The Writing Nut

May 11, 2011 Wednesday

Maiko and I were still pretty tired from yesterday’s tour so we decided to forego the schedule and just have an easygoing day in Salisbury.

Maiko bought some Danish from Reeve the Baker’s yesterday, and the hotel  room had all we needed to make tea and coffee (cups, saucers, teabags, instant coffee, sugar and creamer)—so we had  pretty decent breakfast.

The sky was overcast and it was a tad gloomy, but it didn’t stop us from enjoying the sights and sounds of Salisbury.

At around 9:30 am we headed outside.  We walked down Castle Street, past the Salisbury library and straight into an alley that lay behind the Parish Church of St. Edmund and St. Thomas.

Parish Church of St. Edmund St. Thomas

Parish church of st. edmund st. thomas gravestones

We stopped to take pictures of the church and then moved on. Leading the way, I turned into another alley—and some naughty workers decided to scare the living delights out of Maiko. As she passed by the open window, one of them popped out and roared, making Maiko scream and then laugh immediately after.

Still laughing, we found ourselves in The Maltings—a shopping centre in Salisbury.

The Maltings

I didn’t know it at the time, but I did some research and I discovered that the Maltings gets its name from the malthouses that once stood there.

I took pictures of the area and discovered the workers who had scared Maiko on the roof of one building. They were waving at me.

Workers waving

We walked around the complex, enjoying the various shops—one of them was the Cake Mill—a shop selling baking and cake supplies.

The Cake Mill

From their window, we could see some cute figurines which they probably used as cake decorations. We went inside and Maiko bought a couple of vespas and a cute figurine for her Mom.

The Cake Mill Cake decorations

Inside the Cake Mill

Moving on, we saw a barbershop with a curiously upside down sign.

A barbershop, Salisbury

We entered the Riverside giftshop and bought 10 postcards for £1.

The River Avon (one of the many river avons all over England) flows through the Maltings.

River Avon flowing through the Maltings

There’s a riverside walk to the city centre and a garden where people come to enjoy the view, feed the pigeons or bring their kids to play in the playground.

Garden Park at the Maltings

The Works, a bookstore at the corner, was having a spring sale, and Maiko and I popped in to check out their wares. I didn’t buy anymore books bec. I was planning to return to  the Cross Keys Bookstore to make my purchases there.

Farmer’s Market in front of the bookstore

Maiko found a squishy soccer ball pillow that she liked, but she decided that she didn’t have space for it in her bag.

Squishy soccer ball inside The Works Bookstore, Maltings

Passing an archway, we found another section of the maltings called Priory square.

Priory Square, the Maltings

Here we saw a Sainsbury’s – a grocery store chain, and across the street Snip—a store that looks a little bit like The Container Store.

Sainsbury’s, Salisbury

Snip

From Malthouse Lane, we made a left toward Bridge Street. We passed by another church.

Salisbury United Reform Church

We saw the Bishop’s Mill from across the bridge.

Bishop’s Mill, Salisbury

There was a small path beside the river in front of the King’s Head Inn.

Riverside walk near the King’s Head Inn

Houses by the River Avon

At the end of the path was arched bridge and a small area with benches for people to relax and feed the ducks and swans in the river.

Crane Bridge Road

We walked toward Crane Bridge Road and to our left,  discovered an art supply store called the Compleat Artist. Maiko browsed around the shop for things her mom had wanted her to get.

The Compleat Artist

Turning right on Crane Bridge Road, we finally found Elizabeth Gardens Park. I had been wanting to go there, because my character Finn likes to hang out at this park—well, he’s been sleeping there since he lost his home—but that’s another story…

Elizabeth Garden’s Park

We saw a big tree and I decided immediately that this was where Finn and his dog Dewey would sleep under during their homeless nights.

I’m calling this “Finn’s Tree”

Maiko wanted a picture of us in the park, so we used the small tripod I had brought with me.

Elizabeth Gardens Park

A bench at the park

We enjoyed the park for a little bit, then started heading back toward the hotel. It was almost lunchtime and pasties were waiting for us back in our room.

Another area of the Elizabeth Gardens Park

Bushy pathway

We went back down Crane Bridge Road and made a left on High Street where rows of shops could be found.

High Street

I was falling inlove with Salisbury minute by minute. There was an eclectic mix of old buildings and modern conveniences in this little town, that somehow managed to blend in beautifully. I passed by one of the many real estate offices in town and thought that if I ever won the lottery, I’d definitely want to buy a vacation house here.

giant ice cream cone on High Street

We browsed the shops and as we looked into the window of one, we found a strange but funny sight. There was a doggie by the window.

Doggie in the window

He wasn’t moving at all and I thought he was a statue—until his eyes started to follow me.

Still laughing from the strange sight, we started walking again and came upon Poundland—UK’s version of the 99c store. We went inside and bought some chocolates and such to bring back home.

Poundland

By now our stomach’s were growling. We quickly headed for the hotel. After a right on Silver Street, a left on Minster Street (which turns into Castle Street), we found ourselves back in Qudos Inn.

We had a nice lunch of various pasties, and Welch’s juice.

Pasties for Lunch

As Maiko bit into her pasty,  I said something funny and Maiko had a hard time biting into her pasty.

A well timed joke makes it hard to chew

I took pictures of our room in Qudos Inn. It was a far cry from our tiny room in Arriva Hotel–with lots of light and space, I wanted to remember what it looked like.

Qudos Inn Room

Qudos Inn bathroom

After resting for a few minutes, we were full and ready for our next adventure around Salisbury.

Up next—Conquering my fears at Salisbury Cathedral.

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