Sunday Started off well, With my new Camera's first assignment I walked into the City.
The first stop was Picadilly gardens which was just a stones throw away from there I stayed. It must an acre of free space with many statues and water fountains. People going about and some street performers showing off their skill. Walked though the high street into some of the streets where buildings since 1800 stayed tall.
The Town hall was by it self was a Victorian master piece,
it was unfortunate that it remains closed on weekends. The in headed to the Manchester Art Gallery. The place was so unique that for the first time I did see a Art Museum where visitors were encouraged to create some work of their own. I did give it a try and quickly doodled a still art and coloured it. I felt like a kid and loved the feeling. Manchester was once famous for its pottery and there were many exhibits of them.
The one show where I was not supposed to take any pictures was an expo by the famous abstract art creator Anish Kapoor. Honestly I have never been so amused so much by works of art. I stood there watching his creation for several minutes. Its so engrossing that the viewer becomes a part of the art. Makes one think and ponder. Never has an Art work touched me so much. There was a video room where a documentary about this legendary artist was put on and I spent 40 minutes watching this.
The next stop for anyone who visits Manchester is the Old Trafford stadium. the Temple of the Manchester United Club. Its more than 100 years old and adorned with many of the legends of the great game of foot ball.
I had to pay a 13£ for a stadium tour fee and it was well worth it. The stadium had 76,000 seats and its the largest privately held stadium in the world. The quality of the seats and the ground were immaculate. What surprised me was the way the Club treated its fans who are disabled.
They had special seats and it was given away free for every match for them. Recently when Man U played a match in Russia all its disabled fans and their carers were taken free of cost to Russia. All 300 of them!.The Man U stadium also has a chapel and during seasons each day at least 5 weddings take place in this iconic stadium. Some of the boxes here are so expensive that It would be my lifetimes earnings to have a go at. We were taken to the Directors rooms and Team managers office. The high light was the players changing room which really felt surreal to me. All these top end players come to that room to change. The kind of treatment they get is amazing, for such expensive players its worth it. Even the most average player gets 40,000 pounds a week!. In the changing rooms during half time they only get a banana and a chocolate jaffa cake, nothing more. I had a good opputrunity to sit next too Owen's and Rooney's T-shirt for a snap.
Out side the stadium I did notice a lot of young and old folks like up to participate in the X factor audition. I would have easily spent more than 3 hours in the stadium and its museum. Headed back to my accommodation to collect upon the thoughts that I gathered on my short sight seeing in Manchester.
For more pics:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=336777&id=651679539&l=41f8fc94a9
For a video of the players changing room:
