Manchester

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This morning we caught the Metro (light rail) into Manchester. Well, I say morning, but after sleeping in and generally being pretty slow getting ready to go out we barely made it into Manchester before noon! We were still dithering around at Kath and Albert’s when Colin and Lucy came up. They warned us that we should get going because City (Manchester City) was playing at home and supporters would be using the Metro to travel to Etihad Stadium.

OK, off we went in the car to Ashton Moss where there is a big free car park near the Metro line. We purchased travel cards and boarded the next train/tram thingy along with ONE solitary City supporter. Phew, probably still a bit early for the masses to be travelling to the game.

We alighted at Piccadilly Gardens with a vague sort of intent to go to have a look around the Arndale Centre. I was happy to walk sort of leftish from where we were feeling that was the way to go. We have been into Manchester a few times, so I sort of feel like I know my way around a little bit? Bernie, of course, wanted to ask Google. Seriously, he is asking Google, and I am saying don’t bother I can see it!! There is a great big tower with Arndale written in red on it. Bernie accepted that he could put his phone away and we could make our way unassisted to the Arndale Centre.

On the way we popped into Uniqlo which was very busy so we didn’t stay long, besides which probably had the same stock that we will have in Oz. Next stop was TK Maxx. Much, much bigger than the store at Northland. This store was also very busy, but I persevered long enough to buy a handbag. I first saw it in green, which I liked but I thought tan or black would be more versatile. I found one in beige but then Bernie was the one to spot it for me in black. I still always feel like TK Maxx is like an op shop, just with new goods rather than pre-loved items. It’s a bit of a lucky dip shopping there even in Australia and worse in this HUGE store in Manchester.

We meandered into the Arndale Centre with my main aim being to find the KIKO Milano store to buy some eye shadow to go with the mascara I purchased in Lisbon. I still haven’t tried the mascara but thought I might as well have some eye colour to go with it?! We found the store and I bought a couple of long-lasting eyeshadow sticks.

With that mission accomplished the only other things we bought were some greeting cards. Not as cheap as they used to be, but still good value compared with buying cards in Australia. Bernie has been hoping to buy a new pair of Teva sandals at a good price in the UK, so our next objective was to find the outdoor stores that we though we remembered being a couple of streets away. But first, some lunch.

We tried the food court in the Arndale Centre, but it was all fast food so we thought we could do a bit better than that. We ended up going into Sinclair’s Oyster Bar next to the Old Wellington Inn in Shambles Square where we ordered BLTs … again. It never ceases to amaze me when simple food is done badly. Here we were in the City of Manchester and the BLTs were far inferior to the ones we had in the middle of nowhere on Thursday. All I can say is they didn’t hold back on the mayonnaise!! SO MUCH MAYONNAISE you couldn’t taste anything else. Oh well, it filled a spot.

As we wandered around to the outdoor stores the bells of the cathedral were ringing. For a wedding we supposed … on a Saturday afternoon. Lovely to listen to as we walked nearby. We had no luck at either of the outdoor stores. We think perhaps it is just too late in the year to pick up a bargain at an end of summer sandal sale. Last hope, JD Direct back in the Arndale Centre. Nope, no sandals to be had.

Not wanting to get caught up in the post football crowd we made our way back to the Metro stop to travel back to Ashton Moss. We didn’t see even one City supporter on the way back. Perhaps the game is close if no-one is bailing out before full time? Maybe football supporters don’t do that here the way they do for an AFL game? As we drove back through The Bridge, we stopped in at Tesco to buy some supplies. We had volunteered to cook tonight so picked up a few things for dinner.

After dinner I went for walk because my watch was telling me that I could still achieve my 30-minute exercise goal with a quick 19-minute walk. The only problem here is that a walk has to be uphill and downhill. I chose to walk down the hill first so had to finish on the uphill stretch. And I ended up overachieving with 36 minutes of exercise!!

Colin, Lucy and Adam came up with Colin’s Sky ‘stick’ to be plugged into the TV so that we could all watch the Manchester vs Burnley game. Oh, yay! While everyone else watched the game I read my book. They were all delighted with a 1-0 win for Manchester. See, that’s what I can’t fathom is watching 90-plus minutes of football to see one goal scored???



Steps: 13,894 (9.17 kms)

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