So over two months ago, on the 3rd of September, I went to Manchester to see my friend Jill. It was something of an epic day trip, requiring me to leave at 5am, and my plans went awry when my train to london was delayed by signalling problems, meaning I had to fork out an extra £69 to Virgin for a whole new single fare to Manchester, since my original ticket had been an Advance fare, which isn’t amendable or refundable!
I arrived at Manchester Picadilly at 9:50am, just twenty minutes later than planned, and Jill met me. We went for a quick wander around to see ‘interesting things’.
A Space Invader on a wall in Manchester city centre - awesome!
Beside Bridgwater Hall, I do believe.
The big pebble - exactly what it says on the tin!
Jill in front of the big pebble.
In Albert Square - no, not *that* Albert Square!
Manchester Town Hall
See?!
Manchester Town Hall again.
Loads of these banners, posters, etc all over the city.
Detail from the side of the Town Hall.
Another detail.
And another. This one's a drainpipe!
Next we went to the Manchester Art Gallery, a rare treat for me, since I don’t get to go to many! It’s an utterly gorgeous building, and while we wandered around I was excited to se this painting. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m the least religious person ever, but as a small child, this hung on the wall in my bedroom, so it was nice to see it again, and to find out what it was actually called, and who painted it!
'The Light Of The World' by William Holman Hunt.
Information about the painting.
This was suspended in the stairwell at the gallery. Odd, but cool.
A wider view. The stairs were made of glass as well ... very unnerving walking on them!
We walked a little more, heading to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch.
The Old Wellington Inn and Sinclair's Oyster Bar, which were moved brick by brick after the IRA bomb in Manchester city centre on 15th June 1996.
The Manchester Wheel
My pulled pork sandwich at the Hard Rock Cafe - lovely, but I couldn't finish it!
In the toilets at the Hard Rock Cafe, each cubicle has a lyric from a classic song on the back wall! How cool!
This one's 'Let's Dance' by David Bowie.
'Your Song' by Elton John.
'All You Need Is Love' by The Beatles.
'Stayin' Alive' by The Bee Gees.
'Never Forget' by Take That.
'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Queen.
'Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This' by The Eurythmics.
'Wake Me Up Before You Go Go' by Wham!
We headed out to take a ride on the Manchester Wheel. Smaller than the London Eye, but you get at least three revolutions (we had seven!) and you don’t have to share a pod with anyone!
View from the Manchester Wheel.
Another view.
Hard Rock Cafe from the Manchester Wheel.
We went halves on the photo pack from the Manchester Wheel, as it was the first time we’d been on it together. It was £20 but much better than the one from the London Eye! Here are the photos. The first one is the actual one they take, the rest are with different backgrounds.
Jill and I at the Manchester Wheel.
Leaving the Wheel, I spotted this photo of The Script.
Irish band 'The Script'. I'm a huge fan, so this had to be preserved!
Next stop was St. Ann’s Square, to look at the Moroccan Berber market. Lots of leather goods, and hand crafted items, none of which we bought, but some were lovely! We then made our way to the Arndale Centre, where we had two shops in mind… Hotel Chocolat and Yours clothing. Hotel Chocolate didn’t have what I was after, which was the salted caramel praline marbles, but I bought some other goodies instead.
Mojito Cocktail truffles.
Salted Soft Caramels.
Yours clothing had lots of the things I wanted, but after spending an extra £70 on train fare in the morning, I wasn’t able to buy anything. Thank heavens for online shopping! We soon realised we still had loads of time before my train, so we spent an hour or so in Druckers, a Viennese patisserie chain, where I debated over the wonderful selection of cakes, desserts, cheesecakes etc, finally opting for my all time favourite.
Black Forest gateau and a diet Coke at Druckers Viennese Patisserie.
We walked a bit longer, past Chinatown, where I stopped to take a pic of the gorgeous arch.
The arch at the entrance to Chinatown.
And ended up in the Fab Cafe … a science fiction themed cafe/club/bar, which has a Cyberman AND a Tardis!
Doctor Who Cyberman in the Fab Cafe.
Tardis!!
After the Fab cafe, we wandered back to the station, and chatted a while longer, before my train arrived and we said goodbye. It was a lovely day, with a fantastic friend, and I can’t wait to do an overnight trip next year!
