Royal Arcade

Another very Christmassy place here in Norwich is the Royal Arcade. This year they decorated with christmas trees and letters coming from foliage garlands that go from one side of the arcade to the other. I think it feels quite magical and we all love a bit of magic. So we decided to stop take the camera and the sketchbook out and represented so it could stay in our memories forever. The shops were already closed when we stopped to sketch which is a shame but it is still beautiful. I have to say, we almost froze. It was really cold and because the arcade was almost empty we could really feel the cold wind. But after that we just went home and drank a big mug of hot chocolate! Hope you enjoy it.

Christmas Lights

One of the things we love to do at Christmas time is to go to the city centre and look at the Christmas lights. It is normally cold outside and so we get our beanies and scarfs out as well as our big winter coats and wonder around the city centre and the shops and also stopping to do a quick sketch. It is almost magical and we can definitely feel the Christmas spirit. Every shop has Christmas music on but sometimes there are even people singing and playing Christmas music outside. In Norwich there's a tunnel of light in a square where everyone wants to go through and take a lot of pictures. I super recommend, if you city has good Christmas Lights, to go out at night and wander around so you can get the Christmas spirit!

City Hall

Yesterday we went to the center of the city, more specifically the market and city hall area. We love that place. the market is full of a enormous variety of unique and small food places and in a saturday, when it is at its most busiest moment, the smells are fantastic. After wandering in that area and around it, we stopped at the top of the square and sketched one of the iconic building of Norwich, due to its size, importance and history. The city hall is one of the tallest buildings in Norwich and was completed in and opened in 1938 by the King and Queen. A year later the II World War started and Norwich was extensively bombed however, the building survived intact, which is remarkable because of the building's size. Hope you enjoy it.

St. Miles Bridge

It was such a lovely day with a beautiful sky, so we decided that to go on a walk in the city center and in the riverside walk of Norwich. After being in the center, we went to a place where the small but wonderful St Miles Bridge spans the River Wensum. It is believed to have been two bridges between a central island, of course the river at that period was much wider. Also, in this part of the river the houses' backyards have ladders that give access to the river. The "scenario" had amazing blues, reds and greens so it had to be sketched. It felt super relaxing to be there on a saturday morning with a boat passing through and fresh breeze against the warm sun. Hope you enjoy it.

St. Stephen's Church / Chapelfield Mall

Saturday we went to the Chapelfield mall where one of the entrances faces an old church named St. Stephens Church. That square is a place of passage so the idea was to capture the space and the movement and dynamics of it. This is one of the places where the new mixes with the old. The facade of that entrance is mostly windows so, we got up to the first floor to sketch. The place is constantly busy especially in the weekends, and is the perfect spot to feel the movement of the city.