I believe this would (or could? who knows) be our last trip of the year and we spent it going to Manchester. We initially had this week to go to Rome which was sadly cancelled for the fourth time I believe so we opted for Manchester and wanted to still do something together.
We travelled up by train on the Monday and done a little bit of food shopping when we got to our hotel before heading out for dinner. I was in charge of booking all the activities and food for this trip so I went for Albert Schloss. This place was really cool and could tell it would be a great place to come for the evening but for now we just went for tea.
Afterwards we headed to the Peaky Blinders bar two doors down which done lovely cocktails. This later proved to be very popular with the locals! Next we went to Menagerie (just for the bath pic ofcourse!) for a drink before heading across the road to 202 Kitchen. Both these places had potential but because we got there around half 9 onwards and on a Monday evening, it was ok but quite quiet however would defiantly try them again when I’m next up on a weekend! We then started to make our way back to the hotel and we came across the Alchemist where we had a few drinks in there too and spent a lot of money!
Tuesday –
We spend the morning at Old Trafford having a tour of the stadium and also the museum inside. Must say it wasn’t as good as Anfield when we went to Liverpool but it was still cool to do. Afterwards we made our way back to our hotel and had a small bite to eat before deciding what to do next. We walked to Junkyard but it was shut and opened at 4pm so we went back to the hotel as we wanted to make sure we had enough time to get ready for tea that night.
I booked Dukes 92 which was lovely, both the food and the drink and somewhere we would both eat at again. Spoilt for choice really as there were so many good options to choose from. When we finished we walked back to the hotel where I changed out of my heels and into comfier trousers and trainers as we headed back out trying to find more bars to go to. We walked back along the street and came across Blues Kitchen which was a jazz bar and found a seat for a little while. There was a lady singing and the decor was all old fashioned and low lit lights which was nice to see for a change. When we wanted to leave, it was also her last song so most of the people including ourselves went up and had the last dance to Valerie. We then had tickets to 42nd Street nightclub where it was deffo a student area and night life – the drinks were £1 shots and around £1.50- 2 drinks all night which was lovelyyyy.
Wednesday –
The next day we went for breakfast at Ezra & Gil as we wanted something to fuel us up for the day. The breakfast was really nice, we both opted for their full English but we wanted a little more variety in the food choices – like a proper full English if you know, you know. Afterwards, we then walked to the Football Museum which again wasn’t my choice. It was interesting to see how football began and looking our for certain clubs although too much information about football can get bit boring for me! Afterwards, we had a pit stop at Starbucks next door and had a small mooch around Arndale but didn’t want to have a look too much as we dedicated Thursday to be our shopping day. Once we done that, we had one drink at The Old Wellington which is meant to be the oldest pub in Manchester I believe before heading back home.
We had a quick change and then got ready to go for an early tea. We went to Hatch which was a 2 minute walk away from our hotel. We loved the fact it had lots of variety of food and drink and you can order from multiple places. We both ate at Fuku where we had chilli chicken, spring rolls, rice and chips and a sauce pot which was amazing and filling! Once we ate and drank, we headed to Roxy Ballroom where I booked mini golf and beer pong. I lost both times which I am normally good at both of them. Had a little photobooth moment before heading to our next destination.
Our final stop for the evening was The Washhouse. We loved the concept of it being a secret entrance and menu but obviously its all over Instagram! We stayed for 4 drinks (along with 3 shots on the house) and we loved the cocktails and the design of them all. I think they might have changed their menu as some of the pictures from Instagram were not on the menu but we still loved them! When we left, we had more photo opportunities going into the bathroom and also the secret room with a slide (spoilers). Although, we did think you use the slide as the exit!
Thursday –
Our final day and we went to Arndale shopping and also side streets like Primark. The only things I managed to pick up was some bits from Primark. For lunch I was really craving an Archies. We had it at Liverpool and it wasn’t that great and since being in Manchester there were so many dotted around and they were always busy so I thought id give it another shot. Did not disappoint at all!! Go as far to say my best meal from the whole trip haha! Once we both finished eating, we had a small walk around the rest of the shops before going into Selfridges and browsing all the expensive things we couldn’t believe were so expensive!
We decided to make our way back home as we finished all the shopping and got on one of the free buses – they are so good and useful so deffo recommend them around the city!! I made the decision to head towards Junkyard Golf again as we had some time to kill before heading our for tea and i managed to book a slot for one game. They also had cocktail deals on which were £5 each which was amazing and they tasted really good. I chose the most popular game but I kind of which I chose the one which had the Only Fools and Horses van or even the South Africa one (not sure what any of the holes were called). Once our game had finished and I again lost, we sat outside for another round of drinks before heading home.
Our final evening we went to an Italian up the road Don Giovanni’s. As it was our last night we went all out with a three course meal and a bottle of wine. The starters and main were lovely and would defiantly recommend them. The only thing we wouldn’t recommend if the service and waiting times! I waited ages to be asked about a desert menu, then it was the waiting time of grabbing their attention to take what we wanted, then it was also the waiting time for our cheeseboard to come out. Overall, we waited around an hour to have a cheeseboard as they didn’t make it clear what staff was serving what as they had separate food staff to ordering/ drinks staff. Plus there was a large group who got served food before us and we were also sat towards the side where not many people could see us. Kinda disappointed in it but also would recommend the pizza and starters we had as they were nice.
After all the fiasco, we walked to 20 Stories for a drink. The view was lovely and also terrifying but it would have been better to see the view in the daytime but was also nice to sit and see all the décor and fairy lights everywhere. Afterwards we walked to Boujee (again, photo opportunities) where we had one drink before heading out. As we were walking back, we found a hidden bar called Schofields Bar where we had a cocktail each. It was very dark but mood lighting similar to Blues Kitchen. Bit pricey but a nice idea. We then made our way back to the hotel and passed Revolution de Cuba and popped in there for a while as they had music playing and was more lively and a nice way to end the trip.
Friday morning we packed our stuff and headed for the train station or surrounding area to find a bit of breakfast before our train home. We found 19 Café Bar where i had Kinder pancakes which was divine! All the chocolatey goodness. 100% recommend for breakfast or even lunch too! We then raced for the train as we nearly missed it and then made our way back home!
Xo
louisegyoung.wordpress.com 