Wales: Day 33 The Time of York Life

Thursday, August 5 I woke up especially thrashed. I mean, we were tired ALL the time, but the Thursday, August 5 I woke up more thrashed than usual. I think the extra traveling and the length of the trip was starting to get to me. Plus I tend to value time joking around with the girls, returning emails and chatting with everyone back home over my sleep. Anyway, I was tired and running late, but I was able to run down and grab some yogurt just as breakfast was closing and hopped into the van for the 5(ish) hour drive to The North!

We arrived in York in the afternoon, moved into the York Youth Hostel, or as I affectionately referred to it, The Labyrinth. Seriously finding your way in and out of this place was insane. There were multiple levels, wings, and hallways. We had to climb up and down several flights of stairs just to get to our room. But it didn't smell like a bathroom, so that was good. We met in our small groups to get information from our tour leaders and then walked into the city.

The hostel is about a half mile away from the city center, and there is this lovely path alongside the river that we take. It was fantastic. Rowers paddled along, kids played in the grass and trees, and then you come around a bend and get the most breathtaking view of York.

I LOVE York. It was one of my favorite cities. This was more of what I expected England to be like. Its probably the cleanest city we've visited, and the buildings are awesome. Our first order of business was Jorvik. Jorvik is the Viking name for York, a Viking settlement in the 10th Century. Jorvik is this museum/attraction/ride, and Tom had talked it up, so we all agreed to go despite the admission fee. Thank goodness we did. I don't know where we would have gotten material to make fun of for the rest of the trip. We dressed as Vikings, looked at ancient excrement (No. Really.), and rode the dangerous, exhilarating ride through the Viking Village. Seriously the ride went 3 mph, IF THAT, and was full of creepy puppets and mannequins. There were even village-appropriate smells. You know. To get the full effect. We just laughed and laughed at how ridiculous it was. Then after the ride I typed in an official complaint on the Customer Comment computer. "The museum was cool. The ride was a little fast, though. It made me a little motion sick." Ever the flippant smart alec.

After Jorvik, we got to explore the city. York is seriously awesome. We got some ice cream (clearly), and then checked out "The Shambles." This part of town is preserved to look exactly like the Medieval street it once was. A little creepy, but fun. I even saw a cool reference to a movie I love, V for Vendetta!

We met up at Yorkminster for Evensaid. Evensaid is weird, not as good as Evensong, but Yorkminster is my favorite Cathedral. It is incredible. It's huge, the biggest in the North. Fantastic.



After Evensaid, everyone dispersed to attend various Ghost Tours around York. London had Jack the Ripper tours, but no other city had anything to compare to this. There were upwards of 10 different Ghost Tours across the city, ranging from 2-10 pounds. Not really sure why. This prompted me to utter a phrase which henceforth became a sort of inside joke for our group.

"What, does York have a rich ghost heritage?"

We didn't want to pay, but we were ALMOST sneaky enough to tag along with a random tour. Too risky. Instead Jessica, Sam, Megan and I went to Pizza Hut. It was the best idea we had all day. It was just as good as American Pizza Hut, and exactly what we needed. Our ginger waiter entertained us with some flirting and sharing his opinions and perceptions of the United States. We had a much needed girl talk, plenty of sharing and bonding. Then we walked up to Clifford's Tower. This was scarier than a ghost tour, I thought. In 1190, over 100 Jews piled into the tower and burned themselves alive rather than concede their beliefs or be killed and mutilated by the surrounding mob. Yikes.

We walked back along the river and went to bed, preparing for an early morning (6:30 am) to catch the train to Edinburgh!

Wales: Day 21 My Canterbury Tale

5:55 am departure time from the Cathays train station in Cardiff. Painful. But once again, we were all so excited to be going to Dover and Canterbury that we did it with a smile. :) We connected in London, and after a brief scary moment on the subway (not scary for me) where Tom thought he lost me, we were on the road again.

Dover Castle is probably now my third favorite behind Raglan and Usk. It's enormous! It's right on the coast, so the view is incredible. It is also on a huge hill, so the hike was somewhat daunting, but hey, the higher the destination, the better the view. Right? That's what I've learned here. Maybe I'll be able to use that analogy in a sacrament meeting talk someday.

