A few weekends back I took a trip up to Leeds and Manchester with my boyfriend for a weekend away. Since it's been about four months now from me moving back to Wiltshire, I thought it was about time I went and spent some time in the city that I've grown to miss. I'd been invited to the Results with Lucy Christmas party in Leeds on the Friday evening and so it was the perfect opportunity for Steve to come with me and for us to move on to Manchester the next day. We had a great time in Leeds, staying with some of his old friends and I obviously got to catch up with my girl Hannah (blog here) at the party too before we headed out for drinks all together. We woke up nice and early the next morning, with a glorious headache from one too many cocktails (or at least I did) and drove to Manchester to meet my friend Amy for breakfast (or should I say Steve drove - adding him onto my car insurance was the best thing I've ever done).
After we'd hit up Home Sweet Home in the Northern Quarter and I'd painfully attempted to eat a pancake the size of the moon, we headed over to the Trafford Centre for a spot of Black Friday shopping and then drove back to find our hotel. Situated a short walk to Deansgate and also the Castlefield tram stop the Innside Hotel Manchester is a gorgeous 4 star hotel built into the newly developed First Street area right in the heart of the city. Set back slightly from the main road, this hotel has an air of calm surrounding it which is just perfect for the weekend getaway without you having to leave the city itself. Steve and I checked in at around 4pm and took to the ninth floor to our King Room which had the most incredible views looking out across the city just as the sun was setting, which made everything feel that bit more special. The room itself was really lovely, modern and spacious with a gigantic king sized bed in the middle - perfect for snuggling into and watching tv late at night when we were just too tired to hit the town and party!
After enjoying our amazing hotel room and taking my time doing my makeup in the most incredible mirror ever, we jumped into an Uber and headed into town for our reservation at Vapiano's. After a very stressful half hour and a very grumpy Beky, we made it a little late to find that the restaurant was actually closed due to technical issues. After a quick chat with the manager we were kindly seated upstairs as they prepared to re-open and had a lovely tour before taking our seats and ordering our first meal. If you haven't been to Vapiano's before, it's a really gorgeous Italian restaurant where the pasta is made fresh in house each day and your food is cooked in front of you when you order it. It's a really lovely unique idea and makes for such a great atmosphere - especially for a date night! We settled down with a bottle of Prosecco and headed up to the Pasta section to order our first meal. Being the greedy bastards that we are and wanting to try out as much as we could, we ordered pesto pasta dishes to begin with and put them in the middle of the table to share. As I'd had the Pesto Basilico last time, Steve got that to try and I opted for the Pesto Rosso. They were both absolutely gorgeous and are definitely dishes that I want to try and replicate at home for healthy pasta lunch. Next up we both wanted to try something else from the main menu, so I, being the biggest spaghetti bolognese fiend that there is, obviously went for the spaghetti bolognese. I always say that you can judge a place by their spaghetti bolognese and this one was one of the best that I've ever had (excusing my own of course - *wink wink*). As always the staff were so nice and so welcoming and it was so nice to have a night out with Steve in a city that I am definitely missing now that I'm back home. Vapiano's is such a great place to go, for a date night or even for a family as it's a really lovely environment. The food is exceptional and extremely well priced and I'd definitely recommend it to anybody if you're in Manchester at all.
We had a great weekend in Manchester and it was so lovely to spend a weekend away together for the first time. I think Manchester is definitely always going to be a second home for me now that I've lived there and it's so nice to go back every now and again to visit. Have you ever been to Vapiano's or Innside Manchester before? I'd love to know your thoughts and your recommendations on where to go in the city next time I'm there!
We had a great weekend in Manchester and it was so lovely to spend a weekend away together for the first time. I think Manchester is definitely always going to be a second home for me now that I've lived there and it's so nice to go back every now and again to visit. Have you ever been to Vapiano's or Innside Manchester before? I'd love to know your thoughts and your recommendations on where to go in the city next time I'm there!
BekyLou, Beauty, Fashion, Fitness and Lifestyle Blog based in the South West and London.
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