Charming York

It was only one day, but THIS is the place I've always wanted to return to in England: lovely, quaint, charming, historic York.

York. It's so lovely, and looks like it's a movie set. I love York, but wow, it was much, much busier than when I saw it for one brief day when I was 20.

We began by taking a 1.5 hour train from Manchester to York and the train carts overflowethed (I don't care if that's not a word) with beautifully-dressed people: men in pastel-coloured and tweed suits and women in painfully high heels with butterfly designs and fascinators on their slick, coiffed heads. We learned one of the major horse races were being held nearby, hence the festivities. We also learned from a local that most people don't care for the racing, they just want to dress up and get drunk, so they don't exit the races looking quite as sophisticated and put together. I'm glad we got the good end of the pretty people show.

We walked and walked around York, a city of Roman origins, which is really the best way to see it. We walked part of the city wall and visited the remnants of a church of which only 20% still stands. We, of course, also walked The Shambles, a narrow street from the 13th century. It was so busy. So. Busy. Yes, yes, I know we're contributing to this... but when I was 20 and thought it was busy, I didn't understand how many more people one narrow, medieval-era street could pack. It's a lot. Maybe 4-times-more-people-a-lot. I'm not even putting pictures of it in here, all you'll see is people, so it's better to just look it up.

Our visit to this quaint city required a visit to a quaint lunch spot. We went to Betty's Cafe Tea Rooms. Cute, charming, delicious. It's exactly what you hope for in a tea room in a medieval city. We had afternoon tea which consisted of raisin scones, clotted cream, jam, little triangle sandwiches, and of course, tea. Super yummy.

Betty's delicious tea room

That's all for now. A brief post for a brief, but worthwhile visit. I suggest to anyone visiting York though, if you can come during any time but the school holidays, do so. Maybe even be there for twilight, I can imagine what it would look like in the evening light. It will be easier to experience and absorb the history and charm.