Back to Norwich

Our last day in Norfolk ended up being the hottest day of the year so far.  We woke to find bright blue skies and glorious sunshine.   In hindsight maybe a trip to a city wasn't the best plan but there was no way I could leave Norfolk without a trip to Norwich.

Norwich is the place where I was born, the first city I visited solo on the bus aged just 11 and the city where I got my first office job.  There are so many cities in the UK that I love but Norwich will always be very special to me.

Although not huge, Norwich is a beautiful city to spend a day in and I'd urge you all to make sure you plan a visit at some point as there is so much to see and do.  

By the time we arrived it was a rather roasting 28 degrees and being rather unsuitably dressed I decided the weather would be a perfect excuse to shop for a new dress so I headed into New Look to see if anything would catch my eye.  I ended up purchasing this lovely dress, which was ideal for the hot weather.

Deciding I'd like to introduce Simon to a little bit of Norwich culture we headed into Cathedral Close.  I was very lucky when I worked in Norfolk as my office was in Cathedral Close and I got to admire the Cathedral out of the office window every day.  It is a stunning building and looks so beautiful in the sunshine.

There was a service taking place when we arrived so we couldn't go inside but instead had a stroll round the Cloisters which show off the very best views of the building.

After all the walking we'd worked up a bit of an appetite so headed to Bills for brunch.  I've really loved Bills ever since I discovered it when I lived in London and as there are yet to be any branches opened in the North, I was so happy to see that one had opened in Norwich only a few weeks earlier.

 

 

As it was so hot I decided against my usual choice (full breakfast or eggs benedict) and instead opted for the blueberry pancakes served with banana and strawberries washed down with French pink soda.  It was so tasty and I'm keeping everything crossed that we get one open in the North East soon.

Having cooled down in the air conditioning we headed back outside for a look round the market.  Norwich boasts the largest permanent market in the UK and at 900 years old it is very much part of the city's history.  I've been visiting the stalls since I was small, first as a child with my Grandma to buy her raisins and then when I was a teenager buying chips for lunch.

I also took Simon for a little stroll down historic Elm Hill, the prettiest cobbled street in Norwich full of Tudor houses.

Needing to cool off again I knew exactly where I wanted to take Simon for some liquid refreshment.  You may remember that a few weeks ago he was on a Stag Do in Belgium and as he loved trying all of the different beers I decided to introduce him to the Belgian Monk which serves a huge variety of Belgian Beers.

Norwich has changed so much since I left, or maybe I just notice more now that I'm older, but it seems in recent years more and more beautiful looking independent cafes, restaurants and bars have popped up. I could have spent hours wandering around the Lanes marvelling at all of the great places that never used to exist.  More than once I found myself feeling rather jealous of friends who still live there and get to try out all these gorgeous looking places. 

After a quick stroll round Norwich's very own department store, Jarrolds it was time for cake.  I really struggled to pick where to go as so many tea rooms seem to have appeared since I left Norwich.  In the end we picked Café 33, having heard that they serve the best cake in the city.

We were not disappointed, snuggled away on Exchange Street, right under my old hairdressers, we found the café with a huge display of cakes on the counter.  Each cake sounded amazing, although looked a little sorry in the blazing heat.

It wasn't the best place to go for food in such boiling temperatures, the little café was like a green house and I felt so sorry for the poor girls working there.  However they had huge smiles on their faces and the cakes were protected from the heat as much as they could be in such difficult temperatures.

There was no way we could face tea on such a hot day so we opted for homemade traditional lemonade which ended up being a bit of a blogger's dream to photograph.  Little jars and stripy straws ahoy!

I chose a slice of bakewell sponge, being very obsessed with almonds and cherries my eyes almost popped out of my head when I spotted it.  It tasted absolutely gorgeous and my slice was very very generous!  

Unable to walk about any more in the heat we said goodbye to the city and headed back to my parent's house to pack our suitcases in preparation for our return to the North East.

It was so wonderful to spend a whole week in Norfolk and hopefully we'll be heading back down to the East Coast soon.