!  Then on the 18th, I’ll be heading to Italy with two of my best friends from the states for a week long tour of Rome, Florence, and Venice.  Finally, on the 24th, I’m going to visit my friend in Austria and see Vienna.  Then I fly back to the states on June 28th!  I can’t wait to see everyone again!

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