An Afternoon in York, England

Tuesday, January 8, 2019
We finished our work a little early today, and since it was a beautiful, sunny day decided to take advantage of it and go for a visit to the very old, medieval city of York.

We took the bus over from Selby and our first stop was "The York Shambles". This street is so old that it was listed in William the Conquerer's Doomsday Book. We ate lunch at what might possibly be the crookedest restaurant in town called the Golden Fleece. 

It's found at the end of the Shambles and I understand the building is several hundred years old. The floors slant down a couple of feet and off to one side or the other throughout all the rooms of the establishment. 

It is said to be haunted, and when we got to the back of the pub we found this guy waiting on his drink. I think he has been waiting for a while.

I forgot to ask what his name was.. but he was quite conversation starter.

These rules were above Darryl's chair.

As we walked up The Shambles street (the street was originally a Butcher and meat market street and was part of the town before 1086 A.D.)

As you walk down the street you see many crooked and sagging buildings, the whole area is quite charming!

The Shambles Street is one of two streets in Britain that were the inspiration for Diagon Alley of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Series. So there are several shops that feature Harry Potter souvenirs.

The World of Wizardry and The Boy Wizard are just a couple...

..along with "The Shop That Must Not Be Named". 

We wandered down some other streets in the city center and loved all the shops and buildings...

and found the York Market.

This sign at the end of the street tells a little history of "The Shambles".

We also found a monument to the soldiers and Sailors of the Boor War. 

And this magnificent Cathedral

The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York,

FYI- a Cathedral is a church that has the Cardinal's Seat and this church is also called 

The York Minster.

A minster is a cathedral where there is a Monastic order or monks, living, serving and teaching. 

The first church built on this site was a wooden structure in 627 A.D. This beautiful Cathedral was started in the 1300's and took over 200 years to complete.

We also walked through the beautiful park where we toured the ruins of St. Leonard's Hospital, built in the mid 13th century. 

And you can see parts of the original wall of the city. The wall was started around 71 A.D. by the Roman Soldiers who erected a fort on the river Ouse.

And finally St. Mary's Abbey, first built in 1088 A.D.

As we made our way back to the bus stopped Darryl had to stop at this fabulous clock

... and I had to stop for a hot cocoa at Starbucks. This store had the most elaborate interior of any Starbucks I have ever seen!

We had such a lovely day in York, but there is still so much to see.

So we have decided to go back on Saturday to see more of this amazing city!

Until then.... Cheers!