Thursday I walked down to the village without really being sure where I was going to go. (That's the best part of exploring!) I got myself an amazing panini at a little cafe - mozzarella, tomato, and pesto - and then began wondering down (or really up) High Street which soon became Westbury Hill and then soon became Downs Road and then I swear one block later became Brockeridge Road. That is one very annoying thing about the streets here in Bristol. I swear they change names every few (or one) blocks. Alternatively, in the case of Passage Road, it all of a sudden becomes Falcondale Road, but Passage Road technically does not end but you have to turn twice to continue on it. Very strange... another slightly annoying (but also exciting) thing about exploring here is that there are no grid patterns anywhere. Everything goes in circles so if you're not careful, you'll end up in the same spot you started. I had this same problem when I was in Ghana which makes complete sense considering that it was a former British colony and so the street layouts were probably modeled by Brits. I remember in my neighborhood in Ghana, you could seriously walk in just about any direction and somehow end up in the same spot... took me forever to figure that one out. It does make things more interesting, though!
I mostly ended up walking through a lot of residential neighborhoods for an hour or so which was nice because it was very peaceful and very beautiful. I wouldn't say it was a particularly wealthy neighborhood, but you could tell it was for middle and upper-middle class families. I also passed by several boarding schools on this walk, probably four or five. They all have their own little private campuses complete with classrooms, dorms, open areas for sports and play, and other school facilities I imagine. Boarding schools seem to be a very popular option here, much moreso than in America anyway. George actually went to boarding school for several years. He said that he loved it because he got to spend all day with his friends and I'm sure his parents loved it cause they didn't have to put with the little bugger every day of the week! Of course, it costs mucho dinero, so not everyone can afford it. But if you got the money...
After passing by the Coombe Dingle Sports Complex , a large park/gym for recreation, the University of Bristol Residence Halls, and the Trinity Theological College (so many educational institutions!), I came to the Bristol Downs, the largest of most impressive of Bristol's many parks. The Downs are absolutely gorgeous. They are comprised of huge open field spaces that really let you breathe. You just stand in the middle of a huge green space with very green green grass surrounded by joggers, strollers, puppies, people playing soccer (of course they call it football), old men chillin' on benches, and people looking out over the Avon Gorge, a giant crevice through which the Avon River flows (ooh, such proper grammar). At its deepest points, the gorge is 700 feet wide and 300 feet deep. Impressive if I do say so myself. I noticed a little path for walking/biking/whatever right next to the river, so soon I'll have to venture down into the gorge.
I walked around the Downs for quite a while as it is very beautiful and relaxing and there's plenty of space so that I can sing my heart out without annoying people - always an issue in NYC. For those curious about it's size, it's a little bigger than half the size of Central Park. But for those who've been to Central Park, you'd know that even half of that is HUGE and seems even bigger in a smaller city like Bristol. I couldn't help but notice that the homes surrounding the Downs are ridiculously beautiful and big. Wherever there's a nice park, there's rich people living across the street. I got a little lost on my way back thanks to all those circles, but it wasn't so bad other than the fact that my feet began to hurt. I walked back up through the village and stopped by a thrift store (or charity shop as they call them here) and found a beautiful green tie for £2. It's the first tie I've ever bought! Go me! I also really wanted this really cool roll-up magnetic dart board they had (I LOVE DARTS!) but it didn't come with the darts. Good luck selling that one. I headed back home and then George and I went to John & Lewis to pick out wedding gifts. Mmmm... free stuff. Can I just say how badly I want a crock pot? I see lots of spicy stews in my future.
Friday I had an even longer adventure, but this time I decided to walk north into what George deemed to be neighborhoods that weren't quite as nice. Of course, that's never stopped me before. I find all neighborhoods interesting, no matter how rich, poor, clean, dirty, whatever. I think more people should go exploring in neighborhoods they think aren't as nice. Maybe they could learn a thing or two...
I do have to admit that the areas I walked through on Friday were not quite as green and picturesque as what I had seen in Bristol thus far. When I came to little shopping areas, there were much fewer options for eating, groceries, services, and recreation. The food was mostly pizza/kebab places (there are so many of those), fish and chips places (mmmm....), and the occasional pub. The pubs all had a few people sort of idling about in front of them, drinking, smoking, probably depressed by the economic downturn. And the strangest thing of all was that every single Chinese takeout place was closed down. No joke, every single one. I must have seen 10 Chinese places in different neighborhoods, all closed. It was very strange. I mentioned it to George and he speculated that perhaps it was a holiday. I searched for information about possible holidays, but couldn't find anything for August 14th. Anyone have any info on this? I'll keep my eye out to see if their still closed the next time I stop by. Another thing I noticed on my walk was that if you want to get food in a lot of places, you have to go before 2PM or after 5PM because a lot of places close for a few hours. This is smart, I suppose, considering that business would probably be really slow during those hours, but I am not accustomed to lots of places closing for several hours. This made it very difficult for me to find food at 3 in the afternoon, but I finally came back south closer to the city and came to Gloucester (pronounced Glau-ster, only two syllables) Road, an up-and-coming area of Bristol. The area's a bit grungy, but also a bit trendy. You can tell it's going to be like Williamsburg (a trendy gentrified neighborhood in Brooklyn where a lot of NYU students live) in about 10 years or so. I found a vegetarian Indian restaurant on Gloucester Road and had curry vegetables with chickpeas. I could eat Indian food for every meal and be extremely happy. Only problem is that George might not want to share a bed with me anymore...
Small interlude: for those who may be curious about the weather here, all those stereotypes about English weather are pretty true. On a nice day when the sun is out, it's pretty warm and pleasant, definitely warm enough for shorts and flip flops, but not hot. However, when the sun is not out (which is sadly more often than not), it's pretty gloomy and cool outside. Given that it's the summer, I still wouldn't call it cold, but I've had to wear pants and a light sweater on several occasions. It's a bit strange coming from south Georgia where I wouldn't even consider a sweater until October. But I suppose it's nice not to be extremely hot and sticky 24/7.
Friday night, George and I went to the pub that his parents visit quite often. (We did some quick blackberry picking first since there are blackberries EVERYWHERE here, including right outside the pub). His dad was already there and his mom was soon to arrive. It's a cozy little place, always crowded in the evening hours with people from the village. It's surprising to see how many people George's parents know. They get caught up in conversations for hours there. George and I had some English cider and he answered some questions I had about Britain's national health care system as it's been in the news a lot thanks to health care debates in America. Bottom line: though not perfect, anyone here can get free health and dental care, no matter how rich or poor. Pretty sweet, no? Some people complain that it takes too long to actually get seen by a doctor, which I suppose is the biggest down side, but at least Britain takes care of their own. And if you're willing and able to shell out the money, you can get private health care here. Hopefully all those rich people in America who have more than enough money to afford private health care will stop complaining and the US can get on board with nationalized health care.
After the pub, I went out with George and his parents to an Indian restaurant in the village (Indian two meals in a row! It actually turned out to be more like five meals after Saturday... hehe). We came home for some light TV and then went to bed with a full list of things to do for Saturday which will simply have to wait because I need to go outside and get some fresh air before I go crazy! Expect more blogging (hopefully) tomorrow!
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