Our day in York

Phew! We have had a blast! Bret and I just returned from York. We left this morning around 10:00, and 45 minutes later, we had arrived in York. The minute we got into the train station, we knew we were in a cool city. The station was tall and grand, and there were bikes everywhere. Suddenly we had a realisation: Durham is a suburban wasteland compared to this gem of a city!

Ok, so Durham isn't that bad. It is gorgeous too, but much much smaller. York has lots more shops: department stores like Fenwicks, international shops like L'Occitane, and cool boutiques everywhere (Boho Belle was my fave cuz the clothes is so Kate Moss and the perfume was French). Basically it's got the shopping and restaurant life of Newcastle, plus the quaintness of Durham. For dinner we ate delicious South East Asian, but there was also a Pakistani restaurant, a Turkish restaurant, and Thai food. The most exotic we get here in Durham is a traditional Indian curry.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you what we did before dinner. First, we went into the cool cosmopolitan sandwich shop for lunch. After Bret downed some hummus and peppers and I chowed on chicken with mango chutney, we headed over to the National Railroad Museum, where we checked out old railroads and rode on a giant ferris wheel with magnificent views of the city. From the top, we saw green parks, stately homes, and the York Minster (the largest gothic cathedral in the UK).

After we finished the ride, we decided to head to York Minster ("The Minster") and check it out a bit closer. As we walked towards it, the bells tolled louder and louder (ding, ding, dong-ding, ding ... ding, ding, dong-ding, ding ...). People swarmed the narrow streets, and smells of delicious nuts, sweets, and butter filled the air. We had arrived in the hotspot of York.

The cathedral looked impressive. As we walked in, we could hear the boys choir singing dramatic classical songs. The ceiling rose up high, candles abounded, the mysterious scent of incense infused our noses. But then we realised that to experience more, we would have to pay 5 quid.

Suddenly feeling like the Durham cathedral (which is free) was good enough, we opted to walk around the York city shops rather than check out anymore of the minster.

In York, there is an area called "The Shambles." Actually, it's a really narrow cobblestone street, with tudor-style buildings that lean over the road. It's all windy and bustling. Really great fun! There was an outdoor market, some home decor shops, and cute little pubs. Really small alleyways are called "snickleways"...I think those were the little alleys leading out of The Shambles. They are dark and hovering and give the impression that a hairy burly beefcake bearded Viking will pop out on the other side (side note: York was the Viking capital in England).

After window shopping for hours, and feeling sensory overload, we attempted to head over to 'the tower'...all I know about this tower is that in the medieval ages (in this case the 1100s), hundreds of Jews and Jewesses sought out protection in this tower, but they were killed because they refused to renounce their faith. We didn't learn more because it was a 3 quid entrance, and we had already bought a few goodies at the shops. Opting for consumerism over history- we are so post-modern.

Finally, it was getting dark (16:20) so we decided on an early dinner. I ordered a Japanese box of squid and meat, pickled veggies, cooked veggies, cabbage, and white rice. Bret had a Korean Bi Bim Bap. Gastronomically content and exhausted from the day's walking and looking, we headed back to the train station, and finally made our way to the Coronation Station at around 19:00.