Holiday memories no. 1 - Chester and its zoo

I'm back from a very relaxing and surprisingly warm 10 days in England. I have a lot to show you so I'll probably spread it over two posts, if that's OK.

Before leaving my home I'd asked for advice on what to take with me, and all my friends and family said "It's freezing, bring warm clothes", "bring lots of layers", "wrap up warm". So I did. It's true that for the first two days it was rather damp and not very warm. But then, on the Monday, it got quite alot warmer. Off with the coats. Off with the cardigans and, oh dear, all my clothes are too warm. Luckily my sister has the same size feet as me and I borrowed a pair of sandals. I bought a lovely skirt and borrowed a couple of blouses too. There are lots of advantages to staying with family. As the days went by it got sunnier and sunnier, warmer and warmer.

Today I'm going to show you the pictures from our visit to Chester and its zoo. Chester is a beautiful English city close to the Welsh border. Chester was founded as a "castrum" or Roman fort with the name Deva Victrix in the year 79 by the Roman Legio II Adiutrix during the reign of the Emperor Vespasian. You can still visit the remains of a Roman amphitheatre, and I enjoyed a walk around the city walls.

The suspension bridge

Gorgeous open-topped bus for the tourist trips around the town

Chester is famous for its old black and white buildings

The main street on a busy day

The city walls

The zoo is huge and has over 400 species and 8000 animals. There are around 11 miles of paths, and I think I walked on almost all of them! Chester zoo specialises in research and conservation. We were lucky to visit on a wonderfully sunny day.

Cheetahs. We had a great view from a bridge above.

Elephants!

A giraffe bends down for a nibble

Aren't I beautiful?

Giraffes again - so elegant

I'm not sure who was watching whom

Zebra