Norwich was heaving yesterday. Tuesday's are usually fairly quiet, but the city was busy busy busy with people clearly starting their seasonal purchasing. The first indication that the hordes had arrived were the "FULL" signs against the usual carparks. The only choice left was the new Chapelfield Shopping Centre carpark, which is not the cheapest in town, hence there were several hundred spaces. And then out into the streets, threading through the throng, clutching my list and enjoyuing the bustle and the crisp cool air.
It's a good city to go to. It's also the closest from where I live. Ipswich is about an hour, and it's rather vile. Bury St Edmunds is 45 minutes (on a good day and no sugar-beet lorries), but is rather limited, whereas Norwich is only 35-40 minutes and has an excellent variety.
"Cafe Rouge" is always a good lunch stop, as is "Togos" sandwich bar, but yesterday it was "Waggamama" and a bowl of chicken and pork soup with noodles, spinach leaves, and a sliced chargrilled chicken breast. A warming meal just right as the sun dipped and the temperature started to drop.
Next week though I'm off to the English Convent in Brugge for my pre-Christmas retreat. A couple of years ago that first week in December was SO cold there that the canals froze over and I spent the afternoons moving from one cafe to the next and being warmed with a mulled wine. Now that's what I call a Retreat!
Very pretty lights, I must admit.
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