Yonder to York...

I arrived in London late on Saturday night and after my super nutritious late night dinner I decided to have a nice hot shower before going to bed. I had to be up early for my train ride in the a.m. and wanted to save time! I went into shower room number 1.....yikes! The tiny bathroom was moldy and old. It definitely needed some TLC, but I always wear my trusty Old Navy flip flops so I never worry too much about the state of the shower. After 4 unsuccessful attempts to get warm water I threw on my night shirt, gathered all my belongings and shuffled to shower room number 2, where I start the whole process over again. Icey cold aqua sprayed the floor but that is it. (did I mention room #2 was smaller and grosser than #1?). Figuring I will just rush in the morning, I get ready for bed and head to my room. Standing in the hallway is a poor girl whose key won't work. Oh man! It had taken me a couple of tries to get mine to work the first time too. I spoke too soon though because I soon found out that my key doesn't work either. I try for a good 5 minutes with no luck. Everyone in my room is sleeping so I head down to reception, in a bar, in my pyjamas. The bar man blames the key problem on me and my inability to work a key card (ya right!), and you know I also don't know how to turn on hot water! What a tool! Anyways he is "kind" enough to tell me about the best shower room on floor 1 so I head there for my shower before going to bed. After a sleepless night filled with the music of snoring I get ready for my uneventful trip to York.

Arriving in York I am greeted by HUGE geese. You would think they would be Canadian Geese by their size but they have orange beaks and a lighter colour. I head up to my hostel and find it is an old house they've converted. Outside each room is a plaque telling the former use and/or occupants. I am on the top floor, so 3 long stories up from the lobby in the attic. It is a quaint room with exposed beams and....a shower room. Basically the bathroom looks like one from an airplane but there is a shower head and drain added to the corner. It is a plastic room that they have built a wall around. I hope they at least have hot water. I drop off my bag and head out to explore the city. It is Sunday evening so I know it won't be long before the shops all close. I wander down the road and find a cute area filled with shoppers. I am soon ready for dinner so I walk to the Slug and Lettuce which has a set price menu (another word for cheap). I order the pasta and make use of their wifi. I enjoy the walk back to the hostel where I work on planning the next portion of my trip before heading for an early bed time.

Breakfast here is early, ending at 9 so I wake up and head down around 8:15. They have peanut butter! It is the first time I have seen it since I have crossed the ocean for my trip! They also have tea, orange juice, oranges and bananas! Yum! Afterwards I head to Exhibition Square for a free walking Tour. Our older York guide takes us around to the Abbey Ruins and King's Manor before leading us to the old Roman Walls where we walk to our next stop, the Shambles. It is a tiny narrow road with little shops and places to eat. It is thought to be one of the oldest roads in York. We go into an old church not in use any more as well as see the Treasurer's House where he tells us a ghost story of Roman Soldiers. He is very informative and walks away at the end before anyone can give him a tip. A true free walking tour! I find a deli and take my sandwich with me as I wander around. I head to the Jorvic Viking Centre where they uncovered a Viking settlement. I was taken on a little motorized car through the rebuilt Jorvic. York is such an old city with so much history. This year it celebrates an official 800th birthday but unofficially this area has been settled for over 2000 years. Afterwards I head to Cliffords Tower. It is built on a hill and is part of the original castle in York, thought it has been rebuilt a number of times. Today it is roofless due to a fire. It is also tied with a red ribbon, which is in celebration of being open year round starting today!

Heading back to my hostel I spend a little longer planing or trying to plan my trip before I go for dinner. I found a restaurant with a 2.99 menu on Monday's so I head there before going on a Ghost Hunt! Our guide whose name is "unimportant" was hilarious. He was creepy and scary but had us laughing the whole time. I thoroughly enjoyed my evening and went to bed unafraid! Phew!

When I woke up (and even throughout the night) I felt a cold coming on. A tickle and a thickness in my throat. :( I spent some time organizing my plans this morning and headed out late. I went to York Minster, one of the biggest cathedrals in England. It was beautiful. They have a huge stained glass window they are restoring and had a learning centre about it that was really interesting. I stopped for lunch and had some soup. It was very tasty. I started to feel weary but didn't want to come back to hang out in the hostel so I wandered some more before getting a tea and warming up. After some more wandering of the city I stopped for a yummy dinner and now I am back at the hostel where I am planning another early bed time. Off to London tomorrow, Paris on Thursday and Tours France on Friday!