I took the girls charity-shop shopping in Carlisle. Unfortunately, I left my purse at home so we had to raid my mum's car and find what money we could. Luckily, my mum is very prepared for parking fees so we managed to scrape together 9 pounds for the charity shops. Minus the 1.80 to park the car, the girls ended up with $2.50 each and I had 40p. The beauty of charity shops is that a. kids love them, and b. you can find *something* for 40p. Hattie got some joke cards, Mary got some kids trivia cards, and Josie made out good with a blue wombly toy that reminded her of a TV show she used to like. I was devastated when I found these gems and wasn't able to purchase them!
Then I remembered that I haven't owned a record player since 1994 anyway. I donated my 40p to the "I'm so thirsty I couldn't possibly walk any further!" fund and bought the girls juice boxes.
That same day, I visited my granda again and when I told him I would be back to see him in a couple of days, he definitely said "aye".
That week, my mum and I planned a last minute trip to York. A friend of mine, Helen, now lives in Ireland and was visiting her mum in York and I hadn't seen her in years. Rosemary was also available to visit and I was excited to go see them both.
The drive to York was uneventful.
We stayed at the Royal York Hotel. Apparently, it is the city's leading luxury hotel. I think this only applies to the rooms that have AC and are not next to the main road. Overall, it was a nice hotel and the location was great for walking into town.
Mary enjoyed breakfast
As soon as we checked in, Mary and I left my mum to tour the cathedral while Mary and I took a bus to Creepy Crawlies; a kids adventure playground where we had agreed to meet with our kids. Weird, Helen and I have kids!
I used to stay the night at Helen's house whenever we would go to the Twisted Wheel. Her mum made the best homemade pizza. If we didn't have enough money for a taxi, we would walk miles back to her house wearing our army jackets and Doc Martins and her mum would leave us a chocolate cake, which tasted wonderful at 3am.
Me, Helen and Rosemary
Helen's girls are adorable
The York Wheel, a huge (177ft) observation wheel very similar to the London Eye, is on the grounds of the York Hotel so we caught the last ride one night. My mum almost passed out (not good with heights), but Mary and I kept our eyes open the whole time.
That night, Mary and mum tried out the pool and Mary insisted on staying until the 10pm closing time so that she could practice her "handstand".
York is a beautiful, walled city, founded by Romans in AD71. There are lots of things to see and do and it was nice to be here in the summer. My last visit was fun but cold; I came here with my brother a couple of years ago in December.
The architecture in York is quite impressive. From the cathedral, that took 250 years to complete, to the Shambles, where the buildings have remained essentially unchanged since medieval times. The side streets are known as snickleways and many of the buildings look as if they could collapse at any time. I felt queasy on the top floor of the Bear shop; the slope of the floor makes your flight instinct kick in as your body tells you something isn't right. York has a good mix too, with some Georgian, Edwardian and Victorian styles.
The shortest street in York has the longest name.
This is also where the whipping post and stocks were in the middle ages.
Mary's visual illusion
We took a boat tour to the millennium bridge.
Mary with nana
Mary prefers to play Sudoku
We paid a visit to Jorvik, a Viking museum.
Jorvik is built on the site of an excavated Viking town. You can see the remains of a 1000 yr old home underfoot as you walk though the museum area. After touring the museum area, you can hop on a four-person carrier and be taken through the village with an audio tour (kids audio available).
Mary's favorite part of any Jorvik visit is making her own coin with a mallet.
Mary was adamant that she wanted to visit the York Dungeons. She didn't get to go there last time and she was sure it would NOT be too scary. My mum was more excited about the quilt museum so we decided to take bus tour and get off at our respective sites.
Mary and I spent around 45 minutes waiting to get into the Dungeons. The jester kept us amused for most of the time. Once we got inside, Mary began to rethink her decision. Once we got into the waiting area, she was pretty adamant that she did NOT want to go inside. I am guessing this is not the first time this has happened as they happily gave us a refund and welcomed us to return when Mary was older. Despite what they say, I would not recommend the dungeons for kids under 12 unless you know they can handle it.
Mary and I walked around the town, looking through the market and stopping for some lunch in a Danish café, before heading to our meeting spot to wait for my mum. Apparently, the quilt museum is not one bit scary.
Incidentally, on our bus tour, we learned the origin of the phrase "daylight robbery". Starting in the 18th century, a tax was imposed on property owners determined by the number of windows on a building. Subsequently, folk decided to brick up their windows rather than pay the tax. I have seen this in many places, but never before knew the reason. I assumed it was some kind of interior reconstruction.
Many people want to visit England and go to London. There are so many other places to visit that are more affordable, more beautiful and, if you plan on hitting a few of them, there is just as much to do.
This trip spiked my interest in a barging vacation. My trip to Hebden Bridge (next blog) convinced me I need to plan this next year! I just need to learn how to operate a lock.
I would definitely want a barge with a garden on the roof.
More York photos :)
Cornish Pasties, nom
