Day Nine - A New York for My Kids to See

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If nothing else happened this entire day just eating the local farm breakfast sausage Kathryn cooked up for me would've made this day special. Absolutely the best breakfast link ever. The Gallery has won numerous awards throughout the UK for its "Deliciously Yorkshire" breakfast. In fact, they had just won the "Visit England Breakfast Award 2009/10". Quite a feat in a land with so many B&B's in every town and village. Being not nearly as adventurous as Tyler who had the venison banger, I was more than thrilled with my country sage sausage. Additionally we filled our bellies with perfectly toasted bread served with fresh butter and homemade preserves, Eggs Benedict, baked beans, grilled tomato and more of that super thick and chewy English bacon that I've grown to love. Once again I washed it all down with English Breakfast tea. I'd never drink it back home simply because it takes far too much effort to make it right, but when in Yorkshire I do what the Yorkies do. Tyler and I sat at our own table while the ladies ate their healthy organic (and boring) cereal, fruit and coffee.

As had been the case almost every day of this trip, I was concerned about what might be open on yet another English holiday. I had read that the Jorvik Viking Center, a recreation of daily life in a village of the Nordic conquerors of this area, was closed (wrong!) and that the National Rail Museum might be open, but was expensive (wrong again - free admission). But as it turned-out, we kept ourselves quite occupied just touring the old town of York.

I suspect that on a typical workday the ride from Thirsk into York is fraught with delays as the road we took was just a two lane highway. The part of York we were visiting was all inside the old city wall. Trying to get commercial trucks into the shopping district would have to be a major headache. Luckily for us, there was no traffic to speak of at 10:00 am on New Year's Day. I was surprised to see a few major hotel chains located out in the suburbs. Months before when I was having a major problem finding accommodations in York, I couldn't find anything available for York. I stumbled upon the Gallery in Thirsk. And as much as we loved the place it was more than half an hour outside of town and not cheap. I'd love to return to the Gallery if/when we return to the area, but I think we'd be more inclined to search for a much cheaper chain hotel. The sumptuous breakfast was great and the rooms beautiful, but if I could save $40 a night per room, I could put up with a few less creature comforts.

The rest of the ride was unexciting. The only two items of interest was a sign for the "Lund Gallery" which was down an unplowed snowy tertiary road and the huge Cadbury candy plant. I wonder if there's any connection between that plant and York Peppermint Patties. Somewhere else on this same trip I saw a newsstand full of papers heralding the creation of a couple hundred new jobs at the York Cadbury plant.

Traffic around the Olde City was a little confusing with the odd traffic patterns dictated by pedestrian-only zones inside the city walls, narrow one way streets just outside the walls and a seeming total lack of parking lots. Eventually we spotted a nearly deserted curb right outside the North Wall. Only the English would name this major thoroughfare "Lord Mayor's Walk." A sign indicated that parking was limited to two hours. To do that we had to buy a parking ticket to display on our dashboard. We debated not buying the ticket due to the holiday, but two other cars on the street had gone to the trouble of paying. We pried open our purses and paid up. During the course of the day we had to return back and buy new tickets twice. We never did see any meter maids or cops patrolling.

We found our way through York's old medieval city wall at Goodramgate. When we visited a few years back I had seen a museum dedicated to Richard III here, but on this morning after New Year's Eve there were no signs of life as we strolled through the old stone tower. No one was out other than an old lady walking her dog. From Goodramgate it was only about 100 meters before we were on the grounds of York Minster. This huge cathedral is among the largest in the world and absolutely towers over everything in York.

Because it was early and we weren't frozen yet we decided to take advantage of the empty streets and start taking our obligatory tourist photos while there were no gawkers around to mess-up our pictures. We continued walking down the narrow pedestrian street known as "Stonegate" where we passed all kinds of interesting, but closed shops. A newsstand and the Starbucks were actually open. We took turns stopping to look at items that interested us in the storefront windows. The farther down Stonegate we walked the more people we began to see. As we approached an open area known as St. Helen's Square things actually began to look busy. Tyler spotted an open McDonald's which was the perfect answer to all our toiletry needs at the moment. When we emerged back into the town square Cassie observed a ladies' clothing store that was opening. While the girls went in there Tyler went back to McDonald's to use their free WiFi with his phone. I wandered around looking at some of the side streets.

The girls were taking forever in that shop. Tyler rejoined me and we went into the store hoping to speed them up. Tyler was quickly distracted from his task when Gail directed him to a corner of the shop where various MINI Cooper purses, wallets and hats were on sale. Ever the careful shopper, Tyler decided to wait on purchasing a MINI purse for Gen. Either he was hoping to find a better deal or that sanity would return to him.

