Cheshire Oaks and Chester

Sometime last week I decided enough was enough. I have been in England for over two weeks and had not gone out shopping. At. All. It was a major dry spell (and one that I am not too proud of), but I am happy to report that all that changed yesterday.

The International Society was offering a day trip to Cheshire Oaks Outlet Mall, and of course my inner shopaholic could not let this opportunity pass by unnoticed. So I quickly signed up and arose earlier than I had all week to catch my ride to the land of discounted Burberry and Osprey London. Sigh...

On the bus ride I sat next to a nice girl from Malaysia who was also very excited about the prospect of shopping for an entire day. The bus ride to the mall was about an hour, and it was in a city near the border of North Wales. Here is a picture I snapped of some beautiful English countryside on the way...

When we got to the outlet mall it was filled with many shops they have in the U.S. like Calvin Klein, Gap, and Sketchers. I decided to skip those and focus solely on the stores I couldn't find readily back home in Missouri like Burberry, Radley London, Osprey London, Mulberry, and LK Bennett.

I'm sure any girls reading this are catching my theme. Yes, all of those designers are very well known for the handbags. :) Like I could come to the UK without getting a new bag - ha! I also got some cute cardigans from Marks & Spencer, which is one of my new favorite stores.

After a few hours I once again boarded the bus to go to the next destination of the day, which was the beautiful walled city of Chester. It is also known for its wonderful shopping district (which I thoroughly enjoyed), but the city itself is very rich with history. Here is a picture I took looking onto the High Street...

Chester was founded by the Romans in AD 79, who built the city as a fortress to protect this territory from Welsh tribes and pirates. There were a bunch of people walking around in Roman costumes, but I did find it rather odd that they were all congregated outside pubs and smoking cigarettes. Never quite how I imagined the Roman Empire...

The city is best known for the ancient walls that surround it. Most were built by the Romans, but some were added by the Victorians who loved to take high walks around the town. I think they said if you walked the wall around the city it was around two miles. I did not try this, because I was too fascinated with their boutiques! But here is a small portion of the wall people are walking on...

The streets in Chester were very crowded with shoppers, but I had an excellent time and managed to snag a cute pair of boots and a blazer (amongst many other things). All in all I had a wonderful day shopping! Today I am taking it easy and preparing myself for class tomorrow. Irish Literature... here I come!

Flat Hannah's Corner

Well, I couldn't exactly leave her behind while I went out shopping all day. That would just be cruel! Flat Hannah and I explored the shopping district in Chester, which is actually quite neat! All there shops are connected, and if you walk up the stairs on the side of a building there are many other neat places to see on a different level. Even the buildings are connected on the inside. It's an indoor and outdoor mall at the same time. Nifty! Here is Flat Hannah inside the shopping district in Chester...

Flat Hannah and I were totally weighed down with bags and definitely looking forward to the bus ride home. This is Flat Hannah waving goodbye to the town of Chester...

Flat Hannah and I have a very busy week ahead of us, but are always looking forward to our next adventures. Stay tuned!

Cheers!