Two Reflections on York

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Chocolate in York

Fifty years ao in York the air smelled of chocolate and cocoa dust rained down like pollen in spring. That is because York is the city of chocolate. That is what we were told and we like to believe it is true. Is it possible Willy Wonka lived here then?

Maybe, but even better than Willy Wonka this is the home of KitKats - a fact not lost on this group of travellers. And even though there is a big "Closed" sign where the chocolate factory was, the city is not giving up its rightful heritage. There is a "Chocolate Trail" that can be followed through town and "Kat" and I -with lots of misguided wandering- found ourselves in the "Cocoa House". They woudn't sell us the handsome red and white "KitKat" banner, but they happily handed us a menu with three (!) pages of different kinds of cocoa drinks.

How can that be you ask? Easy: You start with basic classics, like cocoa with homemade marshmallows and whipped cream or thick Spanish cocoa - suggested as an adequate substutue for breakfast - with, maybe, a scone. Then you move onto the cocoas made with a a particular percentage of chocolate. Are you a wimp? No problem. They will make you a cup of 45% chocolate. Or if you want to prove your mettle, the sky is the limit.

However, if you are chocolate gourmands like "Kat" and me, you will find it necessary to move on to page two and exolore the particular terroir where your cocoa beans were raised. Note: We scorned page three altogether, as those drinks contained added flavors like orange and mint. This would, we felt, entirely defeat the purpose of chocolate snobbery.

We finally settled on a Columbian chocolate called 'Huila'. It contained a modest 70 % chocolate. Our second cup was a robust 85% cocoa from Ecuador. Each cup came with a piece of the chocolate used to make the cocoa. We raised a toast and began to sip. Both were delicious. The Columbian was decidely sweeter; the Ecuadorian called on us to draw on our inner sophisticates. A task made even more difficult than usual because it was raining and blowing a gale outside and we had entered the shop in biking rain jackets and hood cleverly disguised as drowned rats. Then of course there were our accents which marked us on the spot as American hicks. Still the cocoa - a perfect follow-up to our afternoon tea with goodies at Betty's tea shop - was fabulous and in our imaginaton we sat there in our English frocks with fashionable shoes and highly educated accents and sipped and chatted and smiled from the inside out.

-- Karen









The Sacred in York

Every day for more than 1400 years Christians have worshiped at the site of the York Cathedral. The cathedral itself is gothic in design (this means the supporting arches are pointed at the top rather than rounded like Roman arches It was begun in 1060 and took 250 years to complete. It has more stained glass than any other church in Europe and is, by any measure, magnificent. However, even magnificence needs a counterpoint. And the cathedral in York has its share.

Consider the beautiful series of windows depicting the life of Mary. They were damaged in a fire during the Victorian era and the Victorian restoration team with its unmatched sense of decorum placed a baby bottle in the hands of the Mother of Jesus rather than depict her nursing. Then there are the windows edged in cavorting monkeys to commemorate the monkeys that escaped from boats coming up the Ouse River as they returned from trips from exotic far away lands. Or the furniture maker who carved a little mouse into each piece of furniture he made for the church after being convinced that taking up furniture making would leave him poor as a church mouse. I loved the tiny St. Nicholas chapel with needlepoint kneelers depcting the gifts from the Twelve Days of Christmas.

With all of that and more to take in, I think we would all agree that the Evensong service at 5 each afternoon with the choirs sitting in the candlelit stalls and filling the huge vaulted ceilings with their songs as they have done for hundreds of years is what grounded us in the immense timeless beauty of this sacred space. And the clearest and deepest memory we will carry away from York.

-- Karen

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Photos

Kathy with staff at Cycle Heaven, York Station branch
They were very helpful when we arrived into York, wet, muddy, and weary. They let us fill our tires, tightening things on our bikes, and they gave us good advice on our route over the North York Moors. We ended up using both their shops, which we highly recommend.

Comments

[Trish Lehman]

Oh, the joy of vicarious living....
Karen, Jim, Kit and Kat, thank you for taking the time to write and post your writing for those of us "back home"....I just read your York postings to Ron as we sat and sipped our Saturday morning tea. We laughed and smiled and talked about your adventures and are so happy that everyone continues to enjoy good health and no injuries! What fun for us to travel along with you! We send our love to each of you! smooches and hugs too!!

[Tom]

Ah York
Karen -- am loving these blogs...and your two tales of York are right on...Chris and I loved Evensong, the Cathederal, museum & Betty's such a lovely city...thanks for tripping the memory banks...best of luck on the rest of your journey....tk