Abbey Street

We were in Carlisle this morning and decided to go for lunch at the lovely Sicilian Restaurant, Amato’s, just by the Cathedral. You wouldn’t know it was a restaurant until you get close up and see the map on the wall and the menus, but local people know of it and it is very popular. 

The restaurant is at the Cathedral end of Abbey Street, next to the Archway that leads to the City Walls. Behind me was the main Gateway, the entrance to the Cathedral precinct. At the far end of Abbey Street is the castle. So this is very much the historic quarter of Carlisle and in the past it would have been a prestigious place to live. There are some smart buildings along the street, most 18th century, and many are Listed. You can just imagine carriages pulling up on the cobbles outside some  of these houses. 

Village Book Group tonight. We have been reading ‘The Shadow of the Wind’ by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, translated from the Spanish by Lucia Graves. I had not heard of this book, although it was a world-wide best-seller . . . apparently.