Today I went to the Christmas Market in Manchester with my family. I love going each year, as it really hypes up my Christmas mood, and it's such a gorgeous atmosphere to be surrounded by
this close 
to the big day.
After spending quite a while finding parking (the disadvantage of coming this late on in the shopping frenzy) we found a spot near the Opera House, which wasn't too far of a walk. It also meant that we got to walk past some of the smaller sections down side streets, that would normally get missed off on our route around. Brazennose Street was one of these, that had a world themed market, complete with falafel stand, English vintage shop and standard German beer and gluhwein stall.
We then headed to the French market on King Street, which is new for this year. We stopped at a bar and I had a cafe chocolat (the best mocha I've ever had!), while my mum had a Bailey's hot chocolate, sister had a normal hot chocolate, and my dad stuck with a beer as usual. Some of the food stalls there smelt delicious, and I was very tempted to indulge in the chicken provençal, but after my drink I was so full that I decided to wait for a while.
The main European market in Exchange Square behind the Town Hall was our
next stop, which is amazing! It has everything from stalls selling ornaments made out of driftwood, to Dutch waffle houses and kiosks selling hand knitted Christmas jumpers. I particularly like browsing the stand that makes presents such as coasters and clocks out of old records, as it always looks nice and colourful, and I'd love something like that as a random stocking filler.
We stopped for some food next; my mum and I opted for a spicy Bratwurst, while my dad got a hog roast sandwich. The stand next to where we got our Bratwursts from was selling all its stock off for £1, so we got some huge cinnamon cookies and 2 waffles sandwiched together with almond cream, I can't wait to sample them. We also bought some chestnuts from a nearby stall to roast whilst we watch A Muppet's Christmas Carol- it's been a yearly family tradition since we were tiny!
By this point our extremities were beginning
to lose feeling, so we began the walk back to the car. Our final stop was for another beer for dad, and there was a brass band playing next to us which was lovely and wintery. We also passed a Dutch doughnut stand, where we managed to sweet talk the assistant into giving us fifteen for £10 instead of ten! We chose four chocolate, four custard, three cherry, three apple and one raisin for me.
Although we got home at 6:30pm, it felt like it was nearly time for bed as I'd worked a shift in the morning starting at 7am. I had a Christmas blend coffee and enjoyed two of the doughnuts we had bought- Christmas is a time for overeating after all!
No comments:
Post a Comment