Brazenly Bristol - July 2022

With a move to Bristol potentially on the table for next year, we decided to extend Jacob's work trip so we could explore the city and see if it is to our liking. We had a lovely weekend walking around, seeing the sites, finding nice spots for food and drinks. It's a vibrant, gritty city that really makes good use of its waterfront - which we took full advantage of, of course.

After an obstacle-filled train ride from Heathrow, Jacob met me at the Bristol train station and we enjoyed a nice walk back to the hotel that took us by some impressive buildings and through the Queen's Square. Plus, our hotel was right next to the Bristol Cathedral and City Hall, so impressive architecture - check!

That evening, we took a river-side stroll down to the Left-Handed Giant, which is apparently a Bristol office watering hole fave. After enjoying a drink and some noisy people-watching (always good to see folks enjoying themselves on a Friday night!), we went next door to a cute little wine bar. It had the vending machine/serve yourself thing going on, which is always fun because you end up trying things that you might not have picked if you were just looking at a menu.

Saturday got off to an ambitious start - we walked by the harbourside, enjoying the scenery. We were too early for the ferries, so we figured we would walk to the suspension bridge in the meantime. After needing to flip a U-turn in order to cut over the main road (the walking path was a bit confusing), we climbed up to the bridge and were treated to some spectacular views. After a stroll through Clifton, we found the Cabot Tower and a motorcycle parade en route back to the hotel.

For lunch, we tracked down some fish and chips at a local market. The market was fun and bustling, and there was a giant gold inflatable thing that we still don't understand.

That afternoon, we met some of our colleagues for drinks and dinner. First stop: Gin and Juice - a cozy bar with very over the top "accompaniments" for their tasty G&Ts. Next step: the Mint Room - a delicious Indian restaurant; everything on the tasting menu was excellent. After many laughs, several story swaps, and a downhill, vaguely rainy walk, we called it a night.

The next morning, we explored the other side of the water. A very kind gentleman helped us navigate around the SS Great Britain (a.k.a. the "sheep") and even pointed out a Banksy painting for us. After a quick stop for some bubbles, we caught the train back to Heathrow to return to Copenhagen.