Happy sigh
I'm in Bristol for the weekend, just because. The spur was a) surviving Christmas, b) swearing I'd do more weekends away off-peak as they made last year so much more fun, and c) having been to Bristol for meetings, trains and nearby friends about five times but never actually seeing anything of the city. Last summer I walked from the main station to the Marriott hotel, delivered a conference paper, had a cup of tea and went back to London. That was it: four hours tops, and the only non-conference person I spoke to was the lovely girl in Starbucks. Not good enough.
So I'm exploring, and have been to the museum and a lovely remnant of Elizabethan house tucked away off the port area. There's much more to explore this afternoon, not least a cathedral I've never seen. But still, the thing that makes me happiest is Boston Tea Party. OMG back to my student days, when we *lived* in the Exeter branch, a gorgeous huge room over one of the central streets, full of half-broken sofas and random tables, where no one ever hurried you over your coffee. Seriously good food and drink, in a low-key way. Good for veggies, but not anti-meat. Ethical but realistic. Friendly but not ditsy. Bristol's branch is a bit smaller, so I'll have to move on in a reasonable time, but for now, I have a springy comfy low chair, free wifi (for 24 hours apparently - this is new since my prehistoric-internet student days and I approve mightily), a pastel de nata which is both crunchy and gooey, and 'chai' tea which didn't come out of a packet.
If it weren't for the new city to explore outside, I'd be here all afternoon. I love it when nostalgia turns out to be right.
Sheffield or Nottingham next, I think. Never been to either, which is ridiculous.
So I'm exploring, and have been to the museum and a lovely remnant of Elizabethan house tucked away off the port area. There's much more to explore this afternoon, not least a cathedral I've never seen. But still, the thing that makes me happiest is Boston Tea Party. OMG back to my student days, when we *lived* in the Exeter branch, a gorgeous huge room over one of the central streets, full of half-broken sofas and random tables, where no one ever hurried you over your coffee. Seriously good food and drink, in a low-key way. Good for veggies, but not anti-meat. Ethical but realistic. Friendly but not ditsy. Bristol's branch is a bit smaller, so I'll have to move on in a reasonable time, but for now, I have a springy comfy low chair, free wifi (for 24 hours apparently - this is new since my prehistoric-internet student days and I approve mightily), a pastel de nata which is both crunchy and gooey, and 'chai' tea which didn't come out of a packet.
If it weren't for the new city to explore outside, I'd be here all afternoon. I love it when nostalgia turns out to be right.
Sheffield or Nottingham next, I think. Never been to either, which is ridiculous.