A flying visit to Manchester....(PICTURE HEAVY...)

It's been a shamefully long time since Mark and I last visited Manchester but we headed up at the weekend to catch up with Mark's brother and pay a flying visit to one of  our favourite cities. You can see just how excited we were by these photos, we both really love Manchester and could happily live there, we did see some lovely flats too, I just need to find a job up there! 


Wearing my Seasalt coat (necessary for the rain!), H&M striped top and Mac Impassioned lipstick. 


Manchester Central Library is awesome and I could have spent all day in there, how beautiful are those windows?!


We also made a brief stop in Chinatown to try and find some Chinese figs but to no avail :( I love this archway though, the colours are gorgeous!


Takk Manchester is a super cool Icelandic inspired coffee bar/restaurant in the Northern Quarter where I felt very uncool, this was hipster inspired dining at its best! ;)


This amazing mural was by Nicholas Chaffe (@nickchaffe) and I absolutely love it. There are so many little details in it and I keep noticing new things every time I look at it. Now I just want one of my own! 


OK, so the food and drink at Takk was amazing! I had the avocado, bacon and tomato sandwich on sourdough bread with a flat white (check out the genuine graffiti-covered school desks! ) which was absolutely delicious. Mark had roast potatoes, shallots and pan-fried chorizo with scrambled eggs and sourdough which I was super jealous of! 


The graffiti was amazing, I especially loved this beautiful vine and bird one on the side of this youth hostel- isn't it gorgeous?!


This was the first time I had visited the Northern Quarter and I loved it- the rickety fire escapes and quirky shops felt very Brooklyn to me, I may have to pay another visit to keep my New York cravings at bay!


The Museum of Science & Industry/MOSI was super fun and although we spent the entire afternoon there, there was still a lot that we didn't manage to cover so a full day (or two!) would be needed to do this justice I think! 


We saw a replica of the Small-Scale Experimental Machine (SSEM) a.k.a. the Manchester 'Baby' computer which was very cool...


The exhibits on Manchester's textile industry were so interesting, just look how complex this machines look!


I mean wowee! 


This thistledown coat was super cool- a must have for every fashion blogger I think ;)


They also had an exhibition on 3D printing which was brilliant, I loved how brightly coloured these all were!


These are 3D-printed frames of an animation of a bear climbing some stairs, they don't look like much here but quite something 'in action'. 


My little brother was always a fan of Bob the Builder when he was little and these were the original models they used in the show (before they remade it!)


A very cool cine camera, I love the Italian stickers on the case!


The forst all-metal printing press was invented by the Earl of Stanhope, this one was made sometime between 1810 and 1830...


The museum also houses the world's oldest oldest passenger station, originally known as the Coach Offices. Built between June and September 1830, the Coach Offices consisted of separate booking halls for first-class and second-class passengers on the ground floor. I get the feeling that Gemma will appreciate these pictures, that gal loves a good train! ;)


The steam train still pulls a little carriage around the track which looked super fun but we didn't get chance to go on it which was a shame, maybe next time!


More cool murals...


I love the contrast of the old buildings and the uber modern Beetham Tower, that is one shiny building!


This is an awful picture but it was an amazing pie! We went to Pi in Chorlton for dinner after a long day walking around town and it was the perfect finish. I am now a fully fledged Pieminster pie fan (this was the Shamrock) I just need to get my hands on some more to try...


We went to the North Star deli in Chorlton for brunch before heading back on Sunday morning, the perfect finish to a wonderful weekend! 

Where should I try next in Manchester?
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5 comments

Matthew Spade said...

well a lot of these places look very familiar indeed. i worked in manchester for a few years and it's not too far from us. Love it in Takk, seems to be my go-to place for meetings. wish the coffee was bigger though.

Buckets & Spades

Natasha said...

Great pictures, Maria. Manchester is one of those places that's high on my list to visit but I still haven't gotten around to doing, so this has spurred me to get a move on! - Tasha xxx

char said...

Manchester is my absolutely favourite place in the world - seriously considering moving there. Maybe one day. This post has brought back memories, it's too long since I last visited.

Helen said...

I had a few days in Manchester last year and I don't feel I quite 'did' it properly. I should have headed to the Northern Quarter!
I went over to Salford and visited the Lowry gallery which was lovely.
I also took pictures of that arch!

Unknown said...

Glad you managed to make it to the Northern Quarter! It's one of my favourite places...in the world. Try Common if you're down again. Unfortunately, I don't get to Manchester enough, despite living thirty minutes away. Looks like you managed to see lots in the short time you were there! xx