On Saturday morning, P and I arrived at the London Euston station for our trip to Manchester. Here we are at the station, checking our departure platform from the big screen.
P looking eager to board the train. We managed to squeeze one week's worth of clothes into the backpack that P is carrying.
After 2 hours of a rather pleasant train ride, we arrived at the Manchester Picadilly station, dropped our bags at the hotel and hopped on the tram to Old Trafford for the stadium and museum tour. As Manchester is revamping its tram network and the nearest tram stop from our hotel was closed, we had to walk quite a distance to the next tram stop.
The best part of the tour for me was the moment we stepped into the stadium. I went like "WOW" and was gaping like a goldfish. After that, I naturally took up the role of P's personal photographer.
In the evening, we went shopping in Manchester. There's a huge Primark here and it wasn't as crowded as the London store, which was good, but as shopping wasn't our real agenda in Manchester, we didn't go crazy like we did before. Frankly, Manchester is a rather boring place. It's not particularly pretty and there wasn't much to do. They do have a pretty happenin' night life though, which we did not partake in. When night fell, we saw lots of scantily clad ladies in stilettos headed for a hot night out at the clubs. Here's a picture of the city centre of Manchester.
Day 6 (10/5): CY goes on a solo adventure to York
While P caught the Man U v Man City match, CY went on a little adventure of her own to the city of York. York is a compact and walkable city enclosed within the city walls. It has one of the largest pedestrian zones in Europe - on specified days and times, certain roads in the city centre will be closed to traffic, thus making it safer and more enjoyable for pedestrians.
The moment I stepped out of the railway station, I was greeted by colourful flowers in full bloom. Check out these tulips - I'd only seen tulips at the florist, never out like that before.
A short walk led me to the magnificent York Minster, a gothic cathedral. An organ service was in session while I was there.
I don't really know what this is...probably some kind of fortress but I managed to catch 2 birds in flight so that made the picture pretty.
Down at the canal watching the ducks. They're amusing to watch because they move around in their little family group - you won't find a stray duckling walking on its own! Papa duck and mama duck will always lead the pack, with the little ducklings tottering about behind or alongside their parents.
Here's another group admiring the scenery from the bank.
The Shambles - a meandering, narrow Medieval street. It's said that in some places, the street is so narrow that if you stand with arms outstretched, you can touch the houses on both sides...I really don't think my arms are that long...
Big Betty's was full with a queue, so I opted for Little Betty's cafe instead.
Enjoying the English traditional afternoon tea of scones with jam and clotted cream. It must be a weird sight to be having tea alone, as I got quite a few stares from that old lady on the top left hand corner of the picture. At one point, I even heard her exclaim to her husband, "Oh look, she's taking a picture of her food!" So rude...
Took a nice stroll along the city walls. These walls were built during the Roman times to protect the city of York.
That's the end of my adventure. York is truly a charming place that is steeped in history. I wish I had more time to explore it in greater detail! Ah well, good excuse to put York down in my list of "places to go back to".
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