Day 20 -- 13 May 2013 -- York, England

In honor of full disclosure, this post begins with late afternoon of Day 19 when I arrived in York. Let me first say why I chose to visit this city. My dear friend Judith (you remember her--one of my traveling companions from Paris?) has visited York many times and posted such beautiful photos that I decided early on I just had to put this on my agenda.

York is made up of two parts. The oldest part is enclosed within three separate sections of a true city wall. I say "sections" because parts of the wall became too deteriorated to restore. There are stairs to each section so you can walk on top of the wall, which I did on the section closest to my B&B. The photo below shows the map of York and the sections of the wall.

 

The Groves B&B where I stayed was about a 15-minute walk from the entrance or gate through the wall. The late afternoon I arrived in York, I set out to explore some of the older city within the wall. I always found I needed a good walk after a long train ride. The photo below shows the towering spires of York Minster. Look at the man on the sidewalk and you can see the entrance arch of the wall's "gate" perfectly framed over him. This is one entrance to the city.

 

 This view is from inside the city wall. Notice the sign on the lower left for the "Haunted Walk." More about that later.

 

Just as I walked inside the "gate" and turned back around, imagine my sweet surprise when I spied the Lamb & Lion Inn. Taking these photos was a must to pay homage to my Twilight sisters. After all, if it hadn't been for the books of the Twilight saga, and me meeting these wonderful ladies because of it, I most likely would never have taken this trip. So TwiMoms--HM, Judith, Amanda, Angie P., Gail, Jo, Michelle, Megonann, Angie Y., Deb, and any other TPAMs I may have missed--this is for you.

 

The narrow streets were so cool to a girl who comes from the land of big and spacious and eight-lane interstate highways.

 

Not long after passing through the gate, York Minster rises up. My only regret is that I didn't get any photos of it all lit up at night. As a woman traveling alone, I didn't feel safe staying out by myself after dark.

 

While walking down one of the narrow streets past the Minster I came upon a French restaurant. If I couldn't be in Paris for Mother's Day, this restaurant would be the next best thing, right? Wrong. There is no photo of it because the steak I had was probably one of the worst I've had in my lifetime. No exaggeration. They really should have comped my dinner, but instead they gave me a luxurious chocolate mousse on the house. No exaggeration, the best I've ever had. Well, next in line to the one I ate while dining on the Champs-Elysees. Oh, well. Not every experience can be practically perfect. Happy Mother's Day to me. In York, England.

 

My room at The Groves B&B was quaint, comfortable, and so very quiet. Breakfast the next morning was superb. They had some incredible locally-produced jams that they served and were available for purchase. Still kicking myself for not buying any but you have to realize that my already-heavy suitcase was a bear to haul around. If The Groves had shipped to the States, it would have been no problem. I asked. They didn't. Next time I'm taking an empty suitcase, I'm tellin' ya.

 

After that hearty breakfast I walked the mile back into the city and started to explore. First on my list, the Shambles. York is well-known for the Shambles, which includes these very, very old buildings that are leaning in to one another on an extremely narrow "street," and I use the term loosely. Oh, and there are some neat boutique shops and eateries here, too. Read the sign and it'll give you the historic meaning, then check out the buildings.

Doesn't this look like it's going to fall over on everyone?

More views of the Shambles. I loved shopping on this street!

 

One of the things on my to-do list was to take a Haunted walk tour, but by the time they started in the evening, my feet had had it. So I did the next best thing. After my amble down the Shambles, I toured a "certified" most-haunted house. Uh, yeah. It warranted no photos either because I erased them all. No orbs. Ever. In any of the rooms. No unexplained voices or touches or anything else. Wah wah. Can't blame a ghost-lovin' girl for trying.

 

I headed back to York Minster, figuring that since I hadn't been able to tour Westminster Abbey, maybe this would sate my hunger for ornate houses of worship. The time was nearly 11:20 a.m. The tour began at 11:30 and lasted 90 minutes. Nope. I had to eat first. And then the next tour wasn't until 1:30 p.m. and I wasn't sure my feet would hold out that long. They did have a 60-minute tour that took you to the top of a very high tower (which I had read was totally worth the cost just for the view), but you had to be physically able to climb nearly 300 steps in under 10 minutes. Cricket. Cricket. Hmmm. Maybe after I compete in a marathon, the Iditarod, and an Ironman triathlon, I'll take that tour. In the meantime, here are the few photos I took from just inside the minster.

 

I walked around a bit more and actually laughed out loud when I came upon this place! England's answer to the Dollar Store. Or did Poundland come first? Kinda like the chicken and the egg...

 

I was meeting up with Judith that evening for dinner at a very nice place called Betty's. She would be driving in to York after she finished up teaching. On my way back to the B&B to get some rest before dinner, I came to the Bootham's Bar section of York's wall and decided to take a little walk. But first, I had to climb to the top of the wall.

 

 This is inside the room that sits atop the "gate" or arch. You have to pass through this room first to get to the top of the wall.

 

The section that I walked started at Bootham Bar (as seen in the map at the top left) and past Monk Bar. I didn't go all the way to the end before turning around and walking back since I had to walk down Bootham Road to get to my B&B. This section of the wall afforded some wonderful views of York Minster.

 

Just as I left the room over the arch and my successive walk on top of the wall.

There were different areas like this where you could sit and rest, or just enjoy the scenery.

Everything was so green and lush.

 



Looking down into a private garden from the top of the wall.

 

I loved this view of York Minster! You can discern how the whole building is in the shape of a cross, just like Notre Dame in Paris. Crazy scaffolding again--honestly, I'd love to visit these places without all of that, but it's great to know they're keeping up on restoration.

 

I didn't see this until I had turned around and was on my way back!

 

Coming back to the room at Bootham's Bar. Down to my left was an open area--al fresco dining for the Lamb and Lion Inn. I would have taken a photo, but people were dining and I didn't want to intrude on their privacy.

 

At the top of the stairs, I looked back into the walled city. Isn't it cool how one of the spired towers of York Minster is just peeking through? High Petergate is the name of the street once you're inside the wall.



 

Looking back south down Bootham Road. This is the road I walked every day to get into the city.

 

I didn't take my camera when I met Judith for dinner at Betty's. My mistake. The meal was outstanding and the company even better. We were both just a bit teary when we said our good-byes. The time spent with all of my wonderful British ladies was priceless. Just know that they haven't seen the last of me and I will be going back.

 

After a good night's rest, another delectable breakfast the next morning, and a taxi ride to the train station, it was back to London for me. But that's another post! ;-)