MANCHESTER

With Cardiff City having a weekend off - and, is it turned out, the Welsh football team doing the same as they never showed up in Cyprus at all - time for a break so went to Manchester just for a Friday/Saturday trip and a 1 one nighter.

Stayed there a few times before but mostly with work - how I'll never forget taking the wrong turn leaving Barclays Bank and, somehow, going straight into Granada tv, out by Dev's shop and on Coronation Street! Only then did Security men surround me. Also for a tv show recorded a few years ago for a now defunct satellite channel and last time, for one of the best sporting nights of my life witnessing Joe Calzaghe's defining moment of glory at first hand but this was the first time I got to look around in the day.

However this was my first purely social trip and stayover. Arriva Trains Wales currently offer trips for £10 each way so it's a bargain trip - more so when I won a free pair on their website when booking other tickets for City's recent awayday at Barnsley.

The trip is tortuous though - a slightly upmarket version of the train you'd get from Cardiff to Barry or The Valleys and up through Newport, Cwmbran, Pontypool, Hereford, Shrewsbury, Crewe, Stockport to name just a few stops. Both trips were cold too, middle of autumn and they had air con on full blast, muppets!

Manchester Piccadilly is very central and the city offers 3 completely free bus routes to help you around the city centre on top of normal services and trams. Our hotel was only 5 mins walk away though.

We stayed at Britannia Sachas - just £55 including full English breakfast which worked out cheaper than city centre Travelodges and TravelInns and brilliant location at top of main shopping street literally next door to Debenhams. Its exterior does nerve you at first sight but the fears go as you head indoors. For what it is, this was excellent with a lot of money spent updating it. The receptionist even gave us a free upgrade and we had a big room with split level bed and sitting area. Full facilities including big fridge and also a decent enough - if small - pool, sauna, jacuzzi and steam room too.

I'll spare you the shopping talk although Missus thought Arndale Shopping Centre was good but, as always these days, all the shops in any city centre can be found in every other one. There's rarely anything different to see.

So, nighttime, we headed to Deansgate and The Printworks. The Printworks is Manchester's equivalent of Cardiff's Brewery Quarter except quadruple the size with twice as many bars and restaurants as well as a multiplex and other odds and sods.

Now we had a good bevvy - and I'd had a long work week and long day too - so if you think I look pissed in the pictures, well it's probably because I am. Had a great laugh and time even if, surprisingly, it was relatively quiet everywhere although we left the scene at 11ish when I can imagine it could have got busier.

I wanted to show the missus Manchester's legendary "Curry Mile" which, in Rusholme, is like a mini Las Vegas with every curry house fully decorated. Unfortunately our visit apparently coincided with the passing of Ramadan or some equivalent so it was blocked off to traffic, packed out and best avoided. We went for a posh one in town but I was too pissed to remember much about it except the naan bread was huge and the food was average. Place was called East 2 East.

Next day, a bit more shopping but we headed home early to watch Cyprus v Wales ... wished I hadn't bothered now!

Pics of trip here:

http://tinyurl.com/38xkyh