Short trip to Manchester and back home

After our week in London, and before heading back home, I made a detour through Manchester, where Anne was kind enough to host me for two nights.

In such a short stay, I only got to see a few glimpses of this very interesting city, but it was a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of London.

Anne showed us around her town and we stopped at a beautiful hotel, where they let us sketch in the lobby. I played around with colours and paint to sketch the beautiful glass cupola. Not a perfect sketch, but I like the colour combination here.

There was one thing I really wanted to experience while in the UK: a typical afternoon tea. The cafe inside Town Hall offered a beautiful tea, starting with a selection of small sandwiches and other savoury snacks, to scones and delicious little cakes.

It felt great to just sit and enjoy the afternoon in that beautiful place, taking time to sketch and chat with Stephanie, Anne and Gail. I discovered that Gail and I had a more relaxed view on traveling. We both love to take it easy and just enjoy a place. No need to speed through everything.

Outside town hall, there was a jazz festival in preparation, which I tried to sketch, but really it was beyond me at that moment. So I sketched Gail sketching the place. In a way you can say I piggy-sketched the place through her.

That was all for Manchester already. Short and sweet. On the train ride back to London, I saw this beautiful lady with a striking head scarf. Unfortunately I didn't get her likeness, as she moved around a lot.

 

Waiting at the airport, I had enough time to sketch what was going on outside. I find it's a good mental preparation to go back home. A way of adjusting mentally to the end of the holidays.

There were many businessmen in the plane. I started a conversation with my neighbour after he commented on my sketch. He found the bald patch of the man in the seat in front of mine particularly amusing. What can I say? I sketch what I see...