January 2, 2018

England, Day Eight-York

On our second day in York, and our first full day to explore, we decided to tour the city. We first filled our stomachs full with the ever so wonderful english breakfast and tea. We stole two croissants for later (and by stole, we just took them off our plates). We then headed back to our room to finish getting ready.

We had to layer up quite a bit as York was having a particularly blustery day, but the sun was shining and the sky was a beautiful blue. We did the local tour where locals guide you through the city, filling you with information about the history of York. It was almost a 3 hour tour..completely outside but absolutely enjoyable. My parents and I did the same tour 3 years ago, but we went when it was during rain and windy, let's just say the tour was much much shorter. So I learned a lot more this time around. And we even went into a middle age church that had the original box pews. It was beautiful in an eerie yet wonderful way.

After the tour, my sister and I decided to find somewhere to eat. We wandered the shambles and tried to not run into the loads of people that were everywhere. We walked and walked and walked and couldn't decide on where to eat, that was until we passed a small tea room that no tourists were in. So we stopped there, ate tea cakes and drank tea. We tried to warm up a bit since it was slightly chilly outside. After lunch, we had planned on visiting the viking museum as it was recommended and my sister and I are extremely into Viking stuff (thanks The Last Kingdom). It was a bit tricky to find, but we located it, and were greeted by several viking dressed men, who scared me a bit (thanks The Last Kingdom). The museum was awesome, it had a ton of relics, and then you get on a ride to tour the "Viking Village" that used to be in York. It was like riding a child's ride at the fair, very slow, and very calm. But a great way to get off our feet and learn about the vikings that once lived in York. The ride drops you on the other side of the museum where you can view skeletons (my personal favorite). We even got to hold some viking relics. SO COOL. It was super fun!

Once out of the museum, we wandered around the town again. I think we were looking for something, but not sure what we were looking for. We ended up in a Tesco Express because we needed more snacks and wanted to find caramel digestives as we were finding it tricky to locate them. I think we ended up buying waters, candy, and more digestives. Then, outside we went. We still had daylight and some time before our dinner plans. The train museum (as it's free and super cool) was next on the list. It was a bit of a walk to get there, and Annie didn't believe I knew where I was going, but I knew. What did she know though, she had never been there before and I had...basically we found it.

We ended up getting there 30 minutes before close, so the viewing was speedy and brief. But we saw a load of trains, and they were the same as the one's I had seen before, obviously. We left the museum 5 minutes before they closed. We walked back to York and decided to go to The House of Trembling Madness for dinner. IT IS THE COOLEST PUB EVER. I had been before, which is how I knew where to locate it since it's hidden and not a ton of tourists know about it. Basically you walk into a liquor store, past the till and up the stairs. And then you are taken back into this other world. It's like medieval ages all over again. You have to be aggressive with your table choice. No one will greet you and no one seats you. So if you see someone moving, GRAB THE TABLE! We ended up in the snug after an hour of waiting and another couple stealing the table (they came in well after we had been there). We ordered our food and drinks. Then waited, what seemed like another hour, for our meal. But it was soooo worth it. I ordered the beef and lamb stew complete with hearty bread and a glass of wine. I can't remember what Annie ordered but we were both full to the brim and ready for sleeping forever. I began to not feel super great by the end of the evening, so we called it a night and after a shower, I climbed into bed to watch another episode of The Great British Bake Off and Come Dine With Me. Annie decided she would head out that night to go to the pub for their music night. I stayed in bed and tried to sleep.

She came home about 11 PM and said she had an awesome time at the pub, which I was relieved because I was playing visions of her being kidnapped or feeling alone the whole time she was gone. So phewwwwww.

And I still didn't feel too great.

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