Plymouth part two

My husband was traveling here on business so I walked him to work and then wandered happily about taking pictures and soaking up the atmosphere. The city centre is very beautiful, quiet and clean. I have to say that it was nice to get out of crowded Madrid

This chapel was in the University and so picturesque with the row houses on one side that I had to snap this as my first photo of the day.

One of the things about Plymouth, is that it is a major port town for the UK. Because of this a lot of the older buildings had been destroyed by German bombs during one of the world wars. The upshot is that there are beautiful historic buildings next to modern and sleek buildings, like this one, also on the University campus.

Here are more shots of the greenway that runs from the University to ocean, right in the middle of the city centre.

I really liked it. There was a lot of care to landscape the sections between streets differently. On each side of the greenway there were various shops. I can imagine it is, if the weather is nice and you weren't buying anything heavy, a very pleasant way to shop.

I got to experience the first blushes of spring again.

Here the greenway opened onto a plaza. Fraiser House, a department store with a decent yarn selection, is to the left, a big screen tv is straight ahead and in the distance you can see the top of the Plymouth ferris wheel.

Such dramatic clouds (it was a little windy).

 This is an anchor of an important ship, but I was so eager to get to the ocean I did not stop to read it which one.

The seaside park in Plymouth is called the "Hoe". I am assured that they know how it sounds and I am trying very hard not to make the obvious jokes. 

This is a statue of Sir Francis Drake, the famous explorer. One of many famous explorers that started  their journey from Plymouth. I did not get a close up of him, because he was very popular with the sea gulls.

Other explores/expeditions that have set out from Plymouth include: the Mayflower, and Charles Darwin on the Beagle.

Slightly unrelated note, there is a cruise/ferry that goes directly from Santander (Spain) to Plymouth too. It takes about 20 hours but you sail by the coast of France.

Now I grew up nowhere near the ocean and I live about as close as I ever have right now (4 hours by car to Valencia). I am one of those rare people that can count the number of times I have been to a coast on two hands. This view is breath taking, and may I add, just like the movies.

The famous lighthouse, Smeaton Tower.

The Plymouth dome (as far as I know unused at this time), below the dome there is a semi-circular swimming pool overlooking the ocean. No photos, the pool is empty as it was cold and windy. Despite the weather (13-15C or 50-65F) there were plenty of people in t-shirts and shorts. I had on a heavy wool coat and a scarf and after a while I had to flee out of the wind so that I could retain feeling in my fingers!

I'll break up this day into two posts, as there is a lot of photos. This was my view as I left the Hoe to go and try to find lunch back in the city.