Walled-in in Chester

During our stay in the UK, we stayed in the walled town of Chester. Fortunately for me, I arrived a day before I had my first meeting and had time to wander around town. And what a cute, cute town it is. But before, I made my way around town, I had to explore my room.

The Crowne Plaza

The Hotel: I was staying at the Crown Plaza. When the taxi first dropped us off, it seemed a little shady as it looks like it's below an overpass (which is actually just a walkway to the shopping center above) and in an alley. But if you take a step back, you'll notice it's a cute little building. Though the building itself is old and there was a weird smell in the hallway, the staff is amazingly accommodating and helpful. I don't think I could have made it to my meetings on time without their wake up calls. And when I noticed that my

adaptar wasn't grounded and therefore wouldn't work with my laptop, they sent out someone to get one (it wasn't just for me though, the front desk said a lot of people had the same issue, so I'm thinking someone walked off with the ones they left in the room).  The rooms themselves were pretty nice. The bed was comfy and blankie was puffy.  They even leave complimentary lavender spray to help you sleep at night. One of my favorite features was the towel warmer. It was nice to be toasty right after a shower. I even put my pjs on there before I changed =p.
The food's not bad either, my first English meal was here. I ordered fish and chips, which was much bigger than expected, and hot cocoa to keep me warm after a long trek outdoors. The fish was really good; crispy but still moist and steamy on the inside. The chips were these massive stubs and, like the fish, had soft interior with crispy exterior. The cocoa was just fancy - it wasn't chocolately enough for me but the square of fudge it came with more than made up for it =)

The Walled in Town: Chester was formerly a Roman fort and the walls of that fort still stand today. Since you can actually walk on top of the walls, that was my first destination to get great views of the town. I started at North Gate and made my way to the cathedral. From I got off the wall and explored the streets (filled with shops!). Once there were no more shops in sight, I headed for Grosvenor Park and the River Dee. I was completely impressed at how well-maintained the park was - completely manicured.

The animals in the park were massive and not too skittish if you come by, which was how I got take pics of them =). The River itself was pretty beautiful.

Afterwards, I went looking for one of UKs largest ampitheater. But before I found it, I was delightfully surprised when I encountered the Church of St. John the Baptist. The ruins of the original eastern walls still stand on the property and you can even see the coffin that they later found hidden in the wall. After the Church, I went across the street to find the ampitheather. It was actually discovered in the 1920s when a nearby girls school was being expanded. Only 1/2 of the ampitheater is visible because the other half lay below historical buildings. But I have to say, the best part of this Roman Ampitheater was the school trips and tours that came here. A group of shield bearing children were given a history lesson by a gladiator. It's interesting to hear kids do a war chant in the middle of England.

Unfortunately for me, I had to cut short my wanderings around town to take a quick nap before dinner.  The dinner was arranged as a meet and greet as many of us hadn't met before so I wanted to be rested enough to hold a conversation. =p Dinner was at an Italian restaurant, Piccolino's. The food here was REALLY good. I had their dinner special with was scallops with a garlic butter sauce =). And dessert was an Italian honey and hazelnut ice cream with a biscuit on the side. The dinner was delicious but dessert was my favorite. Very creamy and flavorful.

The Wall Part 2: Luckily for my I was able to traverse the rest of the wall on my last day. I don't remember much because I was trying to finish it before my taxi came. But I do remember stopping at a place called the Goblin Room, where you can actually go in and see where archers very posted.

Then I discovered the castle! I wish I had time to go in and see it, but it was only the map that the hotel gave me the first day so I never looked for it =(. Next time!!