Sunday, October 04, 2009

A little bit of home


Yesterday we went into Manchester to do some shopping. I had forgotten how busy it can get there on Saturdays. It was hard to believe that Britain is currently in the middle of a recession.

First stop, the Slug and Lettuce bar/restaurant for lunch; then Marks and Spencer.

I didn't do very well at Marks, only finding one of the three items on my list. Pam fared much better finding several tops that she just had to have.

We men then went off to find a bag for my new camera whilst the ladies continued to search Marks and Spencer followed by Jemma's favourite shop, Primark.

We men had accomplished all that we set out to do a lot faster than the women which bought us time for a drink in one of the pubs near the Manchester Eye.

Following our shopping trip, the plan was to go to the Hilton for cocktails. They only allow so many people in at once to the cocktail bar, so you have to queue and wait. With tired feet and weary from so much shopping, we decided to visit a nearby tavern instead - a good choice. A round of cocktails in the Hilton would have cost over £50. As it was a round in the pub came to an unbelievable £25.

Suitably refreshed, we made our way to El Rincon de Rafa, a Spanish tapas bar in the heart of the city.

For the benefit of my Spanish readers, I can tell you that tapas are even more popular in Manchester than they are in Spain. Luckily, Dave had booked us a table otherwise we would have had to have eaten at the bar.

The range and the quality of tapas were excellent- well up to the standards that we enjoy in Bigastro.

Dave, the boyfriend of our youngest daughter Laura, was very taken with the crab claws so he ordered a second ration and wanted me to post this picture of the left overs.

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