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Elizaoprisor
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THE LEEDS COUNTRY WAY
The Leeds Country Way is basically a path to all the rural environments around the city. The idea of building this route was to allow tourists to see how the rural life in those parts is. I saw a lot of incredible things walking on the Country Way, amazing views, peasants doing their daily tasks. The Country Way gives you the possibility to see how exactly was our life before we began to build concrete buildings and cities. In my visit there I loved to breath the fresh air, without all the pollution of the cars and factories in the city; for a moment I really thought I should stay there for the rest of my life.
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Elizaoprisor
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THE LEEDS CATHEDRAL
The Cathedral is a Roman-Catholic one, and it is the seat of the bishop of Leeds. I loved the time I’ve spent in the Cathedral and I’ve learned a lot of things about its history and about its early days. It was originally built in St. Anne’s Church in the year 1878 but, it was to be demolished in the 1900’s. Because Leeds was left without a Cathedral it was rebuilt in 1904 with a lot of ambition and a lot of effort from the city council. I only saw pictures of what it looked like in the past century because, in 2006 in was completely restored and now it looks brand new.
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Elizaoprisor
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THE YORKSHIRE PLANETARIUM
The Yorkshire Planetarium is located in the area of Harewood House, in Leeds. Although it was opened for the public recently, in May 2007, it impressed me with the 3 different domes, explaining many phenomena that happen on our planet and not only. The most impressive dome is the one about the cosmos: stars, other planets, suns and a lot of other interesting things. I definitely learned a lot in my time there and I recommend you pay a visit, there are a lot of things we don’t know about the planet we live on and the planetarium is a great place to start learning…the entry fee is modest too, so enjoy.
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Elizaoprisor
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LEEDS
According to the 2001 UK census, Leeds is the fourth most populated city in England and it is one of the core cities. It’s located in West Yorkshire, and I was amazed by the great sights in that area and about the city’s story and history. I visited a lot of places in Leeds and I thought I was never going to leave. Too bad that vacation ended because I still had a lot of places to visit in Leeds, but I will certainly go back to visit every time I’ll have the chance. I sincerely recommend you visit this city, and I assure you that you will remember that vacation for a lot of time.
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annie
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Jongleurs Comedy Club
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Jongleurs is well known to people from the televised comedy shows. Comedy, especially stand up, is the new rock ‘n’ roll as they say and the Leeds branch in the Cube is packed out. The club is open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. A compere keeps order, tells some funny stuff of his own and introduces the comics each night.
I have been there twice and the atmosphere was electric on both occasions. They know how to get a crowd worked up and a lot of drink has flowed by the time the first act comes on. There is a frisson of anticipation and then Let Me Entertain You by Robbie Williams booms out, signalling the start of the show. The stand ups were of a good standard, with two or three being exceptional.
Food and drink is brought to the table. I was with a large crowd of people on both occasions, which made it a lot of fun. You can order big 4 pint pitchers of beer, lager or Guinness and our table was awash with chicken wings, burgers, chips, ranch salad, potato wedges and various barbecue dips. Take care, it’s easy to lose track of how much you’re drinking.
The comedy finishes at 11pm and most people move next door, to the Bar Risa for more drinking and some dancing. The Jongleurs crowd gets free entrance. My husband and I did get rather merry on the first occasion and had an embarrassing experience when we tried to exit Bar Risa to catch a taxi home. We went through the wrong door, thinking it was the exit to the street, only to find ourselves in some sort of corridor with locked, steel doors. After some frantic shouting and banging on my part, a nice security man came to rescue us. We got a taxi and made it home, only for my husband to be sick on my shoes. Bless him.
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annie
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Pasta Romagna
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Anyone from Leeds will know about the Italian restaurant, Pasta Romagna on Albion Place, even if they have never been in. I’m from Leeds and it’s been there for as long as I can remember. The owner Gilda is part of Leeds folklore. She is a larger than life Italian woman, with a passion for opera, something that has got her into trouble. Gilda likes to play opera in the cafe and sing along with it when the mood takes her. When the restaurant door is open on warm days, the music spills out onto the streets and it is LOUD! They can hear it in Bradford.
Some spoilsport made a complaint to Leeds City Council, demanding that she turn the volume down. Gilda’s customers rushed to her defence and mounted a counter campaign to keep things the way they were. I never did find out what happened but I haven’t noticed the music becoming less noisy.
Gilda also has a passion for life. I was in there once when it was very busy and she was complaining that the customers weren’t talking to each other! Strangers chatting to each other is probably something she misses about living in Italy. The paintwork is a patriotic red, white and green and there are tables outside on the pavement, weather permitting.
