I am very much enjoying having J at home with me this week, it's a treat for us to have so much child free time together and we're having fun going out and about. Today we went on the train to The City to do a little bit of Christmas shopping which is something of an annual ritual for me at this time of year. Having the Mister with me made it a different experience altogether, and also made me remember that we are both completely different when it comes to shopping.
Our first stop was a new shopping arcade which only opened in October, and wowsers, what an impressive thing it is. I wished that I had taken more notice of the outside of the building as it looks incredible from the pictures I've seen (have a look here to see what I mean). Inside was quite overwhelming, everything was just soooooo shiny!! So much gleaming, reflective, shiny materials, my eyes felt like they might just pop out of my head trying to take it all in. The floor completely did me in, those reflective zigzags made me feel like I was going to trip over any minute. The shops were all incredibly posh too, and were a little bit over the top for me, but then again I was kind of expecting it to be that way. Aside from wanting to just experience all the shiny new-ness, we actually needed to visit the new John Lewis store to pick up a particular gift.
I do have a soft spot for large department stores, there is something rather exciting about having access to so much beautifully displayed stuff on such a large scale. And I happen to love love love riding up and down escalators, it greatly pleases my inner child which I suspect is very much more giddy than is normal for my age.
I left J in the technology department and wandered across to the christmas department to gaze in wonder at the vast displays of ornaments. I had an urge to go and stroke household textiles on the floor below (I am inexplicably drawn to the shelves of fluffy towels arranged by colour), but J was having none of it. He shops like a missile - knows his target in advance and goes straight to it, acquiring it with the minimum of fuss and not a millimetre of diversion. I am the complete opposite, I am a browser and a wanderer and am so very easily diverted it's ridiculous. I have secretly decided to go back to this amazing store at another time and spend an age wandering and stroking, riding up and down through all the levels as many times as I can.
The older shopping arcades in Leeds city are just incredibly beautiful, and I love strolling around here.
I didn't see anyone else really taking in their surroundings, but to me it was impossible not to stand still and gaze about.
We were passing through this arcade so weren't shopping here as such....
.....but I couldn't resist taking some photographs of it looking so glorious and festive.
Ahhhh, gift shopping.....what can I say? I don't enjoy it all that much, and I'm not very good at it either. I picked up a few things from favourite shops for friends, and some small bits for the Little People. But ultimately, after going at it for 3 hours I felt drained and as if I'd failed somehow.
J suggested we use our last hour in the City to sit and have a drink rather than traipse around more shops, and I was so happy about that idea.
He took me to a place that he sometimes visits with friends - it's actually a hotel bar, but the fact that it's on the 13th floor makes it rather special.
The views from up here in the SkyLounge Bar are spectacular, so different from my green rural Attic view, but stunning all the same.
We ordered drinks and decided to sit outside on the narrow terrace which runs along the whole length of the thirteenth floor. Despite it being winter and the fact that we were so high up in the air, the terrace was sheltered and warmed by outdoor heaters above each table, and it felt absolutely lovely to be able to sit outside.
I was a bit naughty and ordered myself Hendricks gin and tonic to take the lingering edge off the shopping experience, gosh I really, really enjoyed that drink!
We had time before our train to have a little wander around this area which is a curious mix of historical and new, residential and commercial. It was interesting to see the canal boats here, and it suddenly occurred to me that this is the very same canal (the historic Leeds-Liverpool canal) that runs through my town.
Walking home from the train station along my own familiar stretch of canal this afternoon, I felt a surge of relief to be back. I do enjoy the occasional city visit and a change of scene every so often, but oh it is so so so nice to come home again.
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More little snippets from the Attic....
Your arcades are so much more beautiful than our malls. They are very utilitarian...perhaps that is the mark of being American. I don't know, but I'd rather shop in yours! Thank you for the lovely photos.
Posted by: Karen Green | December 27, 2016 at 09:29 PM
Ooh I love the old arcades in Leeds - so pretty! I haven't been for years sadly but I would have been with you, stopping to have a look around at the beautiful architecture 😊
Posted by: Postcard from Gibraltar | December 23, 2016 at 11:11 PM
I love your photos of the ornate details in the arcade. When people paws through daily, they take it for granted and don't notice the artistic designs any more. It's amazing how many interesting things you can find if only one takes the time to stop and observe. When I see those artistic flourishes I remember that they were deliberately placed there by someone who found them meaningful and important, from an era where the ornamentation was just as important as the structural elements. I could look at those photos for ages.
Posted by: Jodiebodie | December 23, 2016 at 10:41 PM
goodmorning Lucy (sorry for my bad english) I live with my husband near Leeds (for a job) but I am french. I put on my website a link of your blog for the french lady
thank you so much and congratulations for your blog
Posted by: touteclaire | December 22, 2016 at 05:33 AM
I think it's the whole evolutionary "hunter/gatherer" genetics playing out over millennia. The males were the hunters of game, so they developed the missile technique of acquisition. The females gathered the roots and berries, so they had to be able to slowly look around and find the hidden treasures. We modern humans aren't as evolved as we like to think! Agree totally on the old fashioned arcades, being in a modern shopping mall is dazzling but makes me a bit breathless and itchy to leave again. Hendricks well deserved!
Posted by: Jane B. | December 19, 2016 at 05:49 PM
I smiled as I read your blog. Bill and J are similar shoppers. Now he waits in the vehicle for me but it used to be you have 15 min. to shop.
Leeds looks like an awesome place. I have passed through it a couple of times on the train but never have visited the city.
Thanks so much for a great blog.
