While my aunt & uncle were off exploring Edinburgh and York on their own, I took a day trip with some of my AWC friends to the city of St. Albans, which is just north of London. It has a lovely cathedral and a history that dates back 2,000 years to Roman times. Every Wednesday and Saturday there is a street market in the center of town, so we went on a Wednesday to visit the market -- and were treated to an unexpected bonus of beautiful weather.
We were amazed at the variety of products for sale at the market (and the reasonable prices).
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| Hats - I bought a turquoise blue one |
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| Bling |
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| Flowers |
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| More flowers |
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| Meat |
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| Baked goods |
Thanks to the sunny weather, and the upcoming AWC trip to
Ascot, we collectively bought a lot of hats and fascinators at bargain prices.
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| Fascinating ladies! |
Once we had run out of things to shop for, we made our way to
Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, one of the oldest pubs in England, for lunch.
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| Lunch at Ye Olde Fighting Cocks |
We were pleasantly surprised by the menu, which was a vast improvement over the standard greasy pub fare. Most of us ordered the Salad of the Day, which was so nicely presented that we all pulled out our cameras when they arrived.
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| Greek salad with grilled lamb kofta |
We were also relieved that, despite the name, there was no actual cock fighting taking place -- although there were a few impressive taxidermied specimens on display inside.
After lunch we walked through Verulamium Park, which reflects the original Roman name for the city. It was a lovely, grassy park with a lake filled with aquatic birds and a spray park for children (which was mobbed on this rare warm, sunny day).
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| Verulamium Park |
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| Goslings! |
In the park is a section of the old Roman city wall.
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| Roman wall |
And finally, we made our way to
St. Alban's Cathedral, which is one of the largest in England and dates back to the 11th century. It is named after a Roman soldier named Alban who (according to legend) was beheaded on this site around 250 AD for sheltering a persecuted priest, making him the first Christian martyr in Britain. As with most cathedrals, it has been added on to and rebuilt over the centuries, but remains an impressive architectural wonder.
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| St. Alban's Cathedral |
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| Interior view |
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| Stained glass window |
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| Tile floor detail |
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| Ceiling detail |
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| Another window |
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| Tower ceiling |
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| The Quire |
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| Wallingford Screen, ca 1480 |
After a stop for a cuppa on the way to the train station, we headed back to London. What a lovely day trip! I would definitely do it again, especially on a sunny Wednesday.
