Nottingham (01 Mar 08)

Made a day trip to Nottingham. On the whole it's quite a busy city since it is the regional capital of the East Midlands and also a shopper's dream come true, with 2 huge malls Broadmarsh Shopping Centre and Victoria Shopping Centre. That, plus the other independent retailers on the street make this one of the shopping place to go in the East Midlands. However, my aim here is not to shop, so got abt to looking arnd for the sights and sounds of the city.

Approaching Old Market Square, the city centre

One thing tt struck me abt Nottingham is the heavy use of trams...notice the lines on the ground?

There it comes....the tram servicing the city centre

The Nottingham Wheel.....why must every English city have one of this?!?

Nottingham Council House in Old Market Square

Met this impish guy who was handing out flyers to the touristy Tales of Robin Hood. Yes...Nottingham is famous for the legend of Robin Hood, so tt was where we were headed next!

And we finally reached the Tales of Robin Hood, which was actually an indoor visiting attraction detailing the adventures of Robin Hood. Costs quite a bit to take the tour though.....so we ended up cam-whoring abit and goofing arnd the souvenir shop and public gallery.

Haha....notice I am also wearing green underneath my coat...

He's the cashier in the souvenir shop but i dragged him out to take a photo

Muhahaha.....I pronounce myself king!!

Wrong way to wear the hat.....now i look like some American boy scout...

Now tt's the correct way....but i just had the impulse to squeeze the bear!

More goofing arnd in the public gallery

Bang bang bang!

Our different reactions in the face of Robin Hood...tt's me...

...And Wanping...

...And Yi Si...

Excalibur Sword....Damn thing's stuck in the rock

This guy was some demonstrator for the show tt was going on in the public gallery, I think his fingers are longer than my face sia....

Some chio bu i dragged along to take pic with....she was actually an assistant helping out the children with their paintwork in the gallery

And our next stop was the Nottingham Castle, where the famous Robin Hood statue was..

The gateway of the castle. In times of siege the defenders would blow up the bridge to the gateway

The park in the castle....an entrance fee needed to enter, but we were just happy to be outside taking pictures....cld almost capture the whole of the castle just by standing at the entrance..lol

This was followed by a trip to the Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, a pub tt is literally built in the rocks surrounding Nottingham Castle and was a popular meeting place for warriors before they head for the Crusades in the medieval times! It also claims to be one of the oldest pub in Britain.

St. Peter's Church. Unlike some of the churches in S'pore, somehow being in it gave me a strong sense of calm, especially when the church is situated in the middle of the shopping district yet it was just so quiet and peaceful tt i can't even hear the noise and bustle outside

Broadmarsh Shopping Centre...when we first alighted from the bus, it feels as if we have returned to S'pore...the "shopping mall" feel was there..

City of Caves in the Broadmarsh Shopping centre...it's accessed in the shopping centre and consists of a network of caves in it.....although again it was quite expensive just to go in

Some of the big name retailers seen.....Zara has its own building here....and it looks so cool! 3 floors of shopping here....

Notice other brands? Apparently in the main streets, the big name brands have their own flagship store and these, together with Broadmarsh and Victoria, make up the shopping district of Nottingham

Very unexpected sight here....Muji shop....

Ended the trip early cos Nottingham is also reportedly rife with gun-related crime. And when 1730 reaches and all the stores close down it's realli funny to see a busy crowded area just turn into a quiet place so fast...Oh well....so much for Robin Hood and his thieves...