First time In Manchester! (Honest reaction)

Hi everyone and welcome to Manchester. First things first, if you're new here, hi, my name is Alana and I'm a Canadian, but I live here in the UK. And if you're not new here, hello. Hope you are keeping cool and hydrated because it is so hot. Now this is actually my first time in Manchester. I'm from, well, I'm from Canada, but then I'm also now from Kent, so Southeast England. And this is my first time here. I am very excited. Unfortunately, picked a heat wave to come here. And then, I don't know if you can tell how overcast, we have thunderstorm warnings because it is so hot and it's so humid. So it might start raining. If it does, welcome to Manchester. Because I'm only in Manchester for like 48 hours, it was really hard to decide, like, what do you do? What is the go-to thing to do in Manchester for a very short trip? So I thought I would do a walking tour through the city, see some of the highlights. I'm not going to be able to see everything, obviously, unfortunately, but we'll do our best. So to start us off, we are here at Manchester Cathedral. Absolutely gorgeous. I want to say 1250. Alanna editing this video is going to have to double check that. But I love that it is just a gorgeous cathedral in the middle of what feels to be a real mixed city in that really historic stuff and then really modern stuff like glass buildings. It's like a real mixture. Now, you can go in the cathedral. I think it's free too, which is nice. But I don't know if we're going to have enough time. I want to make sure that we can see like a good amount of stuff. Do you know what I mean? But I think this is a great starting point. I'm very excited to see what we'll see. I have absolutely no idea. I didn't really do a whole lot of research, but we've got a walking tour and we're going to just see what we can find out. And if we get hit with a thunderstorm, that's just part of the part of the adventure. There's also this really nice path that goes all the way around the cathedral. There's a woman playing violin. I don't know if this microphone will pick it up. There's construction. There's some sort of makeshift stage over on the other side where there's like an actual like performance. It just feels like a really bustling place. Like there's stuff going on. There are people doing stuff. And yet right in the middle, you've got this historical, beautiful cathedral. I just love it. And this is one of the things I love about the UK. And we just don't get this. We just don't get this in North America. And even though Mancurians, is that how you say it? Mancurians? Even though the people of Manchester speak English, I'm having a hard time with the accent. I'm not going to lie. It's like being a new expat in England all over again. But thankfully, the Northerners are very nice. So when I don't understand what somebody's saying and I go, sorry, they're not rude about it. They're very kind. So far. In terms of traveling abroad, I really want to go back to Italy. I've had wonderful times, like wonderful holidays in Italy, and I'd really love to go back. And I am actually learning Italian with today's sponsor, Babbel. Babbel is one of the top language learning apps in the world. And they can help you start learning a new language in just three weeks. With lessons designed by real language teachers, you learn practical conversations that you would actually use in real life. They also offer a 20-day money-back guarantee if it's not for you. If you'd like to give it a go, make sure to check out my link in the description or you can scan the QR code to get 50% off your next Babbel subscription. Crazy. 5-0. 50%. And make sure to leave a comment down below, what language are you hoping to learn? Now I'm currently learning Italian with Babbel, brand new. Like literally no Italian, never studied in school. And it's actually been really fun. So one of the things I'm learning in my lesson right now is dove abiti? Where do you live? Or come ti chiami? What's your name? Please don't make fun of my pronunciation. I'm learning. I'm brand new to this. But honestly, it's been really fun. Now from the cathedral, there is a attraction. I guess you would call it an attraction. An important Manchester thing. Very close nearby, so we're going to head there next. I think it's just a short walk. Fingers crossed. And hopefully the rain can hold off just a little bit longer. Alright everyone, we are at stop 2. And yes, it has started raining. And that of course is the National Football Museum. This building is so interesting. And kind of feels out of place, but then not at all. I was reading online that the building wasn't actually built for the Football Museum. That came after. I think originally it was like exhibitions and galleries. And maybe more of like a traditional gallery museum space. And then more recently they got the National Football Museum. I think from Preston, I want to say. And now it lives here. So I thought that was interesting that this wasn't its original purpose. But it certainly makes sense for it to be here. Now personally, I don't care about football. I'm so sorry. I've tried. Maybe someday. But it is not this day. So I wanted to see the building. But we are not going in it today. We just don't have time. And I'd rather see more. Do you know what I mean? So I think our next stop is a 5 or 6 minute walk. Hopefully the rain. Like if it stays spitting, okay. Not great. But if it becomes like torrential, then we've got an issue. But this has been the National Football Museum. A very cool building. Even if you're just into like the architecture. Very neat. And what I thought was kind of fun is next to it is quite an historic building as well. Which is now a massive food court. So you've got like hard rock cafe and an IMAX and stuff in this gorgeous historic building. If this doesn't say England, I don't know what does. The mixture of historical and modern. Anyway, let's carry on to our next stop. Alright everyone, we are at our next stop. If I turn this around properly. And that is the Royal Exchange Theater. So it had a bit of a bing, a bit of a google. I think they started building in 1860s. But it actually wasn't completed for quite a long time. And then it was bombed by the IRA and rebuilt again. So it's had a long interesting life. There's like loads of shops and things in this area. Like expensive shops. And then this gorgeous building. I read online that it's a like in the round theater. I hope that's true. I've always wanted to go to a theater in the round. But either way, it's absolutely beautiful. And again, I think it so perfectly encapsulates. We've seen this. This is what? Stop 3? And it's that combination of historical, like gorgeous. In with the really modern. So on our walk from the football museum here. There's like Louis Vuitton and like all these really fancy stores. Like rich stores, right? Fashion, high fashion, modern. And then this, like right in the middle of it. It's just such an interesting combination. I love it. Oh my God, there's dogs. I forget what I was saying. So this is Stop 3. Just a quick one. Lots of buskers out today. It