Destination : Manchester United - Day 1!

Destination : Manchester United - Day 1!

Friday (the 9th November), Steve and I hopped on a train at Euston Station in the evening and made our way to Manchester. Why go to Manchester you ask? Because we can! Actually, I had this mild obsession about going there from the moment I chatted to a young gentleman while we were stuck at Regent's Park tube station one evening on the way home from work, because of a faulty train. We struck up a conversation on the platform after a sighed heavily at the possibility of waiting a long time to get another train.. he told me he was in a hurry and needed to get to Marylebone because he was getting a train to Manchester where his family was. Fascinated, I talked to him about Manchester a little and decided that Steve and I should make an effort to visit! So, anyway.. after a 2 and half train journey we arrived at Manchester Piccadilly to a chilly Manchester! Bloody England! I must say after our weekend in Manchester - I adapted to the cold really quickly. I don't find the English weather as FREEZING as I used to! After a short walk, Steve and I found our way to the IBIS hotel in Manchester (right near Canal St, the token Gay neighbourhood) and settled in for a goodnight's rest... to take on the new day with enthusiasm!

The next day (Saturday 10th November), Steve and I went to McDonalds for breakfast. We'd been in town for like 5 mins and decided to grab breakfast in familiarity before we got started for the day. Steve and I looked at our pocket map of Manchester and tried to decide what to do for the day. We had awoken to a rather miserable, cold and wet day and wanted to spend a good part of the day indoors. I turned to Steve at that point and said 'Can I have the camera. I want to put it in my bag'. Steve looked at me and said 'I don't have the camera, I thought you said you had packed it?' I said 'No, I said I was changing to my bigger handbag, so I could fit the camera in and our pocket book. I asked YOU to pack the camera'. Anyway, a few more words were said after that... obviously we were both at fault for forgetting the stupid camera! I was glad to be without it actually... because I always end up having to pull it out and put it back into my handbag between pictures and with it raining outdoors I would have to do it frequently to protect it from the rain. Oh well!

The other sole reason for our visit to Manchester was because they had opened a new indoor ski centre called the 'Chill Factor' and given that we were planning a skiing holiday sometime in the early New Year, we thought we better get in some lessons in skiing (for Ella) and snowboarding (for Steve). So, we did a little bit of research and found a bus to catch that took us out to the Trafford Centre (a HUGE shopping centre) to which the Indoor Ski Centre had been built kind of over the road. They had just opened the the ski centre on the Friday that we had arrived so we they were not running lessons until the following weekend, so we lucked out with that. But the centre was awesome. They had just opened and not everything was complete. They have a snow play equipment hire shop, so you can hire ski boots, ski's, clothes... really everything and everything. It Steve and I headed back over to the Trafford Shopping Centre to have a look around...

I was freezing by the time we walked across to the shopping centre and welcomed a warm climate to defrost in. This shopping centre was beautifully elegant and very large. I have to say that is manages to compete and even excel Chadstone Shopping Centre in size and its eccentric interior. Steve and I made our way through this place to the GREAT HALL.. - the great food hall of course.. my stomach was growling fiercely and was indicating to me that it needed to be fed. Steve after walking around in a circle finally decided on an Thai/Vietnamese place for a nice sit down lunch. The food was fabulous and I oohed and ahhed the delicious taste while Steve admired my advanced chopstick using technique. I managed to get everything off the plate right down to the last noodle with no aid of any Western eating implement at all! After, lunch Steve and I had a bit more of a look around the centre and I popped into a shop to buy a scarf, gloves & a hat (which I look very stylish in btw!) because I was really bloody cold....

The rainy weather for the day had really set in, so Steve and I got on a bus and headed back into the centre of town and back to our hotel to warm up and of course have our afternoon nap. Feeling refreshed, after our little kip Steve and I headed back on to town in search of something interesting to do and some dinner. We walked around for a bit (I brought some postcards) and arrived at Piccadilly Gardens to be greeted by an Al Fresco ice skating rink and made a mental note to try and get there the next day and see if we would be brave enough to HAVE A GO! In a strange twist of events, we stumbled upon a restaurant at Piccadilly Gardens serving Danish cuisine and thought we would be brave enough to try something on their menu and sat down for a lovely dinner. The weather was relentlessly wet ALL day and we watched people walking past with umbrella's, hats, gloves & scarves.... and were not looking forward to leaving our little warm haven of the KRO restaurant. Eventually, after a good meal, dessert and coffee, Steve and I headed back to our hotel room to get some rest for our second day in Manchester!

Stay Tuned! *Zzzzzz*

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