Manchester England England
It started early one weekday morning, in December of 2014, somewhere around 5:30 AM CST. I was brushing my teeth and trying to get ready for work. It’s really important that I explain that I am not a morning person.
Daughter (19-ish, who’d just come in from a second job): I’m going to need you to update my phone plan for international use between <insert some days in March 2015 here>.
Me: 
Me: Um, why?
Daughter: I’m going to England.
Me: With who?
Daughter: By myself.
Me: 
Me: No, not happening (the concise version of my response).
Daughter: But I’m grown-
Me: 
Daughter: -and I really want to go. **In all fairness, this was NOT said with attitude, her tone was very sincere.**
Me: If you were grown, you’d be living on your own, driving your own car, paying your own insurance, and you wouldn’t have to ask me to update your plan because you’d be paying your own cell phone bill. You’re legal, not grown. (again, the very concise version of my response).
Fast forward a day or two later and suddenly my daughter and I were planning a trip to Manchester England (England). Please click on that link so you can get that danged song stuck in your head too (I love that movie).
The final destination: A Paul Weller concert (which I did not attend).
Yeah I’d never heard of the guy either, but I did a quick Google search and I enjoyed what I heard. And yes it’s kinda far to travel just for a concert, but I love my music too, so I’m in no position to judge. Remember when I went to New Braunfels, Texas (by way of Austin) for a Trombone Shorty concert? The bottom line is she paid her own way, and we split the cost of the room (which I found a hell of a deal on), so I can’t complain.
The Flight Over
- About seven hours
- Huge plane with four sections.
- Noise canceling over the ear headset with ear plugs are unable to completely drown out the screaming toddler one row over and two seats back
- Screaming toddler would “wind up and let loose” approximately every 15 to 30 minutes. Seriously. I FINALLY fell asleep to her crying and WOKE UP to her crying.
- Accidently broke the plug on my headset mid flight, trying to release myself from a tangle of blanket, scarf, and side sleeper travel pillow to visit the restroom. This severely hampered my ability to attempt to zone out by listening to my music.
- Screaming toddler was actually cute as a button when she wasn’t shrieking (she was full of energy in the customs line, I’m not sure how). I felt bad for the mom, she looked exhausted. I wanted to tell her to pack some Benadryl (or bourbon) next time and knock that little lady OUT. DISCLAIMER: I do not condone giving alcohol to children. Although I might have considered it on this flight….
Arrival at Customs
The interrogation began innocently enough, until one of the customs officers (there were two) asked if I’d ever been to England before.
Me: **shakes head no**
Daughter (excitedly): Yes you have mom. Remember, when you were in the military?
Me:
Officer (now eyeing me suspiciously): Really?
Me: I was on a military base for a few hours, on a military plane, while we offloaded some equipment and picked up some equipment. We weren’t there long enough to get off base and explore.
Officer: Where at?
Me: 
*for the life of me I couldn’t remember Lakenheath!*
Me: I don’t remember, it was a very long time ago.
Customs officers look at each other, then start asking more in depth questions (where do you work, what do you do, where are you staying, did you shoot the sheriff, who shot the deputy, why do doves cry, where were you the day the music died, etc.). They got even more curious when they noticed my daughter had quite a few stamps in her passport (from a trip she took in high school with her German teacher and some students). They finally let us go about ten minutes (but what felt like a lifetime) later.
The cab ride
£26, which is about $38!!!
The hotel
- Holiday Inn Express Manchester City Centre – Arena
- A solid 3 star hotel (no gym, pool, restaurant, in-room fridge or microwave)
- Complimentary breakfast, which consisted of scrambled eggs, sausage, and beans, along with fresh fruit, yogurt, toast, crescent rolls, muffins, coffee, and some excellent cappuccino
- Within walking distance of everything (food, shopping, and all forms of public transportation)
- Actual free wi-fi with an acceptable speed throughout the hotel, rooms included.
- Free Wi-Fi is important. Reason being, your cell service will either be very limited (if you talk to your carrier ahead of time), or you’ll experience huge overage/roaming charges, especially using data.
- With free wi-fi, you can install a app and call or even text for free
- Texting alone would’ve cost me fifty cents for every one I sent, and five cents for every text I received.
