Chester: Where I finally get a half-way decent milkshake.

[Chester, Thursday, June 3, Half-Term]

There are two classic US treats the British cannot seem to get right: burgers and milkshakes. Now, when I say "right," I do realize that I'm being picky, and "right" is relative and "not-right" is not necessarily "wrong" [are you still following me? :) ], but sometimes there are just better ways to do things. For example, milkshakes should be ice cream thick, not milky-thin. And they should, you know, taste like a delicious, sweet concoction, not like improperly-flavored iced-milk. Milkshake bars (where the customer chooses what flavorings/candy/fruit/etc to blend into a basic vanilla shake) are popular in the bigger cities, and while in Chester I happened upon one that let me purchase extra ice cream so it was relatively thick. Which was especially nice because we had another heat wave. I had planned for mild weather like I experienced the day before, and ended up having to buy capris when I got into town because it was much too hot for jeans. Here's the fabulous Eastgate Clock shining in the summer sun.

Don't let those clouds fool you: I was sweating in my t-shirt.

 Chester is famous for it's surviving, super neat, multi-row/storied shops, known as The Rows (not to be confused with row houses). It's a little tricky to explain, but basically, above street-level shops are more shops, and walkways that connect between buildings. In the photo below (especially if you enlarge it) you should be able to see the joined balconies above the ground floor shops.

The other spectacle of Chester is the intact city wall. Not a whole lot of it is from the original Roman wall, but a percentage dates to the English Civil War, and the rest has been rebuilt/reinforced between then and now. I took a delightful walk along the footpath on top of the walls (about two miles, I read somewhere).

This is one of the many plaques placed around the wall circuit, showing the pedestrian's location and telling a bit about the history of the wall. If you care to learn more about the walls, you can enlarge the photo and reading the tiny script (it's crystal clear on my computer [aren't digital cameras GREAT?!?!?!] so I'm hoping Blogger maintains the quality)

And now for some Chester randomness:

Patriotic Graffiti: See that word, "Cymru" painted on the brick wall under the bridge? That "Wales" in welsh. Chester is not in Wales, btw.

 Salmon-colored buildings on the river.

Coolest! Sculpture! Ever!

A very literal pub.

"I believe that all anyone really wants in this life is to sit in peace and eat a sandwich."

I want to like brie, I really do. Every once in a while I try it again, hoping that my tastes have changed, but I always swallow disappointed. However, due to a moment of starving desperation in London Euston train station, and faced with the prospect of otherwise eating a sandwich with mayonnaise (ugh, the horror!), I discovered one way in which I adore brie: with tomatoes and fresh basil on a baguette.

Behold, the deliciousness.

Ready-made sandwiches can be found all over England. And they're surprisingly tasty! At least, the baguettes are---soft loaf-bread sandwiches are far more prevalent, but I'm not partial to that style, so I've never tried one.

"I like this place, and willingly could waste my time in it."

[Stratford-upon-Avon, Monday, May 31, Half-Term]

I went to Stratford-upon-Avon (otherwise known as the-place-where-Shakespeare-was-born/lived) a little uncertainly---I had accidentally booked train tickets to it on a bank holiday (re: public day off), which means there was a chance that nothing would be open. As it turned out, I couldn't have picked a better place to spend a bank holiday: because it's a touristy place, everything was open and bustling!

Shakespeare's Ghost

I ADORE street performers who do this, the solid-color mime thing.

I really enjoyed S-u-A! It was worth visiting, and it actually got me interested in Shakespeare, which was something high school failed to do. (Although, to be fair, I don't think it's very fair to push Shakespeare on anything less than seniors---the themes & ideas are simple, but the language they're conveyed in is not, and rather than challenge kids, I think it just frustrates and bores students who do not yet possess the necessary intellectual skills.) 

Aaanyway, you have no clue how many common phrases are from his works. Take a look at this quick list for just a few.

I went to Holy Trinity Church to see Shakespeare's grave, and unexpectedly saw this famous bust:

But the coolest thing had nothing to do with Shakespeare. At the top of a small, inset, decorative arch, someone noticed a Jesus carving that survived the destruction of the Reformation (I actually wasn't aware that the Reformation inspired destruction of anything other than blatantly Catholic symbols). Here's the official picture:

And here's the photo I took of the mirror set up for people to view it for themselves. Jesus is upside down.

Here is an unrelated, cool Tudor house.

Did you know the famous black-and-white scheme (visible on the left was a Victorian design? The original look was a contrast of cream/tan plaster with naturally dark oak framework. And the reason upper floors of most Tudor houses sag in the center (you can't really see it in these buildings, but on others it's very noticeable) is because oak gives over time. I had the opportunity to go upstairs in a Tudor house, and walking across the warped floor was really trippy.

Do *you* know why?

Does anyone know why I associate this style of boat with Travelers? Seriously, if you have any idea (is it because of a movie? or a television show?) please tell me---it's been driving me nuts! [And yes, I do realize Travelers tend to live in trailers.]

Old School Phone Boxes!

"Freedom"

I saw a little origami bird clipped to the Prince Albert statue in the City Centre the other day. If you enlarge the photo, you might be able to see the word "freedom" written on the clip :) .

(See the padlock on his stirrup?)

First Observation Today; Second, Tomorrow

I had my first observation today. It went well enough. My second is tomorrow, so I'm trying to get everything in order for that :) .

Pub Signs: Birmingham & Dudley

Today, pub signs from Birmingham and Dudley!

Pub Signs: Warwick & Leamington Spa

I've added pub signs from Warwick and Leamington Spa (where I had a layover).

Pub Signs: Shrewsbury

On the left menu, I've created a separate page for my photographic collection of all the delightful picture pub signs.

I'll be adding signs by city/area, and have started with Shrewsbury. [Click the link for easy access to the page.]

Camille Wins the Hippo Naming! [kind of]

Camille offered "Barney," which at first made me think of this:

Why do you still exist in public consciousness?!

But then it made me think of this:

Barney Stinson, of How I Met Your Mother

But it still made me think of this:

No!

So instead I went with this:

Marshall Eriksen, showing off a pie graph of his favorite bars, and a bar graph of his favorite pies.

And anyway, even though I love Barney (because we all love Barney) Marshall is my favorite HIMYM character. So my hippo's name is Marshall! Thanks Camille!

Vacationing is hard work! :)

We're on mid-term break this week, so I've been busy. Here's my past & future itinerary:

Saturday: Shrewsbury (again)
Sunday: Warwick Castle (tourist trap, but totally worth it)
Monday: Stratford-upon-Avon (ditto the above)
Tuesday: Oxford (reeeally requires more than one day :P )
Wednesday: Matlock Bath (a kitsch town!)
Thursday: Chester (Mary's suggestion)
Friday: nothing planned as of yet
Saturday, Sunday: relax

I have been / am much too tired to post anything [and the sheer amount of photos to pick through, edit, and sort is doesn't simplify matters :) ], so I'll have to catch up on regaling you all with my adventures later. But so you don't go away feeling cheated that I made you read a bunch of text for nothing, here is my old-timey mug shot from Oxford Castle (it was a prison longer than it was a castle):

The quality is poor because it's literally a photo of the mug shot activity's video screen. I'm frowning on purpose, but the Castle exhibit---being on the history of a prison---was actually quite depressing, so while I was delighted with the experience & learning, I was kind of sad by that point in my tour.