A day away from the kids!

So after a few weeks of planning, the day finally arrived for myself and some of my girlfriends to take our trip over the Irish Sea and to Manchester.

We stupidly booked a 6.30am departure from Dublin airport so when the alarms were going off at 4.30am I think all of us regretted that move! 🙂  Add to that I have just started on some medication that gives a dodgy tummy I was a bit nervous about making it through the flight!

With everyone successfully at the boarding gate we boarded our short flight to Manchester – the flight was uneventful (thankfully!) and we landed in a snowy Manchester.

We headed to the Trafford Centre and got there by 8am ready to shop……but none of the shops opened until 10am!! We managed to grab a coffee and breakfast and hung out in Weatherspoon’s for 2hours!

Once it hit 10am we hit the shops…….after a quick pit stop at 11.30am we kept going until lunch.

We had tapas and wine in a lovely little Tapas restaurant and by 3pm the tiredness was kicking in! A group of us thought it a good idea to take in a movie. Cinema going is one thing that took a nose dive when I became a parent so it was a rare treat to sit for two hours watching a movie on the big screen – Gangster Squad – definitely worth a watch even if a bit gory!

Final bit of shopping and it was time for a group glass of champagne.

By now it was after 7pm – 11 hours straight in the Trafford Centre so time to head back to the airport for a 10pm flight back to Dublin.  Of course our day was not complete without an aborted landing in high winds – was I glad to be back on the ground and give my sleeping kids a kiss – I missed them 🙂