Date: 8 Feb 04 Adventures of Gamblegirl: Chester Straight off let me say that Chester sux and to me it's worth AU$600. After a great day in Liverpool, the Andi and Gamblegirl roadshow hit the freeway and it was off to Chester. Stunningly beautiful. All tudor style houses and just gorgeous. I was in love with Chester. A split level town with a police station that's very difficult to find. I mean how hard should it be to find a "($*"$(%&$(&$(%&$( police station!!! We got there nice and early ie all the shops were shut. So we had a coffee / hot chocolate before strolling around town. Chester is famous for it's walls. The whole town is surrounded by a medieval wall that was built around the Norman times. You can walk around the whole town via the wall. So we headed off to the racecourse (very pretty) and then climbed up the wall. Along the wall are plaques with historical facts in them, which I was more then happy to read. After a while I realised that I was going blind because of the sun (and nearly blown off the wall because of the wind) I swapped my glasses for my sunnies, tucked them in my pocket and off I went. So I've seen the wall twice. Once to look at and once to find my glasses. Urgghhh. We'd just finished looking at Chester and were about to check out to see if there was anything else in the town when I reached into my pocket to swap sunnies for specs when... felt nothing. Absolutely nothing at all. Felt around again, checking the corners, the lining, everything - nothing. That's when I uttered a naughty word and looked at Andi in panic. "Um Ands, I can't find my glasses". Now this is a big deal!!! I am literally blind without my glasses and I really can't walk around in my sunnies. Panic set in and deep down inside I knew that they were well and truly lost. We searched the wall but alas came up empty. Again I uttered a naughty word, trying to not to lose the plot. It's my glasses - my eyes!!!! So off to the police station it was (and wasn't that a challenge because - it's like all over the place) and reported them lost. Then all I can say is bless Optical Express. While I had to sit for an eye exam (for the record, eye sight hasn't changed that much), I was lucky that they took the charge off my glasses to compensate. So I was thinking that it might take an afternoon for them to do my glasses. I knew that they had a day turn around policy, but I was thinking the arvo. Not in an hour. So looking like an absolute tosser, I sat in my sunnies in this restaurant. The thing is it's over AU$600 to replace them. These better bloody good glasses I tell you. $600!!!!!! You'd never guess the brand that I've picked too - Quicksilver. Yes I have surfy specs. So after all that it was getting dark we headed back to home sweet home London and the end to an interesting road trip weekend. Chester - hmm won't be going back there any time soon!!!! Gamblegirl