stopped raining. So that's exciting. And it's not as humid as it was five minutes ago. Which for that, I am grateful. And this is beautiful. So we will continue onwards. Fingers crossed for the weather, everybody. But you know what? At this point, I'm having a great time. And I hope this looks like something. And if you've been to Manchester or you're from Manchester. Tell me your favorite things about Manchester. I'd love to know. I'd love to know more about the city. I know I'm not here for very long this time. But I can come back. So let me know in the comments. When I told a couple of people that I was going to Manchester. They all said, you have to go to John Ryland's library. And I said, hell yeah. And honestly, I'm so glad that I did. This is unlike anything I've been to before. It's a real combination of cathedral and library. The architecture is unbelievable. The outside is very dark stone. But beautifully. I don't know the right words. It's just a beautiful building. And again, like all the other places. It's smack dab in the middle of really modern buildings. There's a cinema and a Starbucks. It's very weird. But you go inside. It is free. So we had a wander inside. It's very like Harry Potter vibes. Beautiful wood. Inlays. I just, I love this. This is my favorite one so far by far. It's like a combination of two of my favorite things. When I go on holiday, I love to go to cathedrals. Not religious, but I love having a look at a cathedral. And I love libraries. And this is like the most special library I have ever seen. And the fact that it is a working library. There are reading rooms and desks for you to do your work. It is pretty sweaty inside. I will say that. It is so humid today. Although there is a special like air filtration system. I think because of all of the parchment and the manuscripts to preserve everything. I saw that there's over 1 million items in there. So they obviously got the systems in place to protect them all. But yeah, hot. I think I'm just hot and sweaty no matter what. Anywho, literally not the point of this stop. I definitely could spend more time wandering through and peering through some of the special items that they had out. Incredibly important historic manuscripts and all sorts. Very, very interesting. But I'm glad we had a short look on our Manchester adventure. But definitely I'm glad we did this one. This is like, I understand the significance of football for Manchester. Totally get it. In the UK just as a whole. But for me, this is way more interesting to me. Love this place. So, so pretty. Anywho, it's starting to spit again. But that's okay. I don't know where we're going next. So I need to look at a map. And we will continue our Manchester adventure. I hope this looks alright. I hope you're having fun. Thank you so much for watching if you're still watching. Thank you. Anyway, let's go to our next stop. Alright everyone, we are here. I want to say St. Peter's Square. There's a lot going on. We've got multiple buskers. We've got multiple protests. But we are here in the square. So we've got trams. We've got the Central Library here. Can you hear the tram? So we go from one historical library to I guess more of your everyday library. But it is still gorgeous. Inspired by the Pantheon in the north. Love it. We also have a suffragette statue. We have a World War I and World War II memorial. There's just a lot here. And again, the differences in architecture is just incredible. And I know I'm not seeing all of Manchester. But it is really interesting to me that all of these stops on our tour. All of these monuments or places. You know what I'm trying to say. All of the things that we've seen so far are all within a two to five minute walk. I guess I didn't appreciate how dense Manchester is. It's really not as spread out. At least the things that we're seeing now. I guess I'm comparing it to London. Which it's really not. It feels much more dense and closer. Smaller. Obviously smaller. But yeah, it's just a really interesting feel. And the fact that you can see all this stuff kind of next to each other really. Anyway, I'm getting pretty tired. Here comes the tram. Let's not get hit by the tram. I'm getting pretty tired. I'm not sure how many more stops we have. It has started raining again. I am going out tonight as well. So I want to keep some energy in the bank. Do you know what I mean? So let me go look at my map. See how many more stops we have. I feel like we've seen a real mix so far of monuments and two libraries. So that's fun. Anyway, let me go look at my map. See how many more stops we have left. But yeah, I am getting pretty tired. Thankfully, short walks in between each place. All right, everyone. Let's just have a seat, shall we? So we walked down Canal Street through the Gay Village. We ended up here at this park to see the Alan Turing Memorial. These statues kind of freak me out because I'm always afraid that they're going to move. You know, like the people that are dressed up to look like statues. But this does seem like the perfect fit for a memorial to Mr. Turing, Mr. Alan Turing. I don't want to say Alan, a bit too personal. It feels right for him to be here with the connection to the Gay Village, of course, and having his statue not only for his achievements in mathematics and computing and everything, but also the prosecution, persecution of him being gay and being here in the village, in the Gay Village, feels like the perfect spot for him. And it's a really nice memorial, so you should come check it out. Check out the plaque, learn about him. It's a really interesting, influential person. But I think this is a wonderful place to conclude our walking tour. Final thoughts. What are our final thoughts of what we've seen today here in Manchester? Well, good question. I feel like I've seen a lot in a short amount of time, and yet there's still so much here. I mean, you can never do a big city in 48 hours, really. But I'm really happy with what we saw. I think the John Rylands Library is the standout for me, just a personal preference. I love that, like, cathedral-library combination. I've never seen that anywhere else. It's also nice that it feels a bit more condensed. It's not as spread out, at least like the city centre is quite dense, so you can see a lot of things in a short amount of time. Sorry, there's a bus. Is that too loud? But overall, I really like the vibe here. It's a big city, but it's also pretty chill. There's a lot going on. There's a lot of people. Like, a little bit sensory overload, I think, just me personally. And yet the vibe still feels very chill. And it hasn't torrential downpour rain yet, so knock on wood that it stays that way by the time we get back to our hotel. But thank you guys, honestly, so much for watching. This has been a little bit of a mess, and I hope you liked it. I had a great time. And also, don't forget my link in the description if you want to check out Babbel. If you would like to watch something else, how about this one as a comparison? I did a giant adventure in London recently. But as always, thank you guys so much for watching, and until next time, bye!