Bristol!

I really didn't know what to expect with Bristol... but omg it killed!! It was the coolest day trip! I think I walked along more watery scenery than in some of my beach day trips... There was way too much to do in one day... And I got really *really* lucky and didn't get rained on. (Seriously, it rained/ "wintry mixed" on the bus driving in...but that was over by the time we arrived. It rained when I was in the first museum... and then I took a 1-2 hrs schlep to see the Suspension Bridge that would have sucked to have been rained on. I even told a shop keeper that I was running lucky today...at which he replied that I jinxed myself. He was right... it just started sprinkling when I was looking for dinner. Thankfully just a drizzle and just for a minute!!!)

So first stop... Banksy work North... this really cool part of town north of the station. Totally granola!! All artsy graffiti and organic restaurants and tattoo parlors. C: I wished I was hungry then!!

Instead I kept wandering to the St Nicholas Market... their indoor/outdoor street market. I checked out the stalls... which were really fun but nothing that absolutely grabbed me. But I was now hungry for lunch... and of course there was a veggie cafe at the market. So a samosa and chai later... I head to the waterfront...having seen more Banksy and other graffiti art along the way, ovbiously!

The waterfront was just gorgeous! I kept flashing on Scandinavia... Freezing cold and crisp blue sky and boats and bright colored buildings and random steel sculptures. If north town felt almost Santa Cruz or some kind of kin to that... the harbor was Stockholm... (High praise x2.)

I took a photo or two... ;) A few brightly painted homes and old boats... The to the M Shed... one of the town museums. Good history stuff... I missed the balloon festival. (I have to get to one of these!!) But I figured out the omnipresence of the Shaun the Sheep toys around the place... They're from Bristol too!! Their creator is to Bristol what Peter Jackson is to Wellington... animation studio and all... C:

Now was the 2 hr round trip walk to the Clifton Suspension Bridge... I kept worrying about getting rained on. But it was lovely... Cold as anything but clearing off to a bright day. My walk was along the river and then up the hill to the bridge (more pictures). And some LOVELY panoramas of the city!

Time for a snack as I wandered back into town. They have a coffee chain in Bristol called Boston Tea Party that I thought was just too cleverly named to pass up!

By the way, lots of the shops I saw were advertising "Bristol Bucks" which I thought was great...keep the money local! I did what I could... ;-)

Next stop was the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. Some Pre Raphaelites and lesser Impressionists and a Turner... And a few museum cat photos of course. But I closed the place out...5pm... and couldn't get postcards or gifts.

More wandering after that... cider tasting along the Christmas Steps (ap Bristol is known for its cider)... the main tower of the university... a little of the university overall...

And suddenly all the shops were closed!! I wanted (and I never want) to spend some money in some of these cute little boutique shops. But they all rolled up the carpets at 5 or 6...

Possibly the only bummer of the day. I then had to straggle along and find dinner...hopefully before my bus left! This took too long, but I did finally find a pizza joint... the "best pizza in Bristol." Of course I was starving and would have eaten my hat by this point. But NY- style pizza and a glass of "red wine" works too!!

And that was that! Tomorrow Liverpool!