My CrAzY thoughts.... ^^V: Day 21: Manchester! and Old Trafford of course..

Another day trip last Saturday.. This time to Manchester.. Yea, THE Manchester, famous for David Beckham and all that.. This trip was similar to the York trip, where the tour leader gave us all the information we needed and left us to wander around the city on our own until the stipulated time when we just had to go back to the bus and continue our journey. We got down the bus at Manchester's Chinatown..

曼节斯特中国城 :)

The customary Chinese Arch~

Since we were too early, and most of the shops weren't open yet, we decided to wander ard for a bit and search for a public toilet, ended up at Pret A Manger..

Pic courtesy of adelynne :) Nice hot chocolate~

The interior..

After that little detour, we went exploring round the town a bit.. since our meeting point was at chinatown at 2pm, we decided to walk ard town before heading back to Chinatown for lunch before boarding the bus again..

Manchester in the morning.. a little glimpse..

Vivienne Westwood store..

Manchester Wheel, 5 pounds per ride (not for cheapskate ppl like me)

It was cloudy that day, so no view to speak of, haha..

the midget and the wheel >.<

Giant shopping mall!

Mandatory touristy shot >.<

Funny glass building..

Printworks, with IMAX screen and all the works..

This was taken in NEXT, magic slimming mirror, haha..

Some kind of war veterans celebration or something that day..

Mime street performance~

Triangle, this is another mall..

While we were at Triangle, we saw:

Free stuff! *excited*

So we went to have a look, ended up getting a free hand massage and nail tidy.. Happy!

Being massaged.. Dang, my arms look so dark here :(

Before and after.. (click pics to see difference.. :D)

Met some friends or ex-diploma classmates who are now at Sheffield and we took some pictures in front of the Manchester Wheel.. They are visiting us in Liverpool as I type this..

Next stop was Chinatown for lunch! We were starving by the time we got there.. Decided to have a buffet lunch (Asian food) cos we'd heard so much about them from other friends.. We went to this little restaurant called New Beijing, where we stuffed ourselves silly.. Couldn't help it, I guess everyone who knows me will know by now how much I miss eating in Malaysia.. We have such great variety, sigh...

First round.. very nice chicken skewers :)

Second round..

Third round.. Siew Mai and spring rolls!! Do you know how expensive these are here?!

Fourth round.. Lots of banana fritters :)

Fifth round, shared by 2 people.. *feeling stuffed already*

Scarily huge bowl of soft-serve ice-cream~

A part of the plates we used.. The manager thought we were crazy cos we refused to let him take the used plates away, we wanted to take a finale picture you see.. hehe..

After lunch, we had to walk a few rounds to digest a little before boarding the bus.. @.@~

Cute building~

And then we were off, to our next destination- Old Trafford, the revered stadium of the Manchester United football team.. :) I'm sorry that I don't really see what the fuss is about.. I just went with an open mind to take a look, so, no, I didnt kiss the ground I was standing on, haha..

On the way there.. Journey took quite long eventho it wasnt very far away, very bad traffic jam..

There, first look at the fabled stadium..

Me and my partner in Liverpool~ :)

Cos there were so many people visiting Old Trafford, we had to wait our turn for the stadium tour.. We were given lanyards while we were waiting, and of course, everyone gathered around to take some more customary photos.. Sigh..

3.20pm, time for the tour to begin!

Lots of these inside the stadium, Brits are big gamblers, I've realised..

Entering the stadium~

Thats the largest viewing stand..

Not an MU fan.. haha..

Tour guide explaining abt the stadium..

Middle..

Left end

Right end..

Throughout the tour, we weaved in and out of the stadium, going to different parts and listening to the stories behind the rooms..

This clock shows the time that a plane crashed in Munich, killing 8 of the club's players..

Commemorative plaque, with a picture of the 8 players below..

Another one.. Much of the tour was dedicated to this..

There was an eerie board that I didn't take a picture of, which showed the whole team right before the plane crash, half the players were wearing white jerseys and half were wearing red ones, and the 8 players who died in the crash were all seated on the same side, wearing red jerseys.. coincidence?!

Private entrance..

Next stop:

Lounge for the players' family and friends to watch the match..

They have the most well-stocked bar..

Haha.. the girl in the pic is actually a friend I knew since secondary school, funny to meet her here..

Can you spot the name everyone was searching for???
Hint: 4th from the bottom, haha..

Some very familiar names here too! (click to see clearly)

Famous former players~

All the girls were rather excited abt the next stop.. :)

I wonder if these are the ones they really wear.. They were handled by so many crazy ppl.. Eew..

The board where Alex Ferguson apparently discusses tactics with his team, hehe..

Everyone was fighting to sit below C. Ronaldo's shirt.. I wasn't that bothered.. :)

Then we were told to line up in 2 rows..

A grand exit, with the music and cheers and everything.. :D

The very snobbish grass, we weren't even allowed to touch the pitch..

Someone smuggled this out, and he was so smug, haha.. MU grass..

The team's box

Home team! :)

The players' seats are so comfortable, nobody wanted to get up after that... haha..

After the tour, we all rushed to get to the museum in time, cos it was already 4.30pm when we finished and the museum closed at 5pm.. We practically ran, cos we wanted to get our souvenirs done.. You use a one pence coin and pay 1 pound, and the machine flattens your coin and prints a picture of your choice on top... Luckily I got mine done in time.. Really regret that I missed the one in York at the National Railway Museum..

Yep, thats a (was a) one pence coin..

People jostling for their turn at the machine.. Im so lucky, cos the machine went wonky not long after I finished, and some people got their logos all crooked.. Most people gave up after that.. :)

I didn't see much of the museum, the photos below are all from my friends' cameras..

and last but not least, the megastore, with all sorts of Manchester United merchandise.. People went crazy in there, but sad to say, i didn't get anything.. Told you i'm not a fan.. haha.. not sure whether anybody I know is a fan tho..