MY DAY TRIP IN THE CITY OF NORWICH

Today I visited Norwich with my husband.  It is my first time to visit this beautiful city full of history.  We took a coach trip and only had 4 hours to spend in the city so we had to scale down our list of places to see and do.  Generally whenever I visit a new city I always make a list of important things I want to see and do.  It will always include a visit to a Cathedral or church, an old pub to either grab a drink or a quick bite to eat and a special place that is unique to that particular city.  So here are my top 3 must see and do in Norwich if you only have a day or a few hours, in our case. 

1.  NORWICH CATHEDRAL

First on my list of must visit is this 900 year old cathedral.  It's full of history that I suggest you take the free guided tour in order to gain a greater insight into this 900 year old building.  Tour starts on the hour from 1100am - 300pm Monday to Saturday, lasting for an hour and departing from the rear of the nave.  Entrance to the cathedral is free but they have a suggested donation of £5 for adult. And if you're not one of these people who enjoys a guided tour, they also have a welcome brochure provided to all visitors so you can explore the cathedral building at your own pace.  Allow 2 hours at least for your visit. For more information you can visit http://www.cathedral.org.uk

My top 3 favourites from the tour are the roof bosses, the cloisters and the ornate wood carvings of the misericords.

The famous green man roof boss

The Cloisters

one of the beautiful wood carvings of the choir seats

2.  ELM HILL

The most famous street of Norwich with its beautiful cobbled street, rows of character merchant's houses, specialty shops and small cafes.  I loved walking along this street, it's like travelling back in time.

3.  THE MURDERERS AND THE GARDENERS ARMS PUB

I like a good old pub with an interesting history to go with it.  This one dates back to 1696.  The trading name is The Gardeners Arms Pub but the pub is famously known as The Murderers due to its grisly and macabre history.  For more information visit their website 

http://www.themurderers.co.uk/#_=_

This used to be an alleyway (The entrance to the Murderers)

Our visit to Norwich was short but sweet but we had such a wonderful time. I hope to visit this beautiful city again.  If you want to know more about the city of Norwich you can visit their website http://www.visitnorwich.co.uk or you can leave me a comment and I will try my best to answer your questions.

Please check out this 40 seconds video clip  of  my visit.

VEGAN AND GLUTEN FREE LASAGNA

This recipe serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 cup green lentils from M&S
1 can Italian chopped tomatoes from Cook Italian
2 garlic cloves chopped
3 small shallots chopped
1 stick celery chopped
1 carrot shredded
1 bell pepper chopped
2 Tbsp rapeseed oil
1 pint hot water
1 heaped Tbsp vegan bouillon powder from Marigold
Free from lasagna sheets from M&S
half a tub of garlic & herb from Creamy Sheese
vegan mozzarella from Vbites

Method:

Saute garlic, shallots, celery, carrot & bell pepper in oil until softened.

Add lentil and cook for 10 minutes.

Add tomatoes and stock (mixing bouillon powder in hot water).

Cook for at least an hour in low heat - the longer and slower you cook the better.

Check the sauce, season according to your taste for me I did not need to add any salt or pepper.

You want the sauce to be nice and thick.

In a 26 x 20 cm roasting tin layer the bolognese sauce, then lasagna sheets, then spread the creamy sheese, then another layer of sauce, pasta sheets, creamy sheese and top with bolognese sauce a thinly sliced mozzarella.

Baked for 30 mins in an 180C oven and further 10 mins on 200C oven to brown the cheese.

Serve hot.  Enjoy!

The bolognese sauce is also perfect for any pasta base like spaghetti, tagliatelle, etc.

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VISIT 40 CITIES IN ENGLAND

As of 2015, there are currently a total of 69 cities in the United Kingdom.  51 in England, 7 in Scotland, 6 in Wales and 5 in Northern Ireland. (Wikipedia)

My challenge focus on visiting 40 of 51 cities in England which I have never visited before.  Here are the list of 51 cities in England:

1.  Bath √
2.  Birmingham √
3.  Bradford
4.  Brighton & Hove √
5.  Bristol
6.  Cambridge √
7.  Canterbury √
8.  Carlisle
9.  Chelmsford √
10.  Chester
11.  Chichester √
12.  Coventry
13.  Derby √
14.  Durham
15.  Ely √
16.  Exeter
17.  Gloucester
18.  Hereford
19.  Kingston upon Hull
20.  Lancaster
21.  Leeds
22.  Leicester
23.  Lichfield
24.  Lincoln
25.  Liverpool √
26.  City of London √
27.  Manchester √
28.  Newcastle upon Tyne
29.  Norwich √
30.  Nottingham
31.  Oxford √
32.  Peterborough √
33.  Plymouth
34.  Portsmouth
35.  Preston
36.  Ripon
37.  St. Albans √
38.  Salford
39.  Salisbury √
40.  Sheffield
41.  Southampton
42.  Stoke on Trent
43.  Sunderland
44.  Truro
45.  Wakefield
46.  Wells
47.  City of Westminster √
48.  Winchester √
49.  Wolverhampton
50.  Worcester
51.  York √

Fun Facts:

*  So what is a city you may ask?  The Oxford English dictionary defines 'city' as a 'large town' or  'a town created a city by charter and containing a cathedral'.
*  In the United Kingdom however, not every city has a cathedral and not all cathedrals are found in the city.
*  Not all large towns in the United Kingdom are officially designated as cities and there are a number of UK cities which are no bigger than an average towns or even villages.
*  There are no specific criteria which automatically grant city status in the United Kingdom.
*  In present times, city status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II.

Source:  http://www.ukcities.co.uk

So join me in discovering new cities in your own country and share it in any of my social media.  Subscribe or follow me so you will have an up to date information of my challenges with a

#ChallenJing40

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First stop on the list will be Norwich.  Blog to follow after my trip.  Please like and share.

Charity to sponsor to follow.