Touring York

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Deanna and I sleep in until about nine before finally eating breakfast and starting our day.

Of course, our first stop has to be the famous York Minster!

York Minster

"Built between 1220 and 1472," I read from the guide book, "York Minster is the largest medieval gothic cathedral in Northern Europe and is renowned worldwide as an artistic and architectural masterpiece." In order for a cathedral to be called a "minster", it has to have been built during that time period.

This is the hugest cathedral I've ever seen! We go to the Undercroft first, which is the place where excavations have revealed Roman, Saxon, and Norman remains. Each of those groups had built a church/meeting area on this very spot, and the layers of the foundations are evident. Although we are unable to take pictures down here, we enjoy reading the information and examining the remains of an old well, which was outside the original building. We also visit the Treasury and Crypt down here, which is fascinating.

After going down below the Minster, we decide to go up top! We climb a steep, narrow winding staircase that's literally about two and a half feet wide. It seems neverending. Once at the top, we snap photos for about thirty minutes until we're notified that it's time to go back down and let another group come up. We get some good shots, though. This cathedral reminds me of Barcelona's Sagrada Familia, because they're both so much taller than everything else around them. They're totally out of proportion with the rest of the city.

Inside, we walk around the various wings of the cathedral. I'm ready to leave, but Deanna's having a great time taking pictures and videoing different things.

We go into a small, circular meeting chamber, where the bishops of the area still meet. Their stone "thrones" are carved into the walls and have little placards mounted with their names on them. This room is centuries old, and the stone carvings which decorate the walls and ceiling catch my interest.

"See this one here?" an elderly volunteer woman asks me. She points to a stone carving of vines winding around and around. "If you look carefully, you can find a mouse..."

"Oh yeah, I see it!" I exclaim. "Right there, Deanna."

"...and if you look a little to the left of it," the woman continues, "you'll see the face of a cat peeking through, like it's looking for the mouse."

"Yeah!" Deanna and I say simultaneously.

The old woman proceeds to point out other carvings and the hidden pictures within them. A snake coiled up at the base of one of them, while the Virgin Mary is above in the carving right next to it. Birds, flowers, jesters making faces. It's so much fun, I bet we stay in that one room for about an hour. Deanna takes pictures of all of them.

Near the end of out tour of the Minster, we snap pictures of tombs of local bishops. I feel slightly morbid doing that.

Then we find a Prayer Request Box and fill out prayer requests. I ask them to pray for my students and for me to be able to afford a new visa and get a new job at a good school in London.

Not too much to ask, is it? 😊

Roman Bath

We wander around and stumble upon a big market in town. We eat lunch from a "German BBQ" booth, then it's time to visit an old Roman bath house.

As previously stated, this city was founded by Roman soldiers, and their bath house still remains. I'm completely fascinated by anything Roman and by communal baths. I've read stories about the hamams in Turkey where the women and men go to separate baths, and the women bathe each other, washing each other's back with the special cloth that removes all the dead skin. And the water is so hot it turns your skin pink. And the steam clears your pores. And they just gossip and gossip and have nice Girl Time. I'd love to experience that.

So here I am at the old Roman bath, where the soldiers went to bathe almost 2000 years ago. It's underneath a restaurant now, but it's been well-preserved. It's much smaller than I imagined it to be. We take pictures and videos while the museum curator softly plays the music from the film Gladiator. I say, "This must be the music that used to play while the soldiers bathed."

The curator stares at me, dumbfounded.

Boat Tour of York

We hop on a boat where we're told we'll see 2000 years of history sail by, where Saxons fought Vikings, where monks entertained their guests, and where "witches" were thrown into the river during the Middle Ages. We sail down the Ouse River and listen to the live commentary by the captain. Downstairs is an enclosed area where we can have drinks and look out the window. It's a pretty day, so we sit on the top.

Switching Hostels

Everything in this town closes at four or five, so we can't do any more tourism until tomorrow. Which sucks, because tomorrow is our last day! Anyway, we have to switch hostels because our hostel isn't available for tonight. Our new hostel is basically a bed and breakfast, and it's only a five minute walk away, which is great because it has started sprinkling.

This place is REALLY nice! Our room is huge, with a double bed and 2 twin beds! We are so grateful to be in a nice, warm place like this, we stay in for the rest of the night. We chat, watch TV, and get on Deanna's laptop to look up things to do. I read in Deanna's England guide book, and then I take a bath. Yes, the bathroom here is nice, and the bath is relaxing.

Overall, I'd say today was jam-packed with fun-ness.

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Photos

Going Up
Deanna on our way up the steep, narrow, neverending, winding stairs to the top of York Minster.

YORK!
from the roof.

Deanna
Taking pictures from the roof of York Minster.

Dean's Park
from the roof of the Minster.

Videoing
inside York Minster.

Memorial
"In memory of all who served in the Normandy campaign 6th June - 20th August 1944. They paved the way for the liberation of western Europe."

Early Astronomical Instrument
Elaborately decorated to honor people who died serving the country.
The inscription asks us not to leave without saying a prayer for those people.

Beautiful Prose
"They went through the air and space without fear and the shining stars marked their shining deeds."

Memorial
"To commemorate the women who served in the anti-aircraft and searchlight batteries during World War II from 1941 to 1945."