Norwich

Hey y'all!

The weekend after Paris I took another big trip, this time to Norwich to visit my dad's cousin, Richard. I'd met Richard once before, when he came to visit my family in Texas, but I hadn't seen him since then so I was looking forward to visiting him again and seeing more of England!

I took a train up to Norwich on a Saturday morning and transferred trains to meet Richard in the little village where he lives. After chatting with Richard a little, I decided to take the bus into Wymondham (pronounced "wind-um") to explore a little bit before going to vigil mass at the local Catholic church. The main attraction in Wymondham is Wymondham Abbey. Although it wasn't open when I visited, it was very beautiful, especially since the sun was setting when I visited. While in Wymondham I also popped into a few charity shops and grabbed dinner. While exporing I also came across a pub called "The Green Dragon", just like in Lord of the Rings! 

Wymondham Abbey

The next day Richard took me on a driving tour of the local area where we stopped in a few villages to look around. They were also so small and pretty!

Beautiful fall colors

Richard and me

In the afternoon I took a bus into Norwich to see the city. The first place I visited was Norwich Cathedral, which was stunning. Next I visited Norwich Castle, which looks like a huge grey cube. It's on top of a hill, though, so it actually looks very impressive! I imagine that when it was first built it must have seemed enormous and intimidating. When I first got to the castle I was feeling a bit peckish (British slang for hungry), so I had a cream tea at the cafe, which was delicious. The castle itself isn't very big, but there are several history exhibits and art exhibits. One of the exhibits was a teapot collection! The whole museum was very child friendly, and there were lots of families there. Someday maybe I'll bring my kids to Norwich Castle! 

Norwich Cathedral

Norwich Castle

After visiting the castle it was starting to get dark, so I headed to the busier parts of the city, walking through the famous cobblestone road, Elm Hill. Everything was closed, but it was still very pretty! Once I got to a bigger shopping area I stopped at a Cath Kidston (the British equivalent of Vera Bradley) right before it closed. There was a super cute bag on clearance, so I bought it and have been using it since! 

The famous Bear Shop at Elm Hill

The last sight of Norwich I wanted to see was the Catholic Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, so I walked across town and popped in quickly. It's a relatively new church, but it's massive and beautiful, too. Since it was dark by this time, I walked through a park back to the city center to find a bus stop. Along the way I passed some of the original city walls, which I hadn't been looking for but was happy to see!

Catholic Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

Remains of the original city walls

Norwich Castle lit up at night- kind of spooky!

The next morning I walked around the village where Richard lives, visiting the local church and a few charity shops. Afterwards Richard drove me into Norwich to catch my train back into London. I had a nice, relaxing time visiting with Richard and exploring Norfolk. It was just what I needed before the upcoming week, in which I had two major essays due (but more on that later!). 

St. Mary's Church

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In case you don't know by now, I LOVE stained glass!

Thanks for reading, and I'll be posting again soon about my trip to Oxford with Gabby!