Thursday, September 22, 2011

Day 8: York

Yesterday, Heather and I headed over towards York by Car, and finished the last bit of our journey by train (to avoid a bit of a crazy drive and crazier parking). It was another wonderful day — and I know I keep describing everything as " wonderful", but truly it has been ;-). Perhaps I should be using the term "fab"....LOL!


We boarded a double-decker bus right outside the station and started touring around the city. Our first stop was the Jorvik Museum, a really interesting site based around the discoveries of an ancient Viking settlement in the heart of the city.


It was a very different experience for me -- unlike any of the other museums I've been to before....and the information presented seemed to be new and different from what I've learned of the other ages. Of particular interest were the samples of wool (obviously new) dyed with madder, weld and woad. I've obviously heard of these, but I don't think I've ever seen samples up close before....



Next up was a walk through the Shambles. Very unique spot with lots of old shops - formerly butchers, etc. with increasingly larger upper floors to provide shade. In some places, the buildings come awfully close to touching....




Lots of wonderful shops, and Heather and I had a great time checking things out...and adding to our wardrobes.

I also visited the Minster, a very large Cathedral in York. It was easily the largest church I've ever seen, let alone been inside. Lovely stained glass windows, beautiful patterns and designs throughout. Definitely a lot of inspiration here....









We finished off the day by continuing our bus tour. I especially loved the wall that surrounds the (old) city...