So last night we went out for dinner at a pub. Intended to watch the football but all the pubs showing it were quite chavvy (bogan, not a good vibe) so we gave it a miss.
We enjoyed an amazing full English breakfast at the B&B and then set off for the day. We were pleased to see that it was a gorgeous sunny day today - not a drop of rain in sight!
Our first stop of the day was the Jorvik Museum. This is a museum about the Viking history York has between the years 866 and 1066. Luckily for us mum and dad gave us their tickets from three weeks ago, as the tickets are valid for 12 months. Free entry for us - hooray!! :)
The museum was fantastic. It's set underneath a street called Coppergate meaning 'cup makers' street'. We learned a lot about England's Viking history and the ride was interesting as you see (and smell - it was quite gross!) what the Viking civilisation here may have looked like. They've recreated it using findings excavated from the site. 9m of layers were found, and the layers were moist and peaty which means a lot of things were preserved. Five tonnes of animal bones were found, 250,000 pieces of pottery, 20,000 objects and 4 skeletons.
In 793 the Vikings first raided England. It was a hit and run/smash and grab job. Over time they established an empire in the north of England until they were overthrown by William the conqueror in 1066. We learned that by the year 1066 Jorvik (as the Vikings called York) had 15,000 inhabitants.
As well as the smells being pretty awful in the exhibition, I also had a massive laugh at the giant poo (yes, poo!) found when excavating the site. It measured at 195mm x 55mm x 28mm and is the only faeces in the world to have it's own Wikipedia page. I couldn't stop laughing, Jamie thought it was absolutely disgusting!
We then went and watched a street performer for about half an hour. Jamie wanted to watch and I immediately recognised the apparatus the guy was using. It was when he started to speak that I realised why. He was an Aussie, and I've seen him perform when on holiday with my family in Sydney!
Next we went to York Minster. As I said then other day on my walking tour, this was built to rival the cathedral in Canterbury. We walked around and took in the inside, which was really beautiful, but I'm glad we had mum and dad's free tickets. It was £10 each to get in! The main stained glass window which is the size of a tennis court and the largest single area of medieval stained glass in the world is currently being restored. Apparently each panel costs £25,000 to fix!
Jamie went to grab his train tickets for tmro and I went exploring. I got I to Treasurer's House for free due to being a national trust member. The rooms were lovely, a man called Frank Green purchased the house in 1897 and did it up. On the ghost tour I did the other evening we were told that on his second day on the job there, 17 year old Frank Martindale heard trumpets and saw a procession of soldier ghosts marching through the cellar. It turned out years later when they found remains that the old roman road went right through the building - creepy!
I then climbed the tower of the Minster. The view was fab because it was such lovely weather! I surprised myself at how fit I am. Everyone else behaved as if they had run a marathon when they reached the top. I wasn't even out of breath - woo!
We went to go to Betty's Tearooms but the queue was ginormous and we were told it could take up to an hour to get a seat. Sorry Nan and Pa, really wanted to go there! But it just shows you have good taste and picked a very popular place when you came here.
We went to go to Betty's Tearooms but the queue was ginormous and we were told it could take up to an hour to get a seat. Sorry Nan and Pa, really wanted to go there! But it just shows you have good taste and picked a very popular place when you came here.
We walked to the river Ouse and went on a boat cruise along the river for 45 minutes. It was nice and relaxing but the guide was so softly spoken no one could hear his commentary. Was nice nonetheless :) Then we walked the city walls in the sunshine.
Went and had a couple of drinks, then back to the B&B for a rest and then out to a pub for a drink and to watch England play France in the rugby World Cup warm ups. England won (I had no idea what was happening!).
I'm absolutely wrecked and think I'm getting another cold :( have loved York and really looking forward to exploring country number 47 - Wales! - tmro!
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
No comments:
Post a Comment