Teachers on Tour in Manchester

This morning was an early start to catch a train to Manchester Picadilly. We headed for the Northern Quarter first to explore the independent stores and the craft centre.  Unfortunately, we couldn't find the independent stores but found a lovely cafe selling cookies and cakes before venturing on further to discover the craft centre. There were some beautiful old buildings, including the craft centre, but we were disappointed by the lack of shops - which may just have been us looking in the wrong place!
We visited Selfridges and a couple of other over priced shops and then started hunting for somewhere to eat. We managed to find an area with lots of restaurants and had lunch at Bill's. Afterwards, we explored the area by the science museum a little bit and walked part of the way back to the station along the canal. 
I have to say that of all the cities that I've visited, this was my least favourite and I was really disappointed.  It could just be because none of us knew where we were going and I wished I'd done a bit of research beforehand like I do when Chris and I go on a trip. I'm sure I'll return at some point as Matt is hoping to move here soon but I'm not really in a rush to be honest.