Saturday, January 30, 2010

Day Trip to York


So I know I've really dropped the ball lately on keeping this blog up to date. My Christmas Holidays split over Red Lake and Calgary were absolutely AMAZING, but no need to blog when I'm home, right? At any rate, I definitely have a little catching up to do. 

Firstly, right before I left Leeds in December, Chris Wright and I took a day trip to the town of York. For those of you who don't know Chris, he and his family came to Red Lake from Nottingham in 1997-1998 to do a 1-year exchange with a local family. All of the Wrights quickly became very active in the community as well as friends of the family and I'm glad to have stayed in touch. 

But back to the present. So the two of us decided to take an afternoon to wander around the very historical streets of York. We chose a good time to go as it was bustling with activity on a Sunday afternoon just a couple weeks before Christmas. (But it was freezing!!) Oh and as is the norm for most English towns before Christmas, there was definitely an outdoor Christmas market.

One of many very intricate ice sculptures in the streets. I suspect that to the left is a street vendor selling anything from pumpkin soup to mulled wine to sausages.

Typical street in York. I love the narrow, cobblestone streets and tiny shops.

The famous York Minster, one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in Northern Europe

Climbing to the first tower of the cathedral

Taking a break halfway!

View from the top

We were wondering who you have to be to live in that mansion



Inside the cathedral - the choir began singing but they were hidden in a centre section. The acoustics in that place are amazing. It sounded like you were completely surrounded with ethereal music.

View from the street

Walking along the York City Walls that completely surround the core of the town. Some parts of the wall date back to Roman times.


The cathedral as viewed from the City Walls.