In the time since our last post, while UK has been “wishy-washy” about its Brexit, we decided to do our very own Brenter and spend a week in Manchester! And what a week it has been!
As evidenced by this post’s cover photo, our primary objective going in had been to visit Old Trafford and see a Manchester United game. As I am a huge United fan (even successfully convincing Sherry to buy their stocks when they went public), after seeing them in away games, it was time for a home game. We didn’t know much else about the city, and unlike most of our travels where we researched and prepared in advance, Manchester’s history and character swept us by surprise.
Upon arriving, the first welcome surprise was a free city-wide bus that you can just hop on and off. We would soon discover that the city is actually very walking friendly and that became our preferred mode of transport.
Since you can walk anywhere, we did, and on the way to our destinations discovered multitude of charming locations; historic buildings perfectly meshing with modern glass-covered architecture.
There is a number of unique museums and libraries throughout the city, such as The John Rylands library pictured on the left and above, but one thing they all have in common – they are all free! From dinosaur fossils in Manchester Museum to the serene views of Whitworth Art Gallery and Park, they are all definitely worth the visit. We really enjoyed all these sites, not least because they are child friendly, as is the rest of the city, but I have to reserve special mention to two places that stuck with me.
The first is the People’s History Museum, which left an impression. When you witness all these people that fought for their liberties, risking and ultimately giving their very lives for rights which we nowadays take for granted, like the right to vote, you cannot be left unaffected. It was a definitely a different perception on various topics which normally I wouldn’t have been thinking of.
The second place, one of pure inspiration, is the Science and Industry Museum. City of Manchester was at the forefront of many technological developments, from world’s first locomotive to the world’s, also first, computer with memory being displayed in this museum. (Coincidentally, computer and the locomotive are about the same size!)
Of course, I’m saving the best for last, as the grandest monument to visit is of course the Old Trafford!
We went twice, first for the Stadium and Museum tour, and second for United game against West Ham. The tour lasts about hour and a half, and we can highly recommend it, even if you’re not a fan. From Directors Box to players locker room, the whole tour was interesting, engaging and funny. In United’s museum we spent around the same amount of time. The next day we went for the game, scratching one item off my bucket list! After some cool singing duels with West Ham fans and their team’s better play, United ended up victorious, much to our delight. As we were with our Little One, the stadium staff really tried to make it comfortable for us the whole time. He was more interested in all the people (over 75,000 of them); next time he will be helping me cheer on the team. 🙂
When it comes to food, being a melting pot of cultures, Manchester offers various cuisines and it was a joy exploring its Chinatown, hunting for the best Indian place in town or gobbling up some authentic English pies. With so much variety, there is definitely something tasty for anyone. Throughout all this, we have encountered warm people, which paralleled the sunny days we experienced the whole week. Apparently, it is a rare occurrence to be without rain for so long, but we’ll take it!
As all good things must come to an end, so did our Manchester adventure, but we were leaving with our bellies, and hearts, full. We will definitely be coming back!