2011 June 2 Chester

[David and Susan Bratt]

This is why we do what we do
Where else can we sit at a Starbucks and look at Tudor buildings (some of them faux, but who cares)? Today we visited Chester, a small city in the west-central county of Cheshire.

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Its medieval center is surrounded by two miles of stone walls: in the southeast corner are ruins of a Roman amphitheater that used to seat 7000; in the northeast there towers an amazing cathedral.
We have seen at least half a dozen ancient cathedrals and abbeys, each big and beautiful in its own way, but this one stopped us in our tracks. We are trying to figure out why: the unusual red sandstone perhaps, or its spacious feeling . . . maybe its integration of modern and medieval features. . . . We aren’t sure.

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Chester’s inner pedestrian shopping area was amazing. There are several blocks with two levels of store fronts in gallerie arcades. We were charmed, and a relatively easy park-and-ride lot for Rover on the outskirts of the city added to the ease of the day.
And now we are off to Wales.