Cities with nooks and crannies - paradises for travellers who enjoy shopping

Many cities such as London, have nooks and crannies which are great for travellers to visit as these give one the real ‘feel’ of the city. Often one needs a ‘local’ fo find these so we were delighted when a friend introduced us to the ‘Lamb and Flag’ in Rose Street, Covent Garden. www.lambandflagcoventgarden.co.uk/ Situated around a couple of corners down some narrow cobbled streets, this pub dates back to 1772 and has played host to many famous people including Charles Dickens. The current owners have kept the original look of the plae depicting its colourful past and we were also treated to ‘recent’ anecdotes experienced in the lifetime of our local friend, also called Charles. A couple of days later we were the same area in London, looking for a Ray’s (not mine) jazz shop, located in the famous Foyles Bookshop - which is well worth a visit. On the way we passed through Denmark and neighbouring streets which turned out to be a small music mecca, with guitar, saxophone, sheet music and other shops selling simiar wares. It was thrilling to hear strings of music wafting from all the shops as we strolled by. Even the Regent and Oxford Street areas, looking fully scrubbed up and very clean in preparation for the Olympics, have lanes and alleyways leading off them enticing strollers to explore the boutique shops bars and eateries. London, like many other cities such as Liverpool, is changing its conjested inner city street to walkways which make exploring ‘nooks and crannies’ much easier. Chester is another city of nooks and crannies, which when we visited, may travellers were exploring. The main street, complete with clock tower dedicated to Empress and Queen Victoria, is lined with tudor styled buildings. between the ground floor shops were many staircases which led to the first floor shops or to lanes to other parts of the city. The city wall, often at first floor level, enables strollers to look into offices and residences as they pass by. More about nooks and crannies to come...