Morning Stroll Along Salford Quay - Manchester, United Kingdom

Since my current roommate in uni is from Manchester, before going to Manchester to visit Jerald, I asked her what was interesting in Manchester. She told me it there wasn't too much to do in Manchester, and that seemed to be a common consensus with people living there. When I first arrived in Manchester, I asked Jerald and his housemates "So what is fun here?" and they said "nothing much" I think comparing Manchester to London, its definitely seems a lot less exciting, less touristy, nothing much to "see or do" in that sense.
Plus, the sun sets earlier in Manchester, its colder, its overcast and its rainy (or so I've heard from my frequent conversations with Jerald about the temperature in Manchester. I'm still getting updates till today. Temperature reports mostly haha!)

But, the sun was on my side the first day I was in Manchester! We set out of Jerald's house about 11 in the morning, the skies were clear, the sun was bright, and the temperature was a nice 10 degrees. It was a GOOD day to be Manchester!
Seeing as the weather was great, Jerald and I decided to head to Salford Quay, a place he hasn't been to since living in Manchester.

As you can see from the pictures, NICE BLUE SKIES. It's so rare to have clear blue skies in England that when it happens, its something to rejoice about. Definitely miss seeing nice blue skies, and having the warm sunshine on my face. But don't get me wrong - I'm still very much excited about winter, christmas markets, and Christmas!

Walking Along Salford Quay, we passed by the BBC station. Apparently, The Voice UK is filmed in that said building! I always thought that such a nation wide competition would be held in a bigger more touristy city, my ignorance.

Salford Quay was quiet, and unpopulated. They had offices and shopping areas around the quay, but being it was a saturday, people were probably all still stuck in bed, having a lazy morning. We were able to take a leisure morning stroll around the quay and admire the surroundings. The waters were so calm, and still. Its such a great place for a morning walk, where you can think and reflect about life, or not think, clear out your mind and have some personal time.
A suitable place for a morning run as well - assuming that the weather is great.

When we were walking along the quay, we saw a couple of high-rise residential buildings - they look like the condominiums in Singapore. Living on the lower gorund, I almost forgot what it feels like to live on the 19th floor of the HDB Flats. Jerald and I were discussing about how Manchester is a lovely place to live in and raise a family. Actually, more about how we would like to live in one of the high rise apartments overlooking the quay.

After a nice long walk, we headed to Trafford Centre for some food and window shopping.
Trafford Centre reminds me of shopping malls I see in Asia. Different themes, for different segments of the malls, a uniquely designed roof, nice staircase, something that major cities like Hong Kong and Bang Kok, KL and Singapore do to create a different atmosphere from the normal shopping malls.
Funny how it managed to remind me of home!
The thing I liked about Trafford Centre was its exterior design. I like the dome shaped roof and the architecture of its entrance. Somehow, it sort of brought back memories of Paris.

Manchester is really nice city with the brick red buildings and quiet streets. It has a large number of students, is well-developed, but not as crowded as say London. Drivers are less angsty, ok there aren't as many cars to begin with, plus, buses are much cheaper than in London! I think generally smaller cities exude the same liveable vibe. Less vibrant, but very family-friendly.

Would you live in a city like Manchester?