When we returned to the street and continued pushing toward the river we found more and more stores open or opening. We were tempted by some of the merchandise in a big book store but no one wanted to carry around a bunch of merchandise the rest of the day. As noon approached the sun was shining brightly on a blustery cold day. We didn't find any tourist sites open, just stores.

After taking a walk through the Shambles where medieval-age buildings lean in over the cobblestone street, we decided that a light lunch might be in order. Near the grounds of what is normally the marketplace we perused the menu of the West Cornwall Pasty Company. Tyler really enjoyed the pastys (or is it "pasties"?) we had in Covent Garden this past summer and the rest of us simply wished to warm-up so we walked into the narrow little shop. Tyler and I got pastys and the girls had coffee and hot chocolate. We lingered inside a little longer than we probably should have, but York didn't seem to offer anything for us but shopping today. Had I only known that the railroad museum and the Jorvik Viking Center were open...

We retraced our route through town after making a prolonged bathroom stop in WCPC. Tyler returned to the shop selling the MINI gear and bought Gen's purse. We then proceeded back to the cathedral where I expected we'd spend the rest of the afternoon. Inside York Minster it was rather crowded as more and more tourists had slept off their hangovers and decided a visit to a church might do well for their constitutions. When we got to the ticket booth and saw that entrance to the cathedral was $10 a person we took a vote. Cassie was a "no" even if they would've paid us to go in. Grandma was non-committal having seen the inside before. Gail and I were pretty much in agreement that we could get by without spending our dinner budget just to see another European church. Tyler probably would've liked to have gone in, but since I didn't see him reaching into his wallet to pay for the rest of us to get in, the majority opted to just enjoy the entrance area and the rather large gift shop.

We spent a lot of time looking around the gift shop but made no major purchases. Just the usual postcards and a gift for a friend at home. When we left the church store we walked into a snowstorm. Huge, wet flakes were falling as we tried to squeeze in one more site that I thought the kids would appreciate. Exiting through a different gate in the city wall, High Petergate, we crossed the street to St. Mary's Abbey. Before we could even attempt to remember where exactly we had seen the ancient Roman city wall and burial site that York’s earliest inhabitants had built, the snowstorm became a squall. We could barely see in front of us as we hurried toward our car. Once again, because of the unsafe tires on that stupid VW I was afraid to risk driving back to Thirsk in a possible blizzard.

Happily, when we returned to our parked car we found no tickets or boots on the wheels. With the snow still coming down rather briskly, we reset the GPS to take us back to our bed and breakfast. Snow was just beginning to lie on the ground as we pulled away from the Lord Mayor's Walk. It seemed like it took forever for us to leave the city limits, but no sooner did we finally reach the highway than the snowstorm diminished into flurries.

After a confusing route computed by my GPS that took us all around the environs of Thirsk, including twice past the famous horse racetrack, we returned to the Gallery. After performing our ablutions we agreed to return to The Three Tuns for dinner. This evening the establishment was not nearly as wild and crowded as it had been the previous night. We enjoyed more English pub grub and a couple rounds of beer. The best thing about these barroom dinners was not having to tip anyone.

We didn't spend any time dawdling as we left The Three Tuns because in the interim a light freezing rain had begun to fall. We headed right back to our rooms where we resumed our DVD party. More Fawlty Towers and the rest of Elizabeth I along with the rest of my birthday cake. We had to finish off our open foodstuffs because the next day was going to be the most challenging day of the trip. We would drive all day doen to Heathrow Airport where we would return the car, then find the Underground which would take us into downtown London. We would have to haul our suitcases the whole way. In preparation, all of us took time to consolidate our souvenirs and clothing before going to bed.

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Photos

Same Picture Every Day
Everyday of this English travelblog seems to start with the same picture. That's because one of the highlights of this trip for me was discovering just how good breakfast could be if someone else is cooking everything you want and letting you tear into it. The English and the Germans know breakfast.

Juice, Cereal, Toast, Jelly, Fruit and Coffee
That's what the ladies ate every day we had bed and breakfast breakfasts. On the other hand, Tyler and I did our best to ensure that our innkeepers barely broke even.

Window on a New Year
This was the scene of some wild parting the night before. Last night New Year's Eve celebrants kept coming out of the club in the white building across the street. I half expected to see a street full of empty cans and bottles as well as spent fireworks. Thirsk is Party City.