Diane (from Ohio)
Posted by: Diane Burns | December 18, 2016 at 05:18 PM
I loved the look of that shopping place- looks fun! - maybe not at peak busy time
www.whimsyandcosy.wordpress.com
Posted by: Zozie | December 15, 2016 at 11:21 PM
How amazing! You sound just like Hubby and I with how you shop. Wow, that new shopping centre is just too much. The floor would make me feel ill and the lighting these days makes more eyes funny and disoriented. Give me the old arcades and a street full of shops and I'm happy. I've been in that arcade a couple of times over the years we've visited, but I still love the Markets best. Take care and thanks for a great post that brings back memories.
Posted by: Susan Smith | December 15, 2016 at 08:31 PM
Thanks for that little tour of the city - I've never visited Leeds before. Makes me want to go! But there really is no place like home 😊❤
Posted by: Eleonora from Coastal Crochet | December 15, 2016 at 07:52 PM
Oh I was so so excited to visit Leeds for the first time in ages and see the new arcade. I''m not sure what it was but the the whole experience left me feeling oddly deflated and sad. The desperate stark opposition between the expensive shops and the pawn brokers and bettting shops that line the street directly next to the new arcade made me feel ill, and I left town empty handed. Though I agree there is much beauty and in the architecture of much of the town Leeds feels like it's loosing itself and trying a bit to hard... all fur coat and no knickers as my Nan would say! She's become a bit of a corporate whore. Give me the independents of Ilkley and Skipton and even Harrogate these days
Posted by: Rachel | December 15, 2016 at 07:44 PM
Wonderful arcade pictures, we so often don't look around us or up above our heads when we trot rund the cities.
And you clearly have great taste Hendricks gin is excellent : )
Posted by: lyn lewis | December 15, 2016 at 06:31 PM
Loved your latest blog..seeing all the gorgeous photographs and it has put the idea of visiting Leeds one day...so thank you!!
Merry Christmas to you and yours, and many more to come...
Nora x
Posted by: Nora | December 15, 2016 at 04:52 PM
I live two hours from the nearest shopping centre, and that's fine with me: North American malls generally lack any charm at all. If I'm lucky I'll make it through the gift marathon without setting foot in one. I remember being in Burlington Arcade in London at Christmas decades ago and thinking it was visual magic (couldn't have afforded so much as a thumb tack from there, but that didn't matter). I've never been to Leeds but you make it look lovely.
Posted by: Anne at Shintangle Studio | December 15, 2016 at 04:40 PM
Such beautiful photos Lucy. Always love hearing about your experiences. I'm probably a bit more like J and my other half is a bit more like you. However both of us have extremely limited energy for shopping in person, preferring the online experience these days. We do most in-person shopping together, and the actual "being together" is much more fun that the shopping itself. And like you, we enjoy the eating/drinking/relaxing parts the most. I rather enjoy the people watching too. If not for the insane road traffic, we might do more in-person shopping. I rarely drive anymore, preferring to take public transportation and walk as you do. Happy holidays to you and your entire family! The best gifts are family experiences rather than material things.
Posted by: Kimmy | December 15, 2016 at 04:39 PM
Leeds city centre how I miss it my daughter used to live there and twice a yearI used to spend the day in the shops I could spend hours in the covered markt. She now lives in Newcastle and it is not the same, I envy you.
Posted by: Chris | December 15, 2016 at 04:02 PM
I love the buildings in Leeds too, the market is an amazing structure if you remember to look up. Found your blog a few weeks ago and recognised the photo you had put on, don't we live in a beautiful part of the world? Happy crafting x
Posted by: Pat | December 15, 2016 at 03:15 PM
I love department stores too! Especially during the holidays.
Posted by: mrs. smythe | December 15, 2016 at 12:49 PM
I'm a country girl at heart too......but!! I love the old part of Leeds, that arcade is a very special place.
Posted by: Irene Boothroyd | December 15, 2016 at 11:47 AM
I can totally understand your feelings about shiny, brand new malls - they do nothing for me and I feel almost claustrophobic if I'm in one for any length of time. I dpont' fine I do anything efficient there and am always glad to get outside. Arcades, on the other hand, are lovely : visually interesting and pleasing to the eye, quieter, usually open to the outside, and the shops are usually much more individual.
After leaving my home town of Liverpool at 18 I no longer feel comfortable in cities for very long - I've been a country bumpkin for so many years! Nice to visit for a spell, but lovely to get home to peace and quiet and a slower pace of life! (But I do love an occasional wander round a good departmental store!)
Posted by: Lynne Gill | December 15, 2016 at 10:28 AM
"shop like a missile"... you really made my day! It´s a new phrase to me and hits the point. Many years I´m following your blog and I love it. I love it for the colors, for the liveliness, for the presence of your inner child. Thank you.
Posted by: Sabine | December 15, 2016 at 10:28 AM
I have somehow managed to have a missile shopper daughter, even though ( or perhaps because ) I am a toucher looker take it all inner. So we always compromise like you and stop for nice refreshments. I feel the need to visit Leeds now.
Posted by: Debdor | December 15, 2016 at 07:07 AM
What a great travelogue for Leeds. I have never been. Many years ago I lived in London, but found that I was a country girl at heart and left.
Posted by: Carol | December 15, 2016 at 06:56 AM
Shopping in expensive places brimming over with luxury items tends to make me a bit frustrated and depressed even though I love it. Missed feelings indeed.
Posted by: Line | December 15, 2016 at 05:32 AM
Great trip enjoyed the lovely photos love Jenny xx
Posted by: Jenny | December 14, 2016 at 11:23 PM
Ah Leeds! I lived there for 5 years - but it's changed so much! I miss it! Xx
Posted by: Elsie Pop | December 14, 2016 at 11:19 PM