Bristol

It was a big change going from a quiet town of 20,000 to a vibrant city with over a million in its Larger Urban Zone (LUZ). 

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larger_Urban_Zone

Bristol has been around a long time. According to Wikipedia (a perfectly reliable source) Bristol received its Royal Charter in 1155. The Port of Bristol has almost been here forever, and dispite the many attempts to flatten it, Bristol has survived and it is a wonderful contrast of the old and new. The city centre is a large new car free area (yes, car free again) of several blocks called Cabot Circus. All around the Circus the old Bristol still exists. Buy a take out salad in Tesco Express and eat it in a 500 year old church yard across the street. Just can't be done on the other side of the Atlantic.

Bristol is a very hilly city making walking interesting and sometimes challenging. The Avon river cuts a big gorge through the area. There are several fabulous viewpoints. It is also the spritual home of cider, but we talked about that side of Brizzle in a previous blog posting after our last visit:

http://eurodash2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/bristol.html

This time I want to talk about the fabulous street art and festival atmosphere that we experienced. We visited (and scrounged a bed from our friends Jon, Fliss and Will) the weekend of St. Paul's Carnival. This seems to be Brizzle's answer to Mardi Gras.  Like any big festival in a large city, St Paul's has had its problems. This year was no different:

http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/St-Paul-s-Carnival-Man-seriously-injured-separate/story-21335420-detail/story.html

Our hosts (minus Will).

But that was not the Carnival that we saw. The five of us bused downtown (no parking). We arrived before noon and watched the parade assemble and then watched it march off through the St Paul part of Bristol. It was a colourful and fun family event. There were loads of children marching and tens of thousands of people watching.

Young Will, heir apparent to the Hawkins throne, loved all the pomp, music and bluster. I particularily enjoyed the participants at the bitter end of the parade.

The food in the park at the center of the St Paul area was fabulous. You could find everything from jerked chicken to piri-piri. Cider (and beer) was flowing freely. (The city permits people to wander the streets of downtown Bristol with open drinks during this festival, sort of Bourbon Street with a West Country accent.) 

Even beyond the boundaries of St Paul, large groups of people were strolling with bevies in hand. Great during the day, but as you saw, not so good late at night.

We returned downtown the next day and there was almost no sign of the 100,000 people that had partied on the streets the day before. We went wandering around the Stokes Croft district looking at street art and searching for signs of Banksy. We found a few of his pieces, but they were well worn and fading. Such is the nature of graffiti or street art. 

There were lots of signs of Banksy's influence, and it seemed the city was condoning, or even encouraging street art. That was both good and bad.

I think a well done piece of street art is a wonderful way to cheer up concrete. 

Bristol was, once again, a great visit. Thanks to the tips and hospitality of Jon, Fliss and Will, we had a great time exploring this fabulous city.