England/Scotland 2024 Pilgrimage – Day 12: York, England

Thursday, September 12, 2024

Out of Clean Clothes

This morning we slept in until 8:00ish. At 9:00, we took 2 reusable grocery bags full of dirty laundry around the corner to a laundry service. Everything is a trade off. We decided to trade $50 so we could have the whole day free rather than sitting in a coin laundry for 3+ hours washing clothes ourselves. They were ready by 4:30, washed and folded. It was a good trade!

No Full English Breakfast Today

Last night we had scoped out the breakfast options and picked Nice to See You Cafe based on their menu. We both had avocado toast with halloumi cheese. It was scrumptious! Too bad they don’t open until 9:00 a.m. otherwise we’d probably return for a repeat tomorrow morning. Sadly, we need to be on the road by then.

Shave and a Hair Cut

Gregg has been wanting to get his hair cut most of this trip. Last night he spotted a barber shop (there are a lot in this area, but this one was busy and it seemed they were doing a good job on the customers.) So after breakfast, he went to the barbor. He didn’t bring a razor so he added a shave. He looks great! The barber gave him a good cut. There are a lot of thrift and “fair trade” shops in this area so I had fun window shopping while I waited.

Walk on the Old City Wall

You know that city gate outside our apartment door? Well, it is part of the old city wall which was used for defending the city. You can walk along the top of the wall on the portions that are still standing. So we took a different way to the Cathedral and enjoyed the views from the city wall.

York Minster Cathedral

Today’s church tour was York Minster Cathedral. We decided to buy a ticket to tour the cathedral plus a ticket to climb the tower’s 275 stairs. They give everyone a time slot because they send a group up, then that group comes down before they send another group up. There is DEFINITELY not enough space in the rounded stairwell for someone to go up while another goes down.

She asked if 12:30 was OK (it was almost noon) and we said yes. Then I asked if any services were happening today. Yes, a Eucharist service was at 12:30. Sadly, they don’t change tower times, so we missed Eucharist. The climb was a fun experience and the view was beautiful!

Inside of the Cathedral

After the tower climb, we walked around the cathedral, taking it all in. It is huge and tall! A few things that stood out:

• The large stained glass window of St. Cuthbert’s life is being refurbished. Since we couldn’t see it, they had a large exibit on it.
• The stone masons or designers (they don’t know which ones,) put some funny gargoyles or heads in and amongst the other carvings. It was fun to spot a few of them.
• There was a set of (headless) ladies doing hand signals. They reminded me of Willow Tree carvings. A guide said they spell “Christ is Here.” I didn’t double check it yet.
• There is a clock inside with two black iron guards underneith it. On the quarter hour, the guards take turns knocking their ax against iron rods which makes a chime. I was delighted to catch a video of them.
• There is also an astronomical clock in the cathedral, though I don’t think it is working.
• The rose-window arm of the Minster was struck by lightning in 1984, causing a terrible fire which took years to rebuild. It made me think of the recent Notre Dame fire.
• Many of the cathedral’s stained glass windows are medieval, created around 1250.

Curious Sitings

A Fun Clock

Outside the Minster

Walk Around The Shambles

The Shambles and The Shambles Market are in a midieval section nearby. We walked the narrow streets, looking at the shops (including several selling all things Harry Potter,) and also things for sale at the market.

We walked into Monk Bar Chocolatiers of York, a chocolate store, just to look around. A couple outside were eating something but it didn’t look like any of the chocolates in the display case. Then Gregg spotted it… Chocolate Shots. There was a chocolate fountain machine with melted milk chocolate coming out a spout. Oh, my!!!

You choose dark, white, or milk chocolate for your “shot glass” which looks like a small egg cup. It is then filled with the melted milk chocolate. I’m a dark chocolate girl so I was hesitant to abuse my dark chocolate cup, but I’m so glad I did! Their liquid milk chocolate was so creamy and Gregg described the flavor as buttery. I enjoyed every last drop of the whole cup!

Later, my friend, Anne, told me that today is International Chocolate Day. Perfect!

The Romans Were Here in 70AD

There is a possibility that Jesus was aware of this area of the world. As we walked another section of the wall around the city, we saw a section that had been part of a Roman fortress from the 70’s AD. Wow!!

What’s For Supper?

The walk around the city wall brought us “home.” We charged our phones, rested, and I had a cup of tea. We also researched pubs in the area for supper. We needed to hang out until 4:30-5:00 so we could go pick up our laundry.

After finally deciding on a pub with “pies,” we walked there only to find out that they weren’t serving food tonight. I was in the mood for a meat pie. So… we went back to the Cross Key (the symbol for York) where we ate last night. They touted being specialists in “pies.” We both had British Steak and Ale pie which came with mashed potatoes and cooked carrots. I had a ginger beer again (similar to ginger ale but a stronger ginger flavor.) It all hit the spot.

Goodbye, York, we had a lovely time

It is nearing 10pm. Gregg just walked to the “car park” to put more money into the “pay and display” machine. They only give you 12 hours at a time. Ugh. Time for me to pack my clean clothes. I hope I can get them to fit.

Oh, yay! Gregg is back, safe and sound. He survived the beer garden ruckus across the street, including someone walking out of there with a witch’s hat. You never know what you’ll see when on vacation.

Since most of you will read this tomorrow morning, have a wonderful day!