Along with awesome castle construction, it also includes a Saxon church and a Roman Pharos (lighthouse). It was built by Henry II in honor of his grandfather, William the Conqueror.

We had key timing and were able to participate in a re-enactment of some "court proceedings" in the Great Hall. Prince John (yeah the evil nemesis of Robin Hood) took a particular interest in me. I was spittin' game until my director, Tom, interfered. He was such a babe, too! Freak. What a waste. No worries though. We rendezvoused after the court proceedings and tour of the castle. Let me just say. They may call his brother Richard the Lionheart, but from what I've seen, John is the animal. (Just kidding. Kind of.)

Hopped back on a train for a 15 minute ride to Canterbury. Ever heard of Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales? Well. The pilgrimage providing Chaucer with material was made famous by Henry II, after his knights brutally murdered Thomas a-Becket in the Cathedral. The Pope was so pissed that he excommunicated the entire country until Henry completed a highly publicized pilgrimage and did other stuff for absolution.

The city of Canterbury was super busy. It was a Saturday and they had little festivals and things going on. Downtown was pretty cool though. We had some free time so we finally took advantage of the nearest Shake Away. These shake places are everywhere here and people FREAK OUT about them. I'm not crazy about milkshakes so hadn't made the Shake Away detour in any of the other cities, but as it was a Saturday afternoon, we were exhausted and it was a little too crowded to fight our way through the packed streets, I thought it sounded pretty fantastic. I got a Toblerone shake, and WOW. Very delicious. It wasn't like our milkshakes at home. It was actually a MILKshake. Not an ICE CREAM shake. It was mostly liquid. Milk, a little ice cream and some crushed up Toblerone chunks. MMmmmmmmmmm. Who in the United States decided that milkshakes should be crazy thick? No. If I want to eat something with a spoon, I'll turn to my beloved ice cream. This was amazing. Maybe I'll try to make one when I get home. Won't be as good, but definitely worth a shot.

We braved the crowds and shops for a bit after our delicious shakes. I bought an awesome dress! I got lucky and found a super cool little black shift in a chic boutique downtown, so I capitalized on the situation. Yahtzee.

We went to the famous Canterbury Cathedral for Evensong at 3:30 ish. This cathedral was AMAZING. The architecture was so elaborate and intricate, and I couldn't tear my eyes away from the stained glass. This was also the best Evensong we've been to. The combination may have combined to produce my opinion. This was the best cathedral experience ever. Unfortunately I couldn't take pictures inside, but it was just amazing. Trust me.

We connected in London again on the way home. I had my little heart set on seeing Phantom and I was getting all geeked up for it. Unfortunately, the trains to Cardiff weren't running late enough. :( We just came home instead.... but it was ok. We were crazy tired and had church in the morning. Had the trains been running we wouldn't have gotten home until like 2 am. And I get to see it on our free day in London in a week and a half. No big deal.

Wales: Day 3 Cathedrals and Castles and Plays, Oh My!

Tuesday morning we hit the road bright and early to catch a variety of sites. I was still battling jet lag as best I could, but was still a little sleepy. :) First we went to a GORGEOUS cathedral - Gloucester.

Does this hall look familiar to anyone?

Oh that's right. Harry Potter 2 & 6 were filmed here. It's the outside of the Chamber of Secrets. What? My nerdiness is amusing you? Perfect.

GRYFFINDOR!!!!!!

After Gloucester, we traveled to Kenilworth Castle. Kenilworth has a rich history and is one of the largest and best preserved of the medieval castles. I am only including 1 photo because I'd like to do a blog post about Kenilworth in conjunction with Welsh romanticism once I'm caught up.

We ended up in Stratford-upon-Avon. That's right. Shakespeare's hood. I loved this little town! It's definitely catered toward tourists, but I loved it. The streets were full of cool shops and I was finally able to exchange my dollars for pounds (We were in too big of a hurry at the airport). We enjoyed delicious truffles at a famous little French shop, and then prepared for King Lear. Great show. Shakespeare never ceases to amaze (and often confuse) me. We also got to see Shakespeare's grave inside this old cathedral.

Fantastic day and a fantastic show! I'm absolutely loving the UK!