York

Hi all!

Well I didn't have a particularly good sleep last night. I'll make the story as short as possible. Basically when I was downstairs posting the blog last night an English woman (maybe mid 30s?) came and checked in. From the moment she set foot in there I found her to be rude and abrupt, and she was very demanding towards the man on reception. She along with 5 other people and me were all in a dorm together. The rest of us all went to sleep while she was having a shower, and we left the fan/air filter on that was in the room as the man on reception had said if we didn't it would be very stuffy and smelly by morning. She came back and turned it off, which woke me up. I explained the above and instead of behaving like a logical, reasonable human being she chose to behave like a five year old children. "But I don't want to leave it on, I want it off, I won't be able to sleep!" She became hysterical and wouldn't listen at all. I kept reminding her that by making a scene she was waking everyone in our dorm, and that if she simply laid down and closed her eyes she would find (as we do in summer in Australia) that you soon just get used to the constant air flow noise. I also suggested if she didn't like things like this then maybe she should pay three times the amount and stay in a hotel room! But no, she decided to go and get the reception man who told her the exact same thing, so she cracked it and moved rooms. Ah - hostel life!

Got out of my hostel as quick as I could this morning - but first ran into her death glaring the floor in the corridor!! - and then caught the train for just under an hour to York. Boy has the weather put on a show for me today! It's sunny and 24, it is so strange to feel warmth properly on my skin! I'm wearing SHORTS!

I started off by leaving my stuff at my hostel and then going past some tearooms Nan and Pa said they enjoyed here. Think I'll go there with Jamie either on Friday or Saturday :) I then went to tourist information and got some information about the public to Goathland and Whitby for tmro. 

Had a bit of a wander and stumbled across the Shambles, then walked towards Yorkminster and joined the free walking tour I had booked. The guide's name was Alan and he was brilliant. He had a very strong Somerset accent and looked like Hagrid haha. He really knew his stuff. We ventured all over the city, learning about how in 55BC Julius Caesar came here and hated the weather, deciding the Roman Empire didn't need York. Then in 43AD the Romans returned and, seeing the value York had due to it having lots of tin and a river, settled here. 

We started our tour at Bootham Bar. In York, 'bar' means 'gate' as it comes from the French word 'barrier'. 'Gate' means 'street' here as it derives from the Viking word 'gata' meaning 'street'. How confusing! We then walked around to King's Manor, a building and garden that apparently Catherine Howard used to be seen walking around a lot....not with Henry VIII but with other gentlemen instead! This led him to behead her. 

Next we ventured to the remains of a roman camp, which had the remnants of a wall built in 197AD. There are some remnants of roman buildings and walls scattered about, but the main city wall later built for defence dates from the 12-14th centuries. The Vikings came along in the 800s but I'll go into that in more detail on Friday when Jamie and I go to the Jorvik Museum!

We then headed into the Museum Gardens which were soooo beautiful in the sunshine! Here we saw St Mary's Abbey and learned that Henry VIII disbanded Catholicism because the Catholic Church wouldn't grant him divorce from Catherine of Aragon so he could marry Anne Boleyn (divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived - these were wives one and two respectively). Now the 'Corpus Christi' play is on here every four years, and in the first year - 1953 - an 18 year old girl born and bred in York took part. She loved it so much she took part in the next two plays as well. Today we know her for many more roles as well - Judi Dench!

We climbed up inside Bootham Bar and walked part of the city walls. From here we had a nice view of York Minster and learned that it started to be built in 1220 and was finished in 1476 to rival the cathedral in Canterbury (been there been there!!) as there was a rivalry between the arch dukes in each of the two towns at the time. York Minster has hosted three royal weddings in its lifetime - some in the 1300s and the queen's cousin's wedding in 1961. 

Monk Bar was our next stop, which is the tallest gate in York. Near to here was St Williams College, built in 1467 to house chantry priests due to their unruly behaviour. Charles I also based himself here during the civil war in the 1600s. Today it's used for conferences and in many movies as its a beautiful Tudor building. We stopped for a break here and I had two delicious cakes - mmmmm.

We passed Our Lady's Row, built in 1316 it is a strip of seven shops that hold the title of being the longest continuously occupied by businesses in the world. Then we walked past a school Guy Fawkes attended. He was born here, and I've only just recently realised I'll be in England for November 5th, Guy Fawkes day, so I'll get to see the burning of the effigies and fireworks!!

We walked back down the Shambles and I learned it was the ancient street of the butchers of York, and it used to have 26 butchers down it. The first time I walked it alone I didn't notice the butcher's benches and hooks for carcasses - I did this time! It takes its name from the word 'shamel' which means the stands or benches I mentioned. Apparently it was designed so when it rained the rain would wash all the muck away. But when it didn't rain, it would look and smell horrid. That's where the expression "what a shambles" or "it looks like a shambles" to describe a mess comes from!

Our tour ended at Clifford's Tower, and I then walked back to check into the hostel. Here I had a bit of a chill. It sounds lame after two weeks of  cold weather, but walking around in direct sunlight for three hours with limited sleep really took it out of me. Amazing how I paid £16.50 last night and tonight I'm paying £18 and I'm in a lovely modern, clean hostel in a beautiful building. The staff are awesome, I have curtains around my bed and a locker to lock my stuff away. So cosy :) I caught up on a couple of shows and had a bit of a rest. 

Then I walked the entire perimeter of the city walls which was really lovely as the sun was going down. I sat and ate my dinner on a section of the wall. Then I headed back for another quick rest before going on a ghost walking tour. The guide was very theatrical and did a great job, we heard lots of creepy ghost stories!!

Just now I've gotten back to the hostel and had a shower. Genius me then managed to smash the lid of my locker on my head (it fell) and at first I thought I was fine, until I noticed a red trickle dropping onto my shoulder. So I've just gone and washed my hair and am hoping it'll be ok. My head feels like it's about 1m wide the egg is so huge. Never a dull moment hey!!! Looks like I have to sit up til my hair dries now. 

Love to all

Claire

Xoxox