Manchester is a cool city with hipster vibes, a lot of street art, and friendly people! I really enjoy visiting cities that are not super crowded, and are easy to get around. The reason I ended up visiting Manchester was because I found a deal to go there from my home city and that way I was able to continue on to other cities in Europe! The best way to find a deal to travel is pick non traditional routes to visit then fly out to other cities you want to visit. For instance, if I chose to fly to London, it would be uber expensive, but Manchester is just over 2 hour train ride from London, and I can still go to other cities in Europe as I choose! Another way is to sign up with apps or websites that alert you to deals for routes you like. That’s how I found out about a deal to Europe. Another tip is to buy your ticket for trips abroad (or locally) in January-February, March at the latest. That’s when airlines post cheap deals. Also consider alternative means of travel for instance, train or bus. In Europe, sometimes, trains are faster and cheaper to travel than airplanes.

I had visited Manchester before, after graduating high school, and didn’t know what to think, but I was pleasantly surprised. However I have some unfortunate news though, it was one week later, after my day there with a friend, that the Manchester bombing happened. It was shocking to read about it while still being in Europe. I feel I should mention that the entire time I was in Manchester I felt safe, welcome, and everyone I spoke to was very warm and friendly (a vibe you don’t get everywhere in Europe towards Americans these days). Unfortunately, terrorism or mass attacks are happening in the world and it really is sad that it makes traveling risky and puts everyone’s lives in danger. Still, I believe that the ‘war on terror’ is making things worse for everyone, and it is foolish to believe that war will end the attacks. However, I want to discuss the positive things about his cool city and hope that this blog post will help people, and encourage others to visit Manchester!

Me and my friend stayed at an airbnb (my first foray into airbnbs) and it was absolutely perfect! The airport is not far from Manchester city and it helps to have international phone service (which my friend got a phone plan for her travels from Sprint) to be able to call the taxi (I’m not sure if uber is in Manchester? Still you can ride the train into Manchester city too).

The lady we stayed with in her pretty home was walking distance to the tram (more like a train) and we rode into the City Center. Tickets are pretty cheap and it’s easy to navigate. We had originally planned to go to the Peak District, the English countryside, and go to Bakewell, a English town/village, eat Bakewell tarts, and visit Chatsworth House a castle where some films have been made. Sadly, it was supposed to rain so we opted to stay in the city (I still got to try the famous Bakewell tart towards the end of my trip to Europe! It was delicious!).

First order of business was grabbing coffee. We went to Moose Coffee, and we got latte’s to go, it was really good. We went to Primark, M&S and looked at cakes to eat (really good and cheap), and checked out other shops. We wanted to have afternoon tea and looked up Sugar Junction, but it was under renovation so we couldn’t go that day! Still there’s lots of places to have high tea or afternoon tea. You should make reservationsf for high tea and can also do so online at Sugar Junction. Perfect for out-of-towners!

I wanted to visit Selfridges at Manchester Exchange Square. At that particular Selfridges, in the beauty section they sell the brand RMK

I have known about that brand for years. It’s Japanese, and I believe only sold in the U.K. outside of Japan. I had bought their foundation which I LOVE. I originally bought some foundation from the airport in Japan on my way to China, and it is also recommended by many Japanese magazines. If you happen to be in the U.K. I suggest checking online on RMK’s global site to see which store carries the RMK brand and try their makeup out!

Right across from this particular Selfridges, is a famous cathedral and we also grabbed food at the pub across the street. Got to eat a pub at least once, which is kind of part of English culture and food is pretty cheap in there too!

All in all I enjoyed my time in Manchester, even if it was for just a day. I hope this short guide helps!