Burritos, Booze and Bags of Creativity

We took a trip down to Manchester, because why the heck not?

To start with, it wouldn’t be a real trip to MCR without a mosey around Afflecks, the city’s very own emporium of eclecticism. Located in the heart of the quirky Northern Quarter, this place is home to dozens of independent shops and stalls, most filled with handmade or vintage goodies. Some favourites of ours are S.W.A.L.K Creative, which sells a collection of punny and affordable prints (and Donald Trump pincushions) made by local artists; Sour Cherry, where you can find an array of handmade Perspex jewellery, iron-on patches and enamel pins; and Bad Mother Sugar, an all-American sweet shop that's the perfect place to hype yourself up on a brightly-coloured bottle of Jolly Rancher soda or a bag of Red Vines.

For somewhere to start or finish your night with a cocktail or ten, a favourite hangout of ours is The Font, situated down New Wakefield Street. The real shining star of this place is the cocktail menu, with an assortment of drinks starting at just £2 – meaning you can definitely buy three at once without feeling too guilty about it. Our personal shout-out here goes to their Font favourite cocktail, Unicorn Juice, which is a rainbow-hued fun mix of white rum, blue Curaçao and a variety of fruit juices, all served up in a mason jar and topped with a sprinkle of gold glitter and a rainbow belt for good luck.
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If you’re a huge foodie, you really can’t leave the city without filling your face at Luck Lust Liquor & Burn. The sister restaurant to popular burger chain Almost Famous, it takes its special way with meat and puts a Mexican twist on it, serving what might be some of the best nachos and burritos ever to be created in the UK. On our visit, we had a mouth-watering combination of their F-BOMB burrito and Wonder Fries, served with a garlic dip appropriately named Wonder Butter.  

We finished off our three-day jolly with a round of cocktails from Turtle Bay (pictured), enjoying a fruity taste of the Caribbean that had us dreaming of summer days whilst trying to ignore the drizzly grey weather outside. Hopefully on our next visit, the sun will be out to greet us as soon as we step off the train.