All work and no play

When I say I'm at work on a Sunday afternoon, you have to bear in mind two things:

1. This weekend I've been to two shows, an art gallery, had a massage, and walked through a bluebell wood and a priory 
2. I mostly came here to heat my lunch I stayed up north this weekend. 

I've actually been quite good about spending alternate weekends up north, and have now been to Glasgow, Chester, the Wirral, York, Leeds/Carlisle, and now Manchester. On Friday I had a ticket for Bill Bailey, and I was looking for somewhere to stay when I found the Victoria Warehouse hotel.  Now, if you knew me in Los Angeles, you know I rented a loft in a converted bank building, and absolutely loved it -- the cement floors, the open beam ceiling with metal girders, the floor-to-ceiling windows, it was fantastic.  So to find a hotel that did exactly the same thing was pretty cool.  The only difference were the windows--there weren't any.  At least not in the rooms, which was a bit disconcerting.  But it was still very cool, and beats the Holiday Inn every time.

They also had yoga classes and a spa.  Unfortunately there weren't any yoga classes on this weekend, but I did get a massage which was heavenly. (I still didn't sleep well that night, but I guess the massage only deals with the physical issues.)

The hotel was along the Manchester shipping canal, so it was a lovely walk into town.  On Saturday I went to the Manchester synagogue, which is always warm and friendly, and then the Manchester art gallery, which was surprisingly lovely.  I'm very critical of museums and art galleries, so that is high praise indeed.  (They had a special exhibit from Raqib Shaw, although the photos don't do the paintings justice.)

Sunday morning I checked out and came back to Runcorn, which is where I work  Now I've complained bitterly of Runcorn in the past, but I came back because I wanted to see the Norton Priory -- which was closed all winter -- and I heard there was a bluebell wood next to the priory.  I was not disappointed with either, although I was finished around 2pm.  I could have checked into the hotel, but that meant eating lunch at the hotel -- which is dreadful -- so I picked something up and brought it to work, where I could use the microwave.  I try to be resourceful when I can...

Norton Priory May 19, 2013 by Gregg View Album Play slideshow

Manchester

I still have northern Wales, the Peaks District, Blackpool, and possibly the Isle of Man to visit, plus I already have return trips planned for Leeds, Manchester and Edinburgh.  (I'm also thinking I could do a much-more-manageable 12-hour drive around Wales rather than an absolutely-insane 40-hour journey around England...)