All the eccentricity and music aside, the greatest thing about this place is the food. If you haven’t tasted Gilda’s lasagne, you haven’t lived. It melts in your mouth. The other pasta dishes are good too and the pizza and the desserts. You can also buy pasta and parmesan cheese to take home. Gilda brings a touch of Italian sunshine to my city. Long may she reign.
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annie
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Opera in the Park
There are some terrific free, annual events in Leeds that Leeds City Council sponsors. My husband and I have been to a few Opera in the Park events, held in the grounds at the Jacobean stately home of Temple Newsam every July. We are not opera buffs by any means but we like the spectacle, mainly enjoying the classical music that the orchestra plays in between the singing bits.
It’s a great atmosphere with lots of young people and families coming along. The kids can wander off and play Frisbee or go on one of the children’s rides. We were not organised the first time we attended but we soon learned the ropes from the regulars. You need car blankets and a comfortable seat. Some people even take windbreakers. You just can’t trust the British weather, even in summer and it doesn’t start until 8pm. You can buy hot drinks, hot dogs and burgers and there’s a beer tent. A lot of people take their own picnic and we started to pack dips, bread sticks, cake and strawberries with a bottle of wine.
The real diehard opera fans get their early to grab a space in front of the stage. They’re the ones that dress up in tuxedos or evening gowns and lay out a table in crisp, white linen. They conduct themselves as if they were in a drawing room instead of in a field and they set the table with their best crockery and silver candlesticks! As it gets dark, the stage is lit and the field twinkles with dozens of lantern lamps, hung on poles. It’s really quite a sight.
Opera in the Park has attracted some top flight singers, including the welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins and Lesley Garret. However, all has not been well for my husband and myself and we have not bothered to go to the event this last two years. The reason is that it has changed from opera and classical music to West End and Broadway musicals and songs from the movies. Nothing wrong with that, you might say, but it’s not what it says on the ticket. If we wanted that, we’d go see Michael Ball. All we want is what it says on the tin. My husband had to get this grievance off his chest, so he did by complaining to the council. A nice lady spoke to him, saying that opera was a loose term. That didn’t go down well. He even spoke to someone from the Fair Trading Office, putting the case that calling it Opera in the Park was now misleading. We didn’t get anywhere, alas.
We don’t know why they made the change as thousands of people attended when it was opera. To control numbers, you have to have a ticket and there was always more demand than tickets available. Anyway, I’m sure it still brings a lot of pleasure to a lot of people but we won’t be going back unless they change back to the original format. It just seems a shame because opera is usually expensive to see and this was a way of presenting it to true opera fans for free.
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annie
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Victoria Quarter
Leeds is known for its shopping arcades, a feature that marks it out from other cities. My favourite arcade is the Victoria Quarter, an area of up market stores with Victorian architecture and Art Noveau shop fronts. I’m not into designer clothes shops myself, but I appreciate the elegance and grandeur.
The arcade was given a new stained glass roof; the largest of its kind in Europe and it won an award. Sometimes, I just cut through to get to somewhere else. There is a mosaic floor and a couple of fountains. I will occasionally sit on one of the benches with a cup of coffee and a delicious bagel from French Revolution.
The most famous store is the flagship Harvey Nichols. At the time of opening, it was the first branch in England, outside of London. A doorman in a splendid, over the top uniform and top hat greets customers at the front entrance. There was a rumour going round that no one wearing jeans would be allowed in but fortunately, this was unfounded.
There are plenty names to impress, such as Vivienne Westwood, Ted Baker and Karen Millen. The only time I bought anything in Karen Millen was when I was on a mystery shopping job and I was told to buy a pair of shoes. I could have kept them if I’d wanted but they were very expensive and I sent them back! I gave the store a good report however, as the staff were very friendly.
Gieves and Hawkes are also there, without any prices in the window, always a bad sign! Louis Vuitton is there too, although not quite so impressive since I walked past the real thing on the Champs - Elysees in Paris. Space NK Apothecary is equal to its grand name and beauty doesn’t come cheap. Berry’s Jewellers is also here and I do enjoy pressing my nose against the window. That’s as far as I’ve got.
There is one of my favourite shops in Leeds here and I actually go in and buy things sometimes. It’s much more me and it’s called Boodle-am, a sort of posh hippie shop. It’s crammed full of stock and there isn’t much room but the velvet dresses, feather boas and jewellery is worth searching for. I love to wander round and there’s always good music playing, such as Leonard Cohen.
After exhaustive window shopping, it’s nice to have a treat and order a pot of tea at the Harvey Nicks café in the arcade. They switch the outdoor heaters on in the winter and there is a fleet of efficient waiters and waitresses in smart, black and white uniforms to satisfy your every whim.
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