What a weekend!

My lovely friends were waiting for me when I returned from work on Thursday evening.  It was such a treat to see one of my friends relaxing on my couch as I passed by my living room window (my other friend was recovering with a nap after their "fragrant" cab ride from the Birmingham airport). 

After catching up a bit, we settled in with steaming bowls of soup and crusty bread and chatted long enough to insure both stayed up sufficiently late to get over the jet lag.

Friday was very relaxed.  We started at the Porcelain museum.  As had been true when I visited the museum last month, we were fortunate enough to see one of the artists who used to be employed at the museum.  My friends appreciated the fantastic detail Mr. Russell applies to his pieces. 

 One of my friends appreciates modern art, so this one offended her modern sensibilities.

This one had special appeal for my other friend (her husband's an opthamologist).

We headed over to the Cathedral Cafe where we learned that "cream teas" are done for the season.  Much to my dismay, I learned that apparently, there's a season for "clotted cream" and we're no longer in it. After I recovered, we ordered sandwiches.  I should also admit that all is not lost.  The Study in England Programme participants (students and staff) are headed down to Cornwall and Devon on Friday, so there's hope for cream tea to come.

We explored the city a bit.  One of my friends is knitting garments for wee ones, so we headed to a wool shop.

This little shop is in the Hopmarket alley which features a number of other shops, including an artist's studio, a second-hand clothing store, a tattoo and piercing parlor as well as this interesting shop:

The Imperial Herbery:  Traditional Chinese Medicine & Acupuncture

Naturally, I had to show off one of my favorite shops:

We ended our Worcester tour at the Cathedral (naturally).  The lighting was lovely by the time we got there, so we got some nice interior shots:

Unfortunately, they were tuning the organ, so the sound was a bit shrill inside the cathedral.  We had a good look around, admiring the statuary as well as a nice watercolor exhibition.

We came back to the flat for a short while before we headed out to the Cafe Afloat for dinner.  We received a warm greeting from our host and then a lovely meal.  We had olives, brie, salami and bread for starters.  Our main course was a delicious brisket with onion and carrots in a rich gravy, and a side of mashed parsnips.  Our dessert was a custard and rhubarb tart with double cream topping.  Very lovely.  By then my friends were ready to get some rest.  We found our way back to the flat, in spite of the darkened canal path, and turned in for the night.