After a Friday night of reminiscing, our weekend in Leicester continued with lots more exploration. A bit like our Saturday in South Wales, we had a packed day. We found a beautiful park (with a parkrun of course), some fabulous street art and an exhibition we’ve wanted to see for ages. We squeezed in time for cake and ended our day with a concert at De Montfort Hall.

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We decided to start our day with a visit to Abbey Park. It wasn’t somewhere I knew much about and it didn’t feature in my student life – I definitely wasn’t running round many parks then. As a park, it had everything. Map boards for Mr T to read. A lake. Landscaped gardens. An old cricket ground and pavilion (now the cafe). Wood carvings. A bowling green. Abbey ruins. A bandstand. A canal and river running through it. It wasn’t the sunniest of mornings, but we stayed dry, loved the parkrun route and had a fabulous breakfast afterwards.

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A selection of street art and murals – including the mural celebrating all things Leicester on the side of the Premier Inn where we were staying. Zoom in on the photo and see if you can find the tiger and the fox! We spotted Jimi Hendrix the the floral bridge on our walk to Abbey Park.

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On Saturday afternoon, we discovered that the Van Gogh Immersive Experience was still open. We’ve almost been to see it a few times but never quite made it before – a slightly drizzly afternoon in Leicester seemed like an ideal time. It was being held in the very atmospheric All Saints’ Church just outside the city centre – somewhere else I’d never been before.

And so we sat in the dark and let the images of Van Vogh move around us. It was wonderfully relaxing and I think I could have stayed for hours – especially watching the changing colours and patterns of the vases.

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After a lovely meal in a Czech/Slovak restaurant, we headed to De Montfort Hall (with a quick detour via Victoria Park). I don’t think I ever saw a concert at De Montfort Hall when I was student, so this was another something new. It was a very enjoyable end to the day – as we listened to the movie music of John Williams and Hans Zimmer.

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And then it was time for bed!

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50 for 50 #37: 50 posts for my 50th birthday to be posted before I’m 51.