I told you at the end of the last post that this was a favorite for many of the family, and that wasn't a stretch. For those of us that preferred a different city, this came in second, across the board.
We left Cambridge and headed north to York. We arrived in the afternoon, so no more time to sight see. Our rental was on a farm, so we weren't sure if we were in the right spot, initially. There were horses, we stayed in a little cottage, and we were only 10 minutes from a major shopping area and 15 minutes to downtown York. It was the perfect spot for us!
The first night we just went to the grocery store and made dinner. Sometimes, you just want to eat some homemade food. The full kitchen afforded us this opportunity to eat in a few nights. It was nice!
The next morning, we headed to York. It was raining, and it was Sunday. Basically, umbrellas galore and many places were closed. But we didn't let that deter us. We navigated the City Walls with umbrellas in hand, visited the Richard III and Henry VII experiences, went to Barley Hall (one of our favorite spots on the entire trip), ate fish and chips (even gluten free versions), looked at York Minster from the outside, saw a few other churches and invaded Jacob's Well. It was a great day! The kids were able to get hands-on at the experiences and Barley Hall, the butchers at Jacob's Well, that were part of the guild, gave us recommendations for the next day that proved to be excellent and I got to experience fish and chips in England! This trip, you guys. It was so great and so needed.
Here are some of my favorite pictures from York. There are a lot. The kids did so many fun things and dressed up at the experiences and Barley Hall...I will try to control my uploading.
Our cottage for 2 nights...and the Citroen Joe drove for 2+ weeks.
The kids fed the horses carrots for 2 days. They were fast friends.
A pic of the city wall from, well, the city wall.
All of us on the wall
I think this was called Robin Hood Tower
York Minster from the city wall
Monkgate Bar
KK outside the Richard III Experience at Monkgate Bar
Our prisoners
Have you ever seen someone so happy to be next to human remains?
Barley Hall - a feast for a king
Or a few princesses...we just learned that peacock was common on nobility tables and then we saw one!
Aren't they cute?
They loved dressing up
And the dress-up continued...
And continued...
And continued...
Holy Trinity Church Altar
Holy Trinity Church
Outside Jacob's Well Guildhall
Inside Jacob's Well Guildhall
As you can see by the smiles, we loved York! The accommodations were great for our family. We, obviously, love dressing up and using our imagination. It didn't hurt that we learned about Richard III and Henry VII last year in school. I forgot to mention, Barley Hall focused on Henry VIII quite a bit. We also learned about this infamous king last year. They had a few hilarious videos to teach kids all about the selfish, overweight king. Not that he was the worst monarch, but he lived a colorful life. They still quote the short clips they watched! Learning is best found outside of a textbook. ;)
I am hoping I didn't forget anything like I did about Cambridge. We bought some amazing fudge in York (which rivaled Gatlinburg fudge, believe it or not), the grocery stores were wonderful and stocked with beautiful produce that we haven't seen since leaving the States, finding gluten free food is quite easy in the UK, we met some nice guys at Jacob's Well that recommended we stop in Durham the next day (which we did...info on next post) and I think I only got us lost a couple of times driving around York. For me, that is a win.
Stay tuned for our day in Durham and Newcastle on the Tyne...
So glad you enjoyed this part of your trip. I love the picture of your little guy with the skeleton, hilarious.
ReplyDeleteI know, right? He finds joy in some odd places. ;)
ReplyDelete