Manchester and Liverpool

After my quick stay in London, we hopped on an early morning bus to go north to Manchester for a few days.  Our plan was to spend two nights in Manchester, followed by a one night stay in Liverpool, and return to Manchester for our last night before taking the plane home.

Arriving in Manchester, we walked to our hotel, which was above a local pub and next to MOSI (the Museum of Science and Industry).  We settled in and headed out for food.  We decided to satisfy our craving for a certain Italian restaurant called San Carlo.  I had a delicious salmon dish with hollandaise sauce. Yum!

Our hotel "The Oxnoble"

After that, we decided to walk around town a bit.  We were already in the center and lots of people were out and about.  The outdoor pubs were full since it was a warm, sunny day.  I was still regretting not packing my sunglasses...

The Manchester cathedral flying the English flag for St. George's Day

That night, we took a needed break and went to the movies.  In France, foreign language movies are often dubbed... and honestly that just gets on my nerves, especially when it's an actor you know with a different voice.  I'd prefer subtitles! In England, we were able to watch movies in their original versions.

Manchester canal

The next day, we decided to tackle the museum.  In the 18th century, Manchester was at the heart of the Industrial Revolution.  We learned about the importance of textiles and electricity for the city.  We saw a variety of trains, planes, and automobiles.  They even had a replica of the first computer that stored memory.  It was about the size of my bathroom in all!  After that, we walked around the nearby canal, which had a relaxed feelings and pubs alongside.  All of the flowers were beginning to bloom too!

Manchester canal

For dinner, we enjoyed Indian food.  Indian food is very common in Manchester; they even have a stretch of road nicknamed the Curry Mile, since there are so many curry restaurants.

The next day was our day in Liverpool! Liverpool is about an hour away from Manchester by either bus or train (we took the bus).  Our hotel was conveniently located in the center.  What first struck me about Liverpool was the interesting and varied architecture.  They had impressive buildings with Roman columns alongside modern angular buildings as well as Victorian brick houses.  

Liverpool from Albert Dock

Liverpool from Albert Dock

We walked to Albert Dock, one of the most touristy areas of the city hosting the Beatles Museum, Tate Modern Art Museum, the ferry, and other sites related to the history of Liverpool.  We took in the art museum and then went to find some fish n' chips.  It's the place for it after all!  We continued our day with a trek to the cathedral, which happened to be much farther than we thought.  Though we could see it from the docks, it was about a 45 minute walk, somewhat uphill, to get there.  The cathedral itself was very impressive and large with an incredible stained glass display.  Inside was unique.  Rather than only acting as a religious space, the cathedral set aside an area for an art gallery display as well as a cafe, restaurant and gift shop.  It was quite unique.  

Gallery space in the Cathedral

After a couple more hours of walking and seeing the sights, we went to find a good place to eat.  We consulted TripAdvisor back at our hotel and learned that the top rated restaurant in our area was a Japanese one.  We went to try it, first being told that there was no space and to come back later.  We passed our time at a pub drinking Pimms, a unique, light and refreshing drink.  Once the time arrived, we headed back to the Japanese restaurant and were in for a treat! I ordered seared tuna with teriyaki sauce and salad and rice on the side. It was incredible, melt in my mouth delicious.  I was happy with my choice.

The next morning came too early, and we were headed back to Manchester.  It was starting to drizzle rain for the first time on our trip.  My big plan for the day was afternoon tea!  Luckily, one of the best tea rooms was around the corner from our hotel, so we went there to enjoy an Alice in Wonderland inspired tea.  We enjoyed a large pot of green tea, various finger sandwiches, pastries and scones.  I sure was full!

Tea time!

For my first time in the UK, it was definitely a good trip! We kept busy by seeing different cities and trying different things.  I'm happy that I was able to get a taste of each city.  They were all unique with different feelings.  London was the big city with lots of things to do.  Manchester was a smaller community with a nice relaxed city feeling.  Liverpool seemed to have more hustle and bustle going on and it was difficult for me to understand their accents.  Someday I'll be back to the UK, but this was a nice introduction.