Here are some photos of my trip to Manchester and Dublin from late November and early December. It was a short trip but I packed in lots. I definitely felt that Manchester had more to offer and I came away with the impression that Dublin, though beautiful, is becoming a horrible tourist trap.
I got a cheap deal on the flight, but it required flying into London and out of Dublin on Icelandair. I had been to London before, so I thought I’d hop a train and head up to Manchester instead. My first night there I attended a football match, Man U vs Berne’s Young Boys. The hometown team won 1-0 but most of the fans were disgusted by Man U’s poor showing this season.
Enriqueta Ryland built this library in memory of her husband as a gift to the people of Manchester. https://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/rylands/
In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of British women winning the right to vote, the library also featured a fantastic exhibit on the suffragette movement in England. If you want to learn about a group of incredibly courageous women fighting for the right to vote there are a number of good links on line such as this: https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/discover/suffragettes
Manchester was full of old and funky new architecture. It was also close to Christmas and Mancunians love their Christmas markets.
I did a daytrip to nearby Chester, a village surrounded by Roman- era fortifications. Come for the cool Tudor architecture, stay for the sumptuous beer served ubiquitously (and then find your tipsy self back to the train station for the trip back to Manchester).
The inside of the cathedral was spectacular. They even had a replica built out of Lego. I found this ridiculously cool.
sedativegunk 