Shopping and Castles

Today marked my first full week of being in England. It snowed quite a bit for the UK (3-5 inches) yesterday and has been bitterly cold ever since, thanks to the wind. My host parents wanted to take me over to Portsmouth, which almost every person here so far has told me I need to visit, but we were very unsure of how the roads would be. They ended up being in good condition, but we opted for going to two smaller towns nearby instead.

We first stopped by one of the local supermarkets and I was pleasantly surprised to find that they have more vegetarian cuisine hear than I can find back at home. Brilliant! I'm also developing a slight addiction to Kinder chocolate, and am determined to try as many different types of cider as possible while in England.

After leaving the supermarket, we drove for about five minutes before turning a bit to the left and coming upon a small town called Arundel, complete with it's very own castle! Aptly named, Arundel Castle. We drove up to the portcullis to get a bit of a closer look, and then through the town which lies mainly on a hill, with many steeply sloping roads lined with little shops and cafes. Sue promised we would come back and walk through town on a nicer day.

A blurry view of Arundel Castle from the car

We proceeded to Chichester, which was another five or ten minutes away. We stopped in quite a few clothing stores, and I was very proud of myself for not buying anything :) I did find a lovely new water bottle (forgot to bring one with me) and a funny card that I had to get. There was this "market cross" at the top of one of the main streets, with four streets jutting out from it in every direction, which I was instructed all pointed either due north, south, east or west. They were so many different shops I couldn't believe it! Some I have heard of, like Crabtree&Evelyn, but many others that were very new and exciting. We had afternoon tea (and cake!) at a really nice "brasserie" that is owned by one of Britain's favorite chefs, Raymond Blanc. It was lovely. I will definitely be returning to both of these places before I leave! I still have to explore the interior of the lovely Chichester Cathedral.

Chichester Market Cross

Chichester Cathedral