Scotland and London 2023

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Last night I got the best night of sleep! BUT I woke up with a terrible headache. Fortunately I come prepare so after pills for the headache and a good breakfast, we were off to explore.

Just a tidbit for you. To get strips of bacon it’s called streaky bacon. Otherwise your bacon looks more like what we call ham. Also a full English breakfast includes some type of cooked tomatoes or baked beans….right out of the can….no extra seasoning!!

York is a historic city founded in 71 AD by the Romans. Because of flooding from it two rivers, the Oure and Foss, the Romans left the city. It was then settled by the Angles in the 5th century. It was conquered by the Vikings in 866 and became the capital of the Viking territory and was renamed Jorvick. It was the center of trade for the Vikings and had the second largest population in Great Britain next to London.

York is considered the most haunted city in England, if you’re into that sort of thing. Many places have signs that tout that they are the most haunted. With its bloody history Romans, Vikings, William the Conquer, and the English Civil War, it’s easy to see why people would think that. We did learn that anytime they remodel, excavate, or disturb the earth, they find artifacts, including skeletons. Sometimes they have even found mass graves. I will tell you I’ve had some of my best sleep here and I haven’t heard noises, Seen apparitions, or anything of the sort here!!

York was the home of Terry's Chocolates until it was bought out and moved. It’s funny but I bought my Terry a Terrys chocolate orange before I left home. It was the first time I saw that brand!!

York is also the home of the Kit Kat bar, which was created by the Rowntree company in 1935 (except in the US where, since 1971, it is under the auspices of the Hershey Company.) I always wondered why you saw so many Kit Kat bars over here……many more varieties than we see at home!!

One of the things York is best known for is having 365 pubs.....one for every day of the year. I believe it as there are several pubs on every street and alley!. Bakeries have become very popular here also. There's a bakery or 2 on every street as well as chocolate shops!

Today we wanted to go to the museums, which we did except for the Viking Museum.......the line was way down the street. We also wanted to ride the hop on hop off bus as that's a way to get around a city and you learn so many interesting facts.

York is a walled city built by the Romans. You can climb up and walk the wall around part of the city. Also you can see the more that 100 varieties of daffodils planted around the wall and elsewhere throughout the city. I didn't even now there were that many varieties of daffodils! Sadly they had a early spring, much like ours, and the daffodils were pretty much gone. We still got a few good pictures.

From about every place you are in York, you can see the York Minster. It is one of the largest cathedrals built during the Gothic period. It took about 240 years for it to be completed. I copied this statement from their webpage as I couldn't have worded any better.............."{The Minster was built for the glory of God. Every aspect of this ancient building - from the exquisite, handcrafted stone through to the unrivalled collection of medieval stained glass - tells the story of Jesus Christ." Sadly, while we were here, renovations were being completed. You couldn't go inside except for Good Friday and Easter Sunday! You could, however, watch the stone masons working away at repairing or replacing the stone and gargoyles.

All around you in this city are ancient buildings, churches, walls, businesses, etc. Right beside us it this beautiful ancient church. While we never attempted to go in, I took pictures of the outside. I finally looked it up on the internet. They are not really sure wheni t was built but have records of it being used during 1154 AD It fell on hard times in the early 1960's with only a handful of members. The decision was made for it to close. It was empty for 8 years and then was turned into a seniors center, which it has been since that time.

Dinner tonight was at an Italian Restaurant. It was very good! We were glad we went when we did as we were seated immediately but there was a line out the door right after we were seated.

Tonight we pack up and leave this place in the morning. We are taking the train to London and will be staying at my favorite place there,….. The Balmoral House. It is a small bed & breakfast hotel with no elevator. The bathrooms are very small, especially the showers. You can’t beat the location and the full English breakfast is excellent. But more importantly, we have made a dear friend there. His name is Flavio, the assistant manager. He has been so kind to us. I can’t wait for him to meet my kids. We are there for the Star Wars Convention. Flavio has a fried that is an animator for The Mandolorian. Hope we hook up with him also.

BTW. Since I’m at the home of the Kit Kat Bar I did succumb and bought one. I just thought o should!!

Night all!!

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