York's North Wall
I suspect things have changed dramatically in this part of Olde York England over the past 5 centuries. The existing city wall couldn't keep an angry squirrel from busting into town.

St John University
Even on a holiday trying to find a parking spot in York was rough. We drove around awhile looking for on-street parking before deciding that it would be safe to park on The Lord Mayor's Walk which bordered the old city wall. We had to pay for a parking sticker every two hours.

Toystore Window Display
We weren't sure we'd see anything open on New Year's Day. As we walked toward the nearest gate into the city we did some window shopping. This storefront was the prettiest, but the hobby store was full of stuff even grown boys coveted.

Goodramgate
This entrance into the old town dates back to the 1100's. The portcullis is still evident when you get inside the gate. Beyond this gate are some of the oldest buildings in York.

A Monument to New Year's Eve
Somebody must've put on a cheap drunk the night before. Two of the worst beers available. But the name of the restaurant is rather clever, wot?

Lady Row
The oldest homes in York stand just inside Goodramgate in an area called "Lady Row". These homes date back to 1316 and are distinguished by their "jettied" second stories - the upper level extends over the lower.

Modern Mixing with the Medieval
Just behind me as I looked down the alley of Lady Row was this intersection. Although these buildings aren't nearly as old as those in Lady Row, they still carry the ambience of a bygone era. It all felt a bit Dickensian to me. I could easily imagine these various chimneys belching choking black smoke during the days of the Industrial Revolution. Spoiling the mood was this high tech traffic sign that can be electronically altered to indicate whether parking is allowed or whether the street is only open to pedestrians.

OK, Who Moved the Minster?
York Cathedral is somewhere behind all that scaffolding. With so many very old, large and nearly empty churches almost every religious building one visits in Europe is under repair. Over the past 10 years of travel throughout the Continent and Great Britain I can't remember a church we visited that didn't have scaffolding somewhere. This project looks pretty intense with lots of huge masonry pieces scattered around the construction site.

Too Big to Squeeze into My Camera Frame
York Cathedral is beyond big - it's massive. It may be my favorite church in Europe. Considering the fact that it was built so far away from the administrative center of England I find it fascinating that so much money and effort was put into this immense structure. Then again, Yorkshire and the rest of Northern England was often a troublesome region for the monarchs and government hundreds of miles away in London. The people up North were continually in rebellion or supporting causes the rest of England was fighting against. The task of building this intimidating project was not only done for the glory of God, but also to show the other English that the folks up North had the power and wealth to rival the rest of England.

The Rest of the Previous Picture
Like I said, the cathedral is huge. This is the working end of York Minster.

An Icon of York
Above many of the buildings in Olde York are these figurehead-like statues gazing down on the hapless shoppers below. They make tagging along on a girls' shopping excursion a little more interesting.

Some Expensive Decoration Here Above Us
As we walked down past the still shuttered shops on High Petergate, there was plenty of history and bauty to admire. This building had a plethora of leaded window dressings as well as gingerbread decorations. Note how these upper floors also high our over the street below. I imagine the attics in these buildings have some long-forgotten treasures. And by the way, York is considered one of the most haunted cities in Europe; right up there with Edinburgh and London. Good thing we had an experienced Ghostbuster (Tyler) along with us.

Nothing Open Yet
I wasn't expecting to see any open stores on New Year's Day and when we first arrived in York I looked to be right. But around 11:00 am many of the shops were cranking down their awnings and moving merchandise out onto the narrow old streets.

A Familiar Name, but Not Where We Would Be Shopping
I waited near this street corner for a good half hour when Phoebe, Cassie and Gail decided to bop into the Lakeland clothing shop on the left. When Tyler returned from using the McDonald's WiFi facilities in their restaurant much farther to the left, he headed inside to get Gen her much needed MINI Cooper purse.

Smile Because Big Brother is Watching
The English have a pretty good idea for keeping criminals at bay - they have set up closed circuit TV almost everywhere you look on the island. Liberals would be screaming about them here but they seem like a pretty good idea to me. They picked a pretty boring corner to install these however.

York's Last Remnant of Christmas
Even though we saw more than a few signs of the Holiday season later when we went to London, in York this was one of the last remaining tributes to the Christmas season.

So Whadda Youse Think of the Ouse?
I thought the river Ouse running through downtown York was just as pretty as any of the canal riverways one can see in Venice, Strasburg or Copenhagen. And in the summer it was even more colorful with its full compliment of barges and houseboats cruising up and downstream.