Something about going to town and doing some shopping – and there’s not a single car in sight – is good for the soul. It’s not just a matter of taste – to walk a city is to engage with it. The buildings draw you in, the cobblestones beneath your feet make you part of something older than yourself. Also – you carry what you buy. It makes you consider what you buy – you can’t just sling it into the back of an SUV. This part of the city has been pretty much the same since the pilgrims left for America. You walk here on the very footsteps of titans you read about in the history books – Darwin and Cook and Raleigh and Drake. And you can pop into some friendly little spot where you are given scones and tea. That beats the hell out of both ‘the biggest and greatest mall in the world’ or some dusty and dangerous flea market selling knock offs. It’s city living invented as if it were meant for humans.