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jayhawk2000   
The only Kansas farmboy to ever subscribe to Utne Reader


Real Name: Robert MacRae
Lives In: Manchester, UK
Birth Date: November 21
Member Since: Feb 18, 2001
Last Login: Nov 01, 2009   15:01 UTC
Member's Time: Nov 08, 2009   08:54 GMT
VT Rank: 721
Deals Rank: Unranked
External Page:www.redbeardtravels.com
Travel Interests: Budget Travel, Beer Tasting, Museum Visits, Arts and Culture, Gay and Lesbian

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Manchester, UK  64  67
London, UK  32  24
Rhodes (Island), GR  16  34
Lindos, GR  13  37
Stuttgart, DE  22  25
New Mexico, US  23  16
Lawrence, US  20  15
Cologne, DE  12  19
Malta  20  10
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Do something eternal... throw away plastic

by jayhawk2000 - last update: May 16, 2009

Hangin' with my homies in London

Hullo!

You're wondering, what is a Jayhawk? It's an imaginary bird which is the symbol of my home state, KANSAS, and of my alma mater, the University of Kansas (BA in English literature, 1996).

And why the '2000'? To sound more butch, darling.

From KU to the UK...why is a Kansas farmboy living in England? I came to England as a university student in 1994. I made it my goal to come back and live here for good. The UK has a fairly relaxed immigration policy for international jetsetters like myself, so Christian and I have made MANCHESTER our home since 1998.

It was a big change leaving LAWRENCE, a beautiful college town in Kansas, and coming to a big city like Manchester, but if you read my pages I'll think you see why I've come to like this place. It's one of the best big cities in Britain we know!

Currently I work at a stockbrokers, but I've earned a Trinity certificate to teach English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). I run a photography website and travel blog (links below).

Some of my best travel writing and photos are in my pages for NEW MEXICO, STUTTGART, my Normandy pages (BAYEUX, CAEN and CHERBOURG), my MALTA pages and anything in KANSAS. I'd like to do a Kansas guidebook some day.
Christian swaps fashion tips

Our travel style

Christian and I belong to the Campaign for Real Ale and the Youth Hostel Association. Our idea of great days away include weekend rambles, hostelling holidays, pub lunches and sleep-overs at organic farms.

The main thing guiding our travels is the concept of going local. That means local beer, local food, local shops... We've all got McDonalds and Starbucks and Holiday Inn in our hometowns so only the LOCAL specialties and establishments make unique travel memories!
What d'you mean, WRONG TRAIN??

HOLIDAY PLANS FOR 2009

Nearly a full week in Madrid in early June to max out on art, tapas and rioja.

A long weekend in London during their Open House in mid September when government offices and other buildings not normally open to the public allow visits and photos.

Two weeks in Greece the first half of October. We fly into Athens for a couple days and will head out to a couple islands for a proper flop.
Hullo from Malta

LATEST TRIPS

For Valentines weekend 2009 we had a few days in Florence to soak up the art, wine and gelati.

In November 2008 to celebrate my birthday a gang of us went to Hamburg's Domfest.

In August 2008 we walked through Hadrian's Wall country in the North of England, travelling the length of the wall from Carlisle to Newcastle.

We flew into Atlanta in March 2008 and spent 2 weeks driving 2500 miles through Mobile, St Augustine, Savannah and Charleston.

In April 2008 we had a long weekend in London to see some exhibitions (the Russian art collection at the Royal Academy and Russian Revolutionary photography at the Hayward), plus saw Bettye Lavette's gig in Camden.

I went home to Kansas for a family Christmas at the end of 2007 which also involved driving around Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas plus flying out to Las Vegas to catch up with all my siblings.
Prost! in Munich

WISH LIST FOR FUTURE TRIPS

Relaxing on Corsica and Sardinia, visiting classical sites in Greece, island hopping in Croatia, heading out on safari in Tanzania, going on pilgrimage to the art galleries and palaces of St Petersburg, going nomad in Jordan, tripping and sipping around Italy, seeing all the cathedral cities of England, walking holidays in Ireland and Turkey and Morocco, roaming around the countryside of Cuba, seeing the colonial cities of central Mexico...

Don't ask where the time or money will come from but so far we've managed a champagne lifestyle on a babycham budget.
Home sweet home

No place like home

We have a flat in Manchester's Northern Quarter and I will be expanding my photos and tips on our neighbourhood.

It's a lot like London's Soho with chip shops, sex shops and sweatshops lined up next to jazz clubs, art studios and wine bars.
Our block of flats isn't called The Garden House for nothing. Here's a photo of our terrace.
English summer
In my spare time and on our trips I enjoy taking photos. You can see more of my work at www.redbeardphotos.com

And you know a technological innovation has reached saturation point when I pick up on it...we now have a travel blog at www.redbeardtravels.com

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Comments for jayhawk2000
yooperprof Wed Sep 23, 2009 01:05 UTC
 Hey Rob, I ended not going to Manchester this summer - there was plenty to keep me occupied in Liverpool and Blackpool. I still can't understand scouse!
BruceDunning Sat Aug 1, 2009 21:30 UTC
 One of my favorite towns is Lawrence and the vibrance. Check out my page and other local towns
christine.j Sat Jun 20, 2009 18:38 UTC
 Thank you for visiting Dresden with me.
Rixie Thu Mar 12, 2009 14:59 UTC
 Love the travel motto...
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