Life in England: Rediscovering England

In my past posts, my views of England have been quite tainted from when I first arrived in the hardened world of Preston. My previous experiences of England were endearing enough to make me want to move here--comprising mostly of the rural, small town, friendly feel of Ormskirk. Lee and I went on our first real holiday (vacation) during the last weekend of May to the extremely enchanting city of York. I had waited three years to go to York and Lee had never been there before either, so our expectations were neither high nor low. Luckily, this trip revitalised my faith in the people of England and the stunning sights this rich country has to offer.

To ensure that we didn't miss anything, I planned a detailed itinerary--including where we'd eat each day and walking directions to each landmark. This may sound like over-planning for a carefree vacation, but in the end this system guarantees that no time is wasted walking around asking, "Where do you want to eat?" "What are you hungry for?" "How do we get to that museum?" "What time does the so-and-so close?" When I visit a city, I want to make sure that I see everything that I can. I checked with Lee before making up the itinerary and he gave me free range of what we could see and do. Thankfully, he was entertained by it all and even the things that I thought would bore him, he actually counted as his favourite attractions.

My reasoning for falling in love with York rests solely on two major components: the city is heaped in history and the people are Midwest-level friendly. (Note of importance: The Midwest is a geographic region of the United States, including Ohio, and has nothing to do with the Middle East.) Within this walled city, there are obvious levels of people who have left their mark on York--Romans, Vikings, Normans. In every nook and cranny, there are secrets of a pretty dark past and every cobble-stoned path leads one to tread through history. Everyone here asks, "How are you?" and goes out of their way to have phenomenal customer service. I'm also pretty sure that everyone working in the city is a local. This is very much appreciated when visiting a new place. The accent is a bit different even though the city is close on the map to Preston and the people were able to help with any questions because they have grown-up in York.

An initial reason that I was intrigued to visit York was the fact that it is 'the most haunted city in England.' We didn't encounter any paranormal activity; however, every morning at breakfast, all of the women staying at the hotel, including myself, felt very ill. I didn't mention it the first morning to the staff, but as two elderly women showed up to breakfast and just asked for toast and water because they weren't feeling well, I thought it was a bit eerie. The next two mornings, the same feeling overcame me as well as the other women, so I concluded that our hotel was probably inhabited by a scornful ghostly woman. It's really the only explanation.

As we boarded the train to leave York, the sky started to open up and release a few sprinkles. For the four days we were there, we had nothing but clear skies and hot temperatures (25-27 degrees C). The change in weather mimicked my feelings. I didn't start crying at the train station, but I really didn't want to leave. If I could have, then I probably would have rented the closest available apartment and called back to Preston to end my contract early for my job. At this point, I realised that the reason this city may be filled with old spirits could be that people--living and dead--never want to leave. There have been sightings of Roman soldiers marching in the Treasurer's House and even sitting in the Roman Baths. Fortunately, Lee felt the same affinity for York and we both said that we would move there in a heartbeat if it was at all a possibility.

I am so thankful that we were able to save up enough money for a holiday to York and we had perfect weather whilst we were there. Please enjoy these photos from our trip. Hopefully they will inspire you to plan a visit of your own one day!

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.

A gorgeous view from the York Museum.

Our own personal tour guide of the York Brewery--also, Lee's new best friend and favourite person in York.

The houses are miraculously still standing!

Inside the Castle Museum--actually has nothing to do with castles!

This is in the basement of the Castle Museum and is a complete recreation of York's old streets.

The National Railway Museum was really a delight and had numerous, real trains inside its buildings.

A view of the Minster from the wall that surrounds the city.

York Minster Cathedral

The Shambles is a road with timber dating back to the fourteenth century. There are many snickelways (dark alleyways that were used for criminals to hide in and add to the shady, somewhat gruesome, past of York) leading off of this narrow street.

The sanctuary inside the York Minster.

The choir at the back of the sanctuary.

Inside the Treasurer's House with everything just as the last owner left it. He threatened that he would haunt the house after he died if anything was moved! This is supposedly the most haunted house in York: a worker in the 1950s saw a Roman army marching by him in the cellar and a little girl spoke to a 'woman on a chair' in one of the bedrooms.