York: Take Two

Having my mom here during the last 3 months of our time abroad has been great, as I have been able to check off items I've been wanting to do one more time before going home. Jeff and I visited York February 2014, and it is one of my favorite cities in England.

I had York down on our "to visit list", so I could see it one more time before moving home but Jeff and I have been running out of weekends..so I figured we would not make it there. Since I have a traveling buddy this week, I took Mom there! On Thursday, we got on the train for about an hour and a half total.  This was the first time I had to change trains, so that was a little different (but easy to do!).  We rode from Nottingham, but had to get off at another station to catch another train.  It wasn't as painful as I thought it was going to be! We made it into York in one piece and stopped by a pub for some warm lunch.  Mom tried a burger and I gave into my favorite British classic, sausage & mash. The restaurant was adorable, filled with British themed decor. 

After lunch we walked to one of my favorite cathedrals of all time.  York Minster, is one of the most beautiful churches in England. I personally think it is better than Westminster Abbey.  Half of England's stained glass is in this church alone, so you can imagine how beautiful inside it is with the sun shining through the windows. We were in the church for about an hour a half. We enjoyed learning about the reconstruction, which will take 10 years to complete as each process is intricate and time consuming.  One slab of brick on the outside (just a general rectangular prism) takes a week to perfect.  The stone with faces and more detail takes over a month...just one piece! It was really interesting seeing it all, especially the up close look at the stained glass they are fixing on one side of the building.  They were beautiful, and it was cool to see the story behind each piece.  The part they are renovating is the size of a tennis court...so you can imagine it will take a long time to complete.

  Not the best shot of the outside of York Minster, given so much is under construction.

 Just a couple of the stained glass windows throughout the church

A 1,000 year old book about the life of Jesus. Beautiful display. One of my favorite pictures!

After the church, we walked the beautiful streets. It was filled with various shops, restaurants, and for the most part---car free, which is nice.  We popped into a couple shops and I was overly excited to show her "Debbie's Bakery" which Jeff and I found last year when we went for the first time.  See her adorable picture below...isn't my mom so cute? 

I still can't get over how awesome it is that my mom is here!

We walked up the street to walk the City of York Walls around the city.  It is a little over 2 miles long, although I'm guessing we didn't do the whole thing...given it didn't take us very long to walk the "entire" thing.  It was fun just walking on the walls, seeing the beautiful views, and chatting with my mom.  We took a few more pictures of the city and then went back to the train station to head home.  Two train rides later, we were home by 8:00PM.  It was a long day, but so worth it so show off one of my favorite cities in England.  I know my mom enjoyed it, as she enjoyed comparing this city with others in England and Scotland.

 Just one of the many beautiful views in York

Our walk along the wall

 One of the last of my favorite photos

On to the next adventure...

A Day in York

We had an amazing visit to York (England) on Saturday. York is about an hour and a half away, so we took a quick drive up there for the day.  The whole city is enclosed by a stone wall. We were able to walk around about half of it. It is pretty high up, so it had nice views.

 If you look closely, you can see the wall that surrounds the city.

 We walked around the city, which was surprisingly busy. Lots of people out shopping, eating, and having a few beers. We were able to see Clifford's Tower, but decided to not go up in it. We headed straight for York Minster, a beautiful church nearby. We bought tickets to go on a guided tour around the minster. It was really neat, and we were able to see so many more details that way. 

Clifford's Tower

The outside of York Minster, the main entrance, and the side where the tower is located.

After our tour, we climbed 245 stairs in this winding stairwell. It got pretty claustrophobic at times. I think if you would have tested my pulse at one point...they would have made me sit down! I was getting nervous hearing loud BOOMS and not knowing where they were coming from. We got to the top and the booming was the wind hitting the tower and...us. We were blowing all over the place; trying to enjoy the beautiful views. We were able to enjoy the top area before we headed down 245 more stairs.

And I warn you, Jeff had the camera due to me holding on for dear life. I apologize for my soon-to-be photo shoot. 

 

 View from the crosswalk from one tower to another...and yet more steps to go!

 

We made it to the top! Beautiful views from every angle and too many to post them ALL!

Told you, I was giving myself a photo shoot. The wind was out of control! In the second picture, you can see the small area we had to walk when getting to the top and bottom of the tower.

And everyone needs a good laugh...

 I thought Jeff was taking a picture of my crazy hair in the wind...he is so sneaky!

 

We ended our time in York going to Harker's. We went there due it being the last name of a close friend back home. We picked a winner! Jeff and I had some of the best food we've had since we moved over here. We were able to eat, drink a few beers, and watch rugby. I definitely think we'll be making a trip back soon.