Leicester: Architecture, Richard III and Football Champs

 

The beautiful city of Leicester is a short drive from Desford where cousin Marilyn lives.  The park and ride bus eliminated the hassle and costs of parking downtown.  The gorgeous shops, apartments and public buildings looked stunning in the sparkling sun.  The lanes, gardens and parks make this city a delight to tour on foot.

We had lunch in a classic English Pub, The Globe, whose wooden floors have been soaking up spilled brew since 1720.

We strolled past the University of  Leicester where Marilyn was a professor and Mike worked in research.  The paths they got to stroll during lunch hour must have made their days!  We stopped at the classic Leicester Train Station to purchase our tickets back to Gatwick.  There is a real financial advantage to buying train tickets in advance!

 

As the world knows, the remains of King Richard III were unearthed beneath a parking lot beside The University of Leicester a couple of years ago.  People around the world watched Richard III’s reinterment in Leicester Cathedral on March 26th 2015.  The Cathedral Church of St. Martin, as some know it, is a beautiful Gothic structure built between 1086-1867.   A variety of stained glass from traditional scenes of the scriptures, depictions of battles and modern, painterly inspirational stories were projecting their prisms onto the white walls of the Cathedral.  A replica of King Richard’s crown and his actual bible are on display.  His tomb faces the resurrection east window where a decorative screen was moved from the nave to separate Richard from the other souls whose bodies lie in rest in the cathedral. 

Across the cathedral gardens is a new museum dedicated to the life and times of Richard.  We will have to visit “Bosworth Battlefield Centre” on our next visit to Leicester, as we arrived at closing time.

The following images are from a further stroll we took to the outdoor and indoor markets, a modern indoor plaza and down a few more laneways.

    reflections look like a pool of water

                                         no caption needed!

Back home, we celebrated our day and the win of another semi-final by the Leicester Football Club.   A few days after we returned home to Canada,  Leicester won the the first English Premier League Title!  The city of Leicester was decked out in blue in celebration and once again, the “little city’s” fame won hearts around the world.

Our charmed day ended with a full moon!