Manchester

After a long sleep, the first official day of the trip had begun! The morning was spent organising a few things, unpacking and easing in to English time. After a delicious lunch of warm tomato soup and watching the rain, grey, cold and wind howl outside we put on our thickest jumpers and raincoats and braved the shopping centre to pick up a few items. I was in heaven just standing outside some of the shops i have missed for a few years - Topshop, H&M, Zara...all within inches of me! Sadly J did not share quite the same excitement - although he did try, lasting a whole 20 minutes in Topshop! We may have to strike up a compromise for the rest of the trip, don't think he really realised what he signed up for when it comes to me and shops!

After a few hours of sorting out a few things and investigating the shops, we headed into central Manchester to San Carlos, a delicious Italian restaurant. The atmosphere was buzzy with all the tables full and queues of people waiting at the door for more! Bruschetta, Insalata Caprese, Spagehetti and many other dishes went down a treat - I don't think we realised quite how hungry we were until we started eating! The night was finished off with a fantastic dessert recommended by R - a delicious flambéd chocolate ice cream dessert. The ice cream is served on a plate, before the waiter spoons over alcohol (it smelt a bit like liquorice) and lights it on fire! It's a spectacle to behold and tastes delicious too - as we were the leaving the lady at the table next to us asked what we had ordered for dessert and proceeded to order it too!

Back home, tiredness has slowly crept up on me. We're off to Edinburgh for a few days tomorrow morning and preparing ourselves for the cold. Gale force winds have been having their way with Edinburgh for the past few days and although the weather forecast says they should ease up and the rain should stop whilst we're up there - This is England, so you never know!