The night a street preacher 'saved our soles'

A couple of weekends ago I spent a few days in Chester celebrating my friend Mandy's 40th birthday.  

There were five of us who made the trip to Chester, let's call us the 'fabulous five'.  Its nicer to have weekends away with smaller groups, there are less people to please and its easier to grab a table or ensure that everyone can get in the same bar.

That's me in the blue out in Chester celebrating

Cocktails were definitely on the menu and shots were always a good way to end an evening, especially cherry cola shots.

the perfect companion for the long walk home
Did you know that there are street pastors who walk around Chester during the weekend at night, handing out flip flops to ladies that can no longer walk in their heels, thus 'saving their soles' from walking barefoot around the Chester cobbles?  Well my friends bumped into them outside a bar and we were all given these freebies, ready for when we wanted to ditch the heels.  Unfortunately some of us ditched the heels far too early which kind of took fashion statements to a different level but was definitely an ice breaker when out in the bars.  

The Bawn Lodge Bar was busy every night

A second choice hotel doesn't mean its second best. Due a last minute change of plans, we had to find new hotel accommodation. So we ended up staying at the Bawn Lodge Hotel and Bar which made our weekend.  The rooms were lovely, the staff were really friendly and helpful even at four in the morning when some of us (who won't be named) got locked out of the hotel and had to be rescued by the chef.  Thankfully the early morning call did not ruin the quality of the breakfast!  The Lodge was just ten minutes walk from the city centre and seemed to be in the heart of  Hoole is the Notting Hill of Chester, as told to us by a friendly local.  From Bramble cocktails to the best hot chocolate I have ever tasted, the Bawn Lodge is definitely worth a second visit.

We were blessed with glorious weather in Chester which made it perfect for walking round the shops, listening to street entertainment and having a drink on the rooftop terrace at the Havana Bar.  The sun, cocktails, cool bars, flip flops freebies and a 'chef rescue' made it the perfect girl's weekend, that I'm still recovering from!

Live street entertainment on the Chester streets




Comments

Make Do Style said…
Haha great review of a hotel based on need & friendliness!
I've only been to Chester once but it is lovely & the flip flop thing is a growing trend - I'm sure it happens elsewhere.

I haven't tried interest yet xx
13 April 2012 at 13:15
888bingo said…
I also have flipflops handy every time I'm on a girls' night out. All that dancing can really make my soles painful! Ouch!
30 May 2012 at 22:22
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Brassed Off (1996)- Danny's speech

Image
Not much I can say but after watching the film 'Brassed Off' for the numerous time, I cried at the fact that although this film was produced in the nineties, our country hasn't improved in terms of employment but there is still hope. RIP Pete Postlethwaite x
Read more

My new obsession

Image
A year ago, I decided to do something about getting healthy and making time for exercise.   I'd tried a gym and managed to fall off  a treadmill, my attempt at Zumba was one spin too many and trampolining keep fit resulted in painful knees and a struggle to get up off a train seat. But I've caught the running bug! This time last year I started to go running, after seeing an online post about starting up a small running group.  My early running days were a struggle, barely able to jog let alone run for a minute.  But I stuck to it and can now run for ten minutes nonstop, actually run! The beach promenade is my gym, a early morning run on a Saturday morning is my work out and I am ready for more.  Instead of a new years resolution, I set myself challenges for this year including running my first 5k and by spring I aim to do this. It does mean that some of my footwear choices lately haven't been about the height but more about comfort and speed, but it doesn't me
Read more

Shoe of the week

Image
Shoe of the week . . . Really? For the current weather we are experiencing, I should be nominating a pair of waders of the week!  With May apparently going to be the wettest month this year, a pair of wellingtons rather than a great pair of heels is what you need.  But why should they be boring. These wellies from Funky Wellingtons should be enough to brighten any dismal day. Got to protect those paws I can't forget my four-legged friends during the wet weather, our dogs still need to get outside and exercise but it doesn't mean they are waterproof!  So, a set of boots for dogs would be perfect to ensure those lower to the ground are protected from the cold too!.
Read more