- It would’ve cost me ninety-nine cents per minute for any calls I made or received, with a limited, pro-rated plan.
The Sights
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- Walking distance from the hotel, literally minutes down the street
- Three floors, 240 stores
- Contained a market with eateries that served local, fresh food, and local vendors selling goods and fresh, local produce.
- Bought a container of blackberries and five seedless tangerines for £0.99 (about $1.45)!
- Was able to buy replacement headset here
John Rylands Library, University of Manchester
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- Amazing architecture
- Antique closeted toilets in the bathroom with the overhead reservoir and pull chain flush. Pictures were prohibited because they are actual, working bathrooms. Someone has one posted on Flickr here, and someone has rendered an awesome drawing of one here.
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- We rode a famous double decker bus to get here (but it wasn’t red, they are all different colors now and a lot of them have FREE WIFI)
- Hands down, this is one of the nicest malls I’ve ever been to, without being presumptuous or full of arrogant people. Not only visually speaking, but in terms of stores and things to do, like indoor bumper cars and golf (we didn’t do either, btw)!
- Beautiful marble (and half naked statues) everywhere
- Free wi-fi
- Food court is designed to look like a cruise ship (and was very difficult to photograph!)
- Entrances to the food court are designed to look like New Orleans and The Orient (Chinatown)
- In your free time (after you finish reading of course), do a quick Google search and click on Images. This place was amazing, and my words (and pics) do not do it justice.
MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry)
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- Anyone who’s into planes or trains would like this place. Free wi-fi was a bonus.
- Consists of five individual buildings
- Ate a brick oven pizza here that was pretty tasty
- Meh. It was free (donations accepted), and something to do.
I also visited the Manchester Library and Art Gallery.
I took a few pictures near the art gallery (and not many more, unfortunately).
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We caught the train to Liverpool (where the Beatles are from), but by the time we got there (an hour, one way), it was raining and we hadn’t brought our umbrellas with us. Leave it to me to stumble across the swap meet (I’m talented that way), in the form of a shady mall (or dodgy, as the British would say) that sold a lot of knock off merchandise, questionable meats, and other random foods. We grabbed lunch in a coffee shop, then headed back to Manchester. Other than that, the weather was very agreeable the entire trip, with the exception of one overcast day (due to an eclipse). It was in the mid 50s during the day with plenty of sunshine.
The Food
The best meal I had was at a place called Home Sweet Home (the cheeseburger toastie was to DIE for), even though the service SUCKED! I didn’t see any sweets (it was pretty crowded), nor was I offered any, which is something they’re known for. Despite the lackluster service, I’d go back and try something else. The toastie was just that good.
The Return Trip
- We took a bus back to the airport, at £5 apiece (a little over $7).
- It was the last flight for one of the pilots, he was retiring, which was cool. If you’ve never seen an “unofficial ceremony,” there’s a quick Youtube video here.
- There was a crying kid on this flight too, but not nearly as bad as the first one. Who are these people that can afford to fly intercontinental with these young kids? I could barely afford to go Greyhound when my kids were little!
Philly
- After eight hours on a plane and four security check points, I was feeling like this:
- When we cleared customs and finally got to the main terminal, our flight wasn’t listed on the board. Turns out it was cancelled. 🙁
- Since it was the airlines’ fault, they put us up in a hotel for free. 🙂
- We didn’t have our bags. 🙁
- I had a friend in the area, that I hadn’t seen in years, who took us to Target to get some essentials. We also had dinner. 🙂
- My ticket was marked TSA-Pre. Short line, and no need to remove my shoes or pull items out of my carry on bag! 🙂
- My daughter’s was not. 🙁
- I was felt up by a TSA agent due to some spilled hand sanitizer on my thigh. She was very thorough. She could’ve at least bought me a drink first. 🙁
- Our direct flight back to Nashville, first thing in the morning, was overbooked. 🙁
- They were able to get enough volunteers to give up their seats. 🙂
- Our bags (and our bodies) made it home safely. 😀
Overall it was a good trip. If I had my choice, I would’ve gone to London, but it wasn’t about me. My daughter made it to the concert, and she was ecstatic.
And that’s saying a lot, because she doesn’t get excited about much of anything.
Until next